Tangela

Richardson

Publ ic

Communicat ion

Theor y

Dr. Zaharna

American

Univers i ty

12/01/2012

GENDER, RACE &

MEDIA REPRESENTATION

DWIGHT E. BROOKS

AND

LISA P. HEBERT

In our consumption-oriented, mediated society, much of what

comes to pass as important is based often on the stories

produced and disseminated by media institutions. Much of

what audiences know and care about is based on the images,

symbols, and narratives in radio, television, film, music, and

other media (Brooks & Hebert, 2004).

MAIN IDEA

The journal chapter discusses scholarship on media

representations of both genders and various racial groups.

The Theory I will explore in the presentation is Critical Race

Theory.

The groups identified in the journal article that I will explore

for the presentation are media constructions of:

Masculinity

Femininity

Minorities

Caucasians

JOURNAL DISCUSSION

Challenging media portrayals of black women as mammies,

matriarchs, jezebels, welfare mothers and tragic mulattoes is a

core theme in black feminist thought (Brooks & Hebert, 2004).

Actress Hattie McDaniel in movie

Gone with the Wind a 1939 American Historical

Epic Film.

Current Stereotypes of

Black Women or Women

of Color in the media.

BLACK FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AND MEDIA

REPRESENTATIONS OF BLACK WOMEN

Scholars have studied black female representation in a

variety of media contexts. Myers (2004) used discourse

analysis to examine the representation of violence against

African American Women in local news coverage. The news

portrayal of most victims is stereotypic of Jezebels whose

lewd behavior provoked assault.

Examples of African American Women the media being seen

as Jezebels or Villains are:

SCHOLARS AND THEIR STUDY OF BLACK FEMALE

REPRESENATION IN A VARIET Y OF MEDIA CONTEXTS

N a f i ssa to u D ia l lo i s t h e 3 2 - yea r -o ld r e f u g ee f ro m G u in ea w h o h a s a c c u sed fo r m er I M F c h ie f

Do m in iq u e S t r a u ss - Ka h n o f sex u a l a ssa u l t a t t h e S o f i te l h o te l w h er e sh e wo r ked a s a m a id in

N ew Yo r k C i t y .

I n 2 0 09 , R ih a n n a , a c h a r t - to p p ing s in g e r k n ow n fo r h e r s t r en g t h , b ea u t y, a n d vo i c e wa s

seve r e l y b ea ten by t h en - b oyf r ien d C h r i s B row n . S h e i s c o n s id e r ed a Po p S t a r S ex S y m b o l .

I n 1 9 89 , Ro b in G i ven s wen t f ro m a s t a r o n t h e sm a l l sc r een to b e in g c a l led “ t h e m o st h a ted

wo m a n in A m er i c a ” a f te r h e r m a r r ia g e to M ike Ty so n en d ed w i t h a r ep o r ted $ 10 m i l l i o n

set t lem en t .

A n i t a H i l l a l l eg ed t h a t C la r en c e T h o m a s , h e r t h en - su p er v i so r a t t h e Dep a r t m en t o f E d u c a t io n

a n d t h e E q u a l E m p loy m en t Op p o r t u n i t y C o m m iss io n , h a d sex u a l l y h a r a ssed h e r.

JEZEBELS IN THE MEDIA

Not only are African American Women sometimes portrayed

negatively in media and film, other minority women are also

portrayed negatively.

Feminist Scholar Hill Collins (2004) states that many of the

arguments made previously in other scholarly work written or

stated focused primarily on black women- the writings are

also applicable to women from India, Latin America, Puerto

Rico, and Asia.

MULTICULTURAL FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

AND THE MEDIA

Asian and Latinas are often portrayed in the media as the exotic,

sexualized “other as well, according to Tajima (1989).

Tajima (1989) states that Asian women in fi lm are either passive

figures who exist to serve men as love interests for White men (lotus

blossom) or as a partner in crime of men of their own kind (dragon

ladies)” (p. 309).

Examples of Asian and Latinas Women in Film are:

Maid in Manhattan starring Latina Actress and Pop Star Jennifer

Lopez.

Memoirs of a Geisha – starring Asian Actress Ziyi Zhang.

ASIAN AND LATINAS IN FILM

Although most of the academic literature regarding black and

Asian women in media focuses on historically situated

stereotypes, this does not hold true for Latinas.

While there has been some references to Latinas being

portrayed as exotic seductresses (Holtzman, 2000), as tacky

and overly emotional (Valdivia, 1995), and as the hyper -

sexualized spitfire (Molina Guzman & Valdivia, 2004), the

majority of literature on Latinas has focused on men.

WOMEN IN FILM CONTINUED

Halle Barry Zoe Saldana Kimora Lee Simmons

FAMOUS BIRACIAL WOMEN THAT TRANSCEND

RACE IN MEDIA AND IN FILM

Research on gender has been published primarily by women

feminist.

According to scholars Dines & Humez (2003, p. 733), the

ideals of manhood vary by race and class across time and

cultural contexts. Meaning that each race of men is depicted

by the nature of the media and the film that they are

portrayed in based on the main idea of the storyline.

MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF RACIALIZED

MASCULINITIES

Critical Race Theory is used to explain the media

representations of Black Men and Black Masculinities.

CRT emerged from critical legal studies in the 1970s as an

intellectual response to the slow pace of racial reform in the

U.S.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) places race at the center of critical

analysis and traces its origins to the legal scholarship of

Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, and Kimberle Crenshaw, who

challenged the philasophical tradition of the liberal civil rights

color-blind approach to social justice.

CRITICAL RACE THEORY

In the 1980’s there was an emerging interest from social

scientists and communication researchers in women

television genres such as romance, melodrama and soap

opera.

AUDIENCE STUDIES

The multitude of studies on African American representations

far outnumbers those on Asians, Latinos, and Native

Americans. The lack of representations of these

races/ethnicities represented in “mainstream” media makes

it even more dif ficult to examine constructions of these

cultures.

The CRT (Critical Race Theory) will become even more

important for legal scholars, sociologists, political scientists

and other scholars to discuss and write about to forge new

research on multicultural audiences.

DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH

The research in the journal chapter writing has exposed the various ways the media constructs monolithic notions of race and gender.

The scholarship and the research will become even more important, despite conservative backlash, that promotes regressive policies on images in the media.

The media will continue to play an important role in our struggles for understanding of people and cultures.

The media scholars will have to continue to research, in -depth, how multiculturalism works in a multiracial society in media and film portrayals.

CONCLUSION

B ro o k s , D . E . , & H eb er t , L . P. (2 0 04) . L e s s ons l e a r ne d o r b a mb ooz l ed? G e n de r i n a Sp i ke L e e f i l m . Un p u b l i sh ed m a n u sc r ip t .

B ro o k s , D . E . , & J a c o b s , W. R . ( 1 9 96) . B la c k m en in t h e m a r g in s : S p a c e t r a d er s a n d t h e in te r p o s i t i on a l s t r a teg y a g a in s t b a c k la sh . C om m u n i c a t ion S t u d i e s , 47 , 2 8 9 -302 .

Din es , G . , & H u m ez , J . M . ( 2 0 03) . G en d er, r a c e , a n d c la ss in m ed ia : A tex t - r ea der ( 2 nd ed . ) . T h o u sa n d Oa k s , C A : S a g e .

H i l l , C o l l i n s , P. ( 2 0 04) . B la c k sex u a l p o l i t i cs : A f r i ca n A m er i c a n s , g en d er, a n d t h e n ew r a c i sm . N ew Yo r k : Ro u t led g e .

H o l t z m a n , L . ( 2 0 00) . M ed ia m essa g es : w h a t f i lm , te lev i s io n , a n d p o p u la r m u s ic tea c h u s a b o u t r a c e , c la ss , g en d er, a n d sex u a l o r ien t a t io n . A r m o n k , N Y: M . E . S h a r p e .

M yer s , M . (2 0 04) . A f r i c an Am er ic a n wo m en a n d v io len c e : Gen d er, r a c e a n d c la ss in t h e n ew s . C r i t i c a l S t u d i es i n M e d i a C om m u n i c a t i on , 21 , 9 5 - 11 8 .

Ta j im a , R . ( 1 9 89) . L o t u s b lo sso m s d o n ’ t b leed : I m a g es o f A s ia n wo m en . I n A s ia n Wo m en Un i ted o f C a l i fo r n ia ( E d . ) , M a k in g waves : A n a n t h o lo g y o f w r i t in g s by a n d a b o u t A s ia n A m er i c a n wo m en ( p p . 3 0 8 - 317) . B o s to n : B ea c o n .

Va ld i v ia , A . ( 1 9 95) . Fem in i s t m ed ia s t u d ies in a g lo b a l set t in g : B eyo n d b in a r y c o n t r a d ic t io n s a n d in to m u l t i c u l tu r a l sp ec t r u m s . I n A . Va ld i v ia ( E d . ) , Fem in i sm , m u l t i c u l t u r a l i sm , a n d t h e m ed ia : G lo b a l d i ve r s i t i es ( p p . 7 - 2 9 ) . T h o u sa n d Oa k s : S a g e .

REFERENCES