Black Youth Sexuality It is apparent that media is one of the most influential social platforms on our impressionable society. Not only does media shape society and cultural norms, it also illuminates certain populations and their way of life. For example, in Black Youth Sexuality by Marcus Anthony Hunter, Marissa Guerrero, and Cathy J. Cohen, they talk about the stigma media puts on the Black youth community and their sexual behaviors. To make matters worse, literature is supporting these sexual stigmas of teen pregnancy, dead beat fathers, and sexually transmitted diseases by only researching the sexual behaviors of Black youths, rather than going into further detail about love, desire, norms, and overall values. Authors and scholars both …show more content…
These paradigms show how literature is only scraping the surface of Black sexuality. The evidence provided supports their argument and is persuasive. However, I believe that the author’s true viewpoints on the subject are not revealed until they reach the Expanding the Study of Sex among Young Blacks portion of their analysis. The authors of this article are not for just observing what is wrong within Black youth sexuality literature and assume that it will progress over time. They take a moral stand with their argument and illustrate what needs to be done within the context of literature and research to change the face of Black youth sexuality. The authors believe that media and scholars have chosen the incorrect way to illuminate the Black community and their sexual behaviors. Although, most findings are something to take into consideration, a comprehensive understanding of sex needs to be of priority. Stated in the …show more content…
Upon further research, it is a common understanding that sex is a natural occurrence of life and is meant to be enjoyed. Therefore, why are these authors commonly assuming the Black youths cannot enjoy sex as White youths do? Sex is more than just an act because it comes with an emotional feeling. A feeling that I and the authors of this article believe should be further explored rather than abandoned. I agree with the author’s argument and find their ideas extraordinarily convincing. Authors should study the romantic development of Black youths and adults should accept their children as sexual beings and encourage safe sex. Authors should explore why Black men have more sexual freedom than women. Also, race needs to be taken into more consideration rather than looking at white males as the universal subject of safe sex. Safe sex is not just meant for the privileged and our authors believe it should be a subject of investigation as to how we can influence change. In literature, there is a rare understanding that sex is enjoyable when it comes to the Black youth community. Therefore, our authors believe that needs to change. We cannot focus on and encourage healthy sexual behaviors without a full comprehensive understanding of Black youth’s
... also influences them to partake in negative activities. "Every film shouldn't have to be about some urban, hip-hop drug thing," (Lee.S) the way that blacks are portrayed in the eye of the media is nine times out of ten in a negative manner, this only adds on to the negative stereotypes that come along with being s African American. Music also affects the black youths close ties to fashion, and the news looks. The youth of today are so caught up if the new fads of today that they don’t even acknowledge or take time to educate themselves on their past, they are ignorant to the rich legacy that their ancestors have left behind. This generations has very little to no education about the past so what will they have to pass on to their children at this rate, if someone doesn’t swoop in and relocate the blacks focus to what’s important our rich legacy will soon disappear.
The text suggest from various studies that sexual freedom and expression is still limited. How women and men are taught to view their bodies, how they view their autonomy, how they view pleasure, and how marriage is perceived as respectability plays into the socialization of sexuality (49). These studies reminded me of the numerous reasons that many women especially black women conform to societal beliefs and limit their agency and pleasure in sexuality. These socializations of sexuality transcend into gender roles and how gender is considered in kin relationships. Robert Evans and Helen L. Evans suggest in their study Coping: Stressor and Depression among Middle Class African-American Men that men have become a critical group to understand in order to better understand the social and psychological climate of the African American community. They suggest that family issues, employment issues, environmental factors, and racism were the main causes of depression and emotional distress. Acknowledging these factors are essential to acknowledging a communities well-being. While reading numerous studies on the family structure from polygamy to motherhood to fatherhood to black female-black male relationship, I continued to consider the role that post-traumatic slave disorder takes. I so often refer back to the slavery, but I began to ask myself can we really blame everything on
Robinson, Charles F. Dangerous Liaisons: Sex and Love in the Segregated South. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas, 2003. Print.
As stated in the book, “college students have much to teach about sex” (8). That is because the values, ideologies, and worldviews of the students are representative of greater American culture. Although flawed, hookup culture on American campuses hold the possibility of accepting a culture of inclusivity, care, pleasure, and freedom while also rejecting predatory behavior, racism, classism, and abuse. Dismissing hookup culture all together is blind to the reality that young adults are going to have sex, and since sex is non-negotiable, one’s aim should be to foster open dialogue and critical thought onto a future where everyone enjoys the ability to freely explore sexuality, sex, and gender on their own
The healthy relationships portrayed in the media are few and far between, which leaves Black women to make choices based on the options they have and perceive. For that reason, it is not complicated to understand why Black women are the least likely to marry in the environment of the over-sexed woman and a pimp. The portrayal of Black women as lascivious by nature is an enduring stereotype. To understand more fully the media’s role in shaping the culture of African-American experience, one must first examine the stereotypes projected by TV stations like, BET, MTV, and VH1. The songs and music videos created by such hip-hop artists as 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg have built ...
This study examined the determining factors to why these subjects involve themselves in the activity that they do. By sitting down and talking with these Adolescent Black males you get a better understanding of them and their situation. It has been concluded that the ones involved in crack dealing either struggle with peer pressure, low self esteem, socioeconomic status or severe family issues.
...t gives useful information on the topic of gatekeeping and teen sexuality. It is explained in a way that is easier to understand than some other articles would be. From this article I learned that parents are very concerned about media gatekeeping and sexual images in advertisement. This is an important fact to understand because it shows us how much our parents care for us, when sometimes this is not the case. Being educated on sexual behavior and identity is very important in life and should be understood the best it can.
To conclude, the stereotypes that circulate in American society of young black men make it difficult for them to thrive and live peacefully in our society. These stereotypes cause issues in the business world, encounters with law enforcement and even everyday in the general public. It is unfair that young black men are only seen as statistics or stereotypes by the majority due to skin pigmentation. But as a whole, young black males suffer the consequences of the few imbeciles that play into these stereotypes. Though unfortunate and unfair but it is the duty of young black men to shift these negatives to positives. As well as, not play into these stereotypes and overcome.
Understanding sex and sexuality in the South is beyond a challenge. Those wanting to explore these concepts are met with rigid, religious traditions and ignorant, bigots who perpetuate the ideals of the stubborn South. This is especially difficult for the youth of the South who are still trying to find themselves and navigate the trials and tribulations of life.The protagonists of both Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones and Jim Grimsley’s Dream Boy come from two contrasting backgrounds yet, both share the same struggles of understanding themselves and their sexuality and coming to terms with their sexuality.
She sheds a light of how early Black feminist scholars such as Collins have been criticized for relying too heavily on colonial ideology around the black female body. Subjectively neglecting the contemporary lived experience of Black women. Critiques such as these highlights the Black female agency in the representation of the body. viewing this as a human and sexual rights or health perspective has been lending to the contemporary Black feminist debates about the representation of Black female bodies and Black eroticism within the culture of
Among the most prominent are strains of racism/classism, belonging and dislocation, death and meaning and self-identity, and sexual awakening. In a slim 187 pages the author competently weaves social commentary (via the seemingly innocent adolescent perspective) into a moving narrative that only occasionally veers toward the pedantic.
Today, the media plays an essential role in the Western civilization. Considering this, entertainment, social media, and the news are all intrinsically valuable media literacy devices. In addition, the media “helps to maintain a status quo in which certain groups in our society routinely have access to power and privilege while others do not” (Mulvaney 2016). For instance, both in the music and pornographic industry the female body is perceived as a sexual object. In Dreamworlds 3: Desire, Sex & Power in Music Video, Sut Jhally mentions that “examining the stories that music videos tell us about both male and female sexuality, about what is considered normal, allows us to do more than just understand one aspect of our culture” (Jhally 2007).
...ers, Kim. Sexual Teens, Sexual Media: Investigating Media’s Influence on Adolescent Sexuality. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.
Today it is no longer a novelty to hear that teenagers are having sex. However, while this “bedroom” activity may be fun, there are now ample reports indicating that rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in teenagers have skyrocketed. Current data reveal that nearly 25% of adolescent girls who have sex are infected with one of the four commonly sexually transmitted infections-namely gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and HIV (Kann et al, 2015). Nationally, the prevalence of STDs account for 50% of cases in people under the age of 25. While every ethnic and race has been known to be affected, African American youth are disproportionately affected. These data are not a surprise to professionals who are engaged in adolescent sexual health because the numbers have been slowly creeping up over the decades, despite national educational policies to counter the threat of STDs (Sales & DiClemente, 2016). All the STDs have a significant impact on sexual and reproductive health, if they are mot promptly diagnosed and treated. Although many preventive strategies have been implemented in all communities, the rates of STDs are still increasing (Madkour et al, 2016).
Martinez, Gladys, Joyce Abma, and Casey Copen. “Educating Teenagers About Sex In The United States”. CDC.GOV. Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Feb.2014