Ex-nomination

The term ex-nomination (devised by Roland Barthes) is valuable in accounting for the way that hegemonic forms of identity (whiteness, hegemonic masculinity, heterosexuality, ability) escape classification and as such become normalized, naturalized and invisible — a position that is effective in maintaining systems of domination. Citing Barthes: -Bourgeois norms are experienced as the evident laws of the natural order — the further the bourgeois class propagates its representations, the more naturalized they become. The fact of the bourgeoisie becomes absorbed into an amorphous universe. It is therefore by penetrating the intermediate classes that bourgeois ideology can most surely lose its name" (140-1). But how is ex-nomination relevant in a contemporary media context? In what ways does it emerge in popular media? -Choose a form of media; examine avatar choices in role-playing video games,                                                    

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