In an era where media of some form permeates nearly every aspect of an individual’s life, the media’s means of presenting and portraying information has a significant impact on individual’s perceptions. While not all aspects of increased media consumption are negative, the impact media portrayals have on individuals can unfortunately promote false and inaccurate representations; and one such example is the misrepresentation of African-American women. African-American women are often represented as lesser beings by the media, through portrays such as Mirena, an Intrauterine Device, and television. The misrepresentation of African-American women as inferior individuals is evident through advertisements.
Advertisements, like those seen on Facebook or television, are suggestive of the needs and hopes individuals hold; and in regards to contraception, the depiction of how each race is identified is critical to analyzing the unfavorable portrayal persistent in media. In advertisements, African-American women are often portrayed as irresponsible, and needing to increase control over their own bodies. The negative characteristics African Americans women are portrayed in the media s possessing are reflective of issues of race based on arcane models.
A specific example of how advertisers promote inaccurate representation of African-American women through media is the portrayal of African-American women in IUD advertisements. A negative conceptualization of the African American female body is communicated through The Intrauterine Device (IUD). Advertisements for the IUD take a very racialized approach, categorizing African Americans women as less qualified for parenthood. By directly comparing an IUD commercial featuring an African-American woman to one featuring a white woman, the misrepresentation of African-American women by the media is evident.
The first advertisement, featuring an African-American, is as follows:
“Two African american woman discuss Mirena as a good option for them because their chaotic lives with children make it challenging to remember to take the pill. One of them is pregnant with her second child and ask her gynecologist if Mirena is right for her; the white female doctor assures her that it is not to early to plan on getting it during her postnatal checkups” (Takeshita, 158).
The advertisement clearly exemplifies how the black woman is portrayed as irresponsible, and not having greater control over her ability to remember to take the pill. Moreover, the advertisement also shows the limited autonomy the black woman is given. The misrepresentation of African-American women through IUD advertisements reveals how media is used to continue oppressive ideology, such as characterizing African-American women as reckless and sexualizing most aspects of their lives. Moreover, in the scenario, the doctor restrained the African-American woman’s fertility by suggesting she get an IUD. By comparing the previous IUD commercial, featuring an African-American woman, to the following commercial featuring a white woman, the misrepresentation of African-American women by the media is clearly apparent.
The second advertisement, featuring a white woman, is as follows:
The first white woman chose Norplant (A form of IUD) because she is mostly certain that she completed her family but would like to leave the option open to having more children (Takeshita, 156).
The IUD advertisement portrays the white woman in a circumstance where she is merely deciding whether or not to reserve the option of having children; and therefore is presented as more autonomous in her decision making. In comparison, the advertisement featuring an African-American women portrays the circumstances for her choice to get an IUD in a misrepresentational way. The first advertisement is highly suggestive that the African American woman is getting the IUD to stop having children, which displays the idea of African American women as unstable and not suited for more children.The misrepresentational portrayal of women of color is also seen through television, and further creates additional forced assumptions based on race.
Television is another form of media that is used as a platform for entertainment; and similar to advertising, TV also creates negative depictions of African Americans through misrepresentations on television shows and TV commercials. Through increased unfavorable perceptions, the public gains the belief that those who are African American behave a certain way unreflective of real character. The stereotypical and misrepresentative portrayal of African-American through television has caused audiences to make uninformed conclusions.
As White GIrls want Black Men says in his/her blog:
“I grew up thinking all Blacks and native Americans were “injuns,” savages, slaves & n— based on what I saw on television – and I wasn’t even allowed to watch a lot of T.V. Whereas, I thought white people were God the way they always portrayed themselves as innocent and pure, especially in creating a pale image of Jesus Christ, when by the admission of their own bible, revealed that his skin was darker than pale” (White girls want Black Men).
The difference in racial depictions above is reflective of the oppressive ideology promoted through the media, and specifically surrounding the misrepresentation of African-Americans and African-American women. The increased fetisization and sexualization of African-American women through media creates heterogeneity of how African- American women are perceived in America. The negative perception of African-American women in the media leads to a misrepresentation of both race and gender, because the media depictions suggest African American women are savages by nature and have no self control. Moreover, the prevarication of African American women will create a lack of interest on cultural practices that reflect honest depictions of the black female body. The increased need to improve the media's racial depictions can result in displaying African-American women as equals, rather than the impoverished black bodies that are portrayed today.
References
"Blacks Are Still Misrepresented On Television." White Girls Want Black Men. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2016
Takeshita, Chikako. The Global Biopolitics of the IUD: How Science Constructs Contraceptive Users and Women's Bodies. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2012. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment