vidya as spectacle

As a consequence of being a dark-skinned, upper-middle class American female in a mostly white country with more conservative gender roles, I find myself extremely often in the position of spectacle. I think I might measure Via Palazzuolo with the attention I receive from immigrant (and Italian) males of all sorts. I don't like having to define myself to satisfy other people's need to categorize me. Well, I'll be darned: she's brown, but she's not poor...she rides the bus and looks like she might live here, but now she's looking at a map. I defy a lot of expectations, and so I get looked at. While I feel as though my culture has made me what I am, I am not so used to being made so aware of my 'race.' I've been starting to think about the spectacle-izing people based on their physical traits, and often without their consent.