Stereotypes: Black Women vs. White Women in the Media

In today’s society, there are intricate and subtle racial patterns in the mass media that show how powerful images play a significant role in shaping the attitudes of Whites toward Blacks. White Americans, they show, learn about African Americans not through personal relationships, but through the images shown by the media. . In short, they conclude that although there are more images of African-Americans on television now than ever, these images are often harmful to the prospect of unity between the races. With the advancement of technology such as advertisement, there has always been a stereotypical view of how women are portrayed in the media. For hundreds of years, women have been viewed as sexual objects in the eyesight of many people. And for that women have fought for equality, recognition and an identity for them to prove that they are just as capable as any male. However, it seems to go even further when there begins to be a difference of how White women are viewed incomparably with Black women. There have been many opposing arguments of which race (black vs. white) has been more inferior of women being represented with both decency and respect. “While Black actors are now more visible in films, it is an open question as to how well they are being represented. Compare, for example, how Blacks and Whites are portrayed in the top movies of 1996: o Black female movie characters shown using vulgar profanity: 89%

o White female movie characters shown using vulgar profanity: 17%

o Black female movie characters shown being physically violent: 56%

o White female movie characters shown being physically violent: 11%

o Black female movie characters shown being restrained: 55% o White female movie characters shown being restrained: 6%” http://racerelations.about.com/od/stereotypesmentalmodels/a/blackimage.htm Relating to the previous