Many of us are faced with the idea that we will never be able to live up to society 's expectations. That no matter what we do as human beings, nothing will ever be perfect to society. In the short documentary film “A Girl like Me,” the director of the film examines the importance of color of skin, hair and facial features for young African-American woman. The director 's purpose was to empower the women and let them know they can overcome these false stereotypes. The film starts by including some of the most common misconceptions and stereotypes of African-American women, naming a few were, loud, ghetto, and obnoxious. These stereotypes caused a buildup of anger and insecurities that these young women think they are forced to live with. As
Davis includes sources in the film, such as recreating the famous doll test based on the experiment of the 1940 's by psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark. The recreated experiment shows how children of color prefer a white doll over a black doll. Using the doll test as a source adds facts that further boost the credibility of Davis’s argument by showing the negative effects society’s perception has on African-American women. Davis also uses personal experiences of the women in the film and uses that to introduce a variety of issues thrown at the women to support her
Towards the middle and throughout the film the audience only witness what African-American women have to say about the stereotypes, but what about the white women? Shouldn’t they be able to have an opinion formed as well? Davis is trying to stress the importance of this film to the black community but not only does African-American women go through daily stereotypical standards formed against them. I know the film was meant to get women to understand that no matter the circumstance they can overcome what society has to say about them. No matter the skin tone, the hair type, beauty runs skin deep. But isn’t that for all women? We all have our insecurities and we all live through the standards society tells women they have to live with. African-American women aren’t the only ones who have faults and insecurities, women of all color go through a majority of the same stereotypes thrown at them. Davis argument would have more strongly appealed to logos if she would have included factual beliefs and insecurities of women of all races to further strengthen her argument and to further persuade the
Besides, in cultivation theory, George Gerbner proposes that heavy users of media treat the content of media as a primary source to perceive the world and assert what they see in media is very similar to the reality (Bryant, Thompson and Finklea, 2013), so there is a high possibility that audience will bring the perception of stereotyped portrayals of African-American from media into the real world. Based on the above unhealthy situations, this paper is going to illustrate how the racial stereotypes in media negatively affect people’s perception, attitude and behavior toward African American in the reality....
...can also be applied to other groups. She focuses on the experiences of black women as they respond to this limitation, but her underlying ideas can be used to discuss other peoples’ experiences as well, especially in terms of how they define themselves in relation to the controlling images associated with them. While Skylar is not part of the demographic Hill Collins discusses explicitly, she does illustrate the interaction between controlling images and self-definitions, including resistance, and using dialogue and concrete experiences to determine whether knowledge claims are accurate. Most people, regardless of their place in society, experience controlling images, or someone else’s “first impressions” of them, with consequential limitations imposed on their abilities to be who they really are. Thus, it is important to examine how to confront and challenge this.
Within this film the sociological concept based around sex & gender is hit quite a few times. Missy, a new comer to her current school, tries out for the cheering team. She is put under lots of scrutiny from some of the members of the cheer squad. She is underestimated due to her appearance and she proves herself to the team. They already had a candidate in mind, but the captain lets the other two team members know that Missy will be on the team. Hearing this noise infuriated them and they called Missy an “uber dyke” which is a sex and gender stereotype. Missy was treated this way all based on the way she prefered to
In mainstream America, black women are often stereotypically portrayed as sex workers, welfare queens, blue-collar service workers, video vixens, and entertainers (Collins 2004). Within these stereotypical depictions, black women are viewed as loud, angry, ghetto, hypersexual, and sometimes violent (Chavous et al. 2004; Childs 2005; Collins 2004; Nguyen & Anthony 2014; Wilkins 2012). In contrast, positive stereotypes of black women showcase them as strong, independent, resilient, loyal to their families and romantic partners, and responsible for sustaining the African American family. These images promote constructive illustrations of black women, even though popularized images negatively portray black women (Chavous et al. 2004;
It is sad to know that we cohabit a nation where you are frowned upon because of the content of your skin. This documentary depicts adolescent Black/ African American girl and boys, and women talking about their melanin. Society imposed on us that to be beautiful you must be of a fairly light complexion, have a sculpted body, perfect bone structure, and have nice non-kinky hair. This image has been imbedded in our society, and resulted in those in the Black/ African American community feeling as is they are ugly, non lovable, unwanted, not smart, less than, lacking self confidence, and wishing that they can change their skin tone (by bleaching) to be accepted and to be considered beautiful.
On Being Young-A Woman-and Colored an essay by Marita Bonner addresses what it means to be black women in a world of white privilege. Bonner reflects about a time when she was younger, how simple her life was, but as she grows older she is forced to work hard to live a life better than those around her. Ultimately, she is a woman living with the roles that women of all colors have been constrained to. Critics, within the last 20 years, believe that Marita Bonners’ essay primarily focuses on the double consciousness ; while others believe that she is focusing on gender , class , “economic hardships, and discrimination” . I argue that Bonner is writing her essay about the historical context of oppression forcing women into intersectional oppression by explaining the naturality of racial discrimination between black and white, how time and money equate to the American Dream, and lastly how gender discrimination silences women, specifically black women.
...nd attractive. It creates a double consciousness that is difficult to reconcile. Carla Williams argues that “given the legacy of images created of black women… it is an especially complex task for contemporary black women to define their own image, one that necessarily both incorporates and subverts the stereotypes, myths, facts and fantasies that have preceded them. (Wallace-Sanders et.al, 196) The root of the problem lies within our society. While very culpable, mainstream music and advertisements are not the only promoters of female objectification; the key is unwinding the inner tensions between these two groups. There is a need for the promotion of female solidarity, regardless of their skin color. We need to rid society of the evil of racism—only then will conceptions surrounding African Americans parallel and be as positive as those surrounding white women.
“As a young girl, I already knew the standards for a girl like me” is one of the most poignant lines in Kiri Davis’ respectively titled A Girl Like Me. The line itself is a strong punch to the standards we hold black women specifically in our society, with a sour aftertaste. Throughout the film there are plenty of other jabs involving stereotypes and standards of beauty. One of them being the retelling of how darker shades of black women felt the need to bleach their skin, even at the age of six, to try to fit a mold of black beauty. With these toxic standards of beauty in place, a six-year-old and a twenty-five-year-old can share the same bias that society ingrained in them. They can even say they love themselves—except for the color/shade
To prevent these discriminations’ from transpiring again we need to stop people’s prejudices of African Americans. Prejudice can be defined as biologically similar people who hold strong beliefs that cause them to discriminate another object (Pearson). Prejudices start from the home in which the child and raised in and continually grows until that child reaches adulthood, and then the cycle continues and is passed on from generation to generation. To stop the cycle of prejudice and go on toward the goal of equality, we can eliminate the stereotypes that destroy others perceptions of African Americans, by making it known we are all one race- the human race. African Americans should not be defined by their complexion but rather the good they have brought to the world. Letting it be known that we are all equal and should be treated in that respect.
Davis stated that racism draws strength from the ability to encourage sexual coercion. Black women, who were rape victims, receive little sympathy from law enforcement and judges. Not only because of racism that has grown over time against black men, but black women as well. Since black men were categorized as rapist, black women were suggested to be loose and promiscuous. Since black women were suggested to be whores and sexual immoral, their cries of rape went unheard because they lack legitimacy in a society that believed men were provoked to acted in a natural way. Davis believes that the creation of the black rapist was used as a scapegoat in order to veil the true problem of black women being sexually assaulted by white men. A historical feature of racism is that white men, especially those with money and authority, possess an indisputable right to access a Black woman’s body. Davis also stated that the institution of lynching complimented by the rape of Black women became and essential ingredient of postwar strategy of racism. Lynching and the labeling of black men being rapist and raping black women for being promiscuous, both black men and women were able to be kept in check. By following the mainstream population, people fell into the trap of blaming the victim. Unfortunately a consequence was that blacks has to endure the punishment of lynching and black women were blamed for being victims of sexual
As one walks up to two identical pathways leading up to the same place and looks through the tainted eyes of our society, we see an African-American man on one path, and an old White woman on the other. Which path does one take? An unprejudiced would say both, whichever is shorter, but it seems that our society would think otherwise. It has been an undeniable and inevitable fact that stereotypes exist amongst humans. An African-American is blamed for the color of their skin, a woman is subject to being a housewife, and a man is supposed to be the “backbone” of a household. People know the existence of these stereotypes, yet they choose to accept the restricting boundaries of gender that their society lays out. These barriers trap the souls of each and every individual, and according to their gender, enforce the list of rules they must abide by. It’s a predicament that has spawned not only throughout our society, but also in the society created by Achebe, Ibo, and has
The messages of strength that African-American have been taught are reinforced at a young age, which ultimately shapes how anger should be expressed. Also to be taken into considerations are the ways that women divert or reroute their anger. This can be done in four different ways: containment (avoiding the expressing of anger), internalization, segmentation (detachment from the feelings of anger), and externalization (projection of blame for their uncomfortable feelings). This article also allows the reader to become educated in how African-American women gain their expectation of strength from. African-American women are taught through their culture that they are to be strong women; however these assumptions create unrealistic characterization. This unrealistic idea then creates a catch 22 for these women. On one hand it allows them to face adversity and on the other hand it creates a false image of a “superwoman”. These women also can then find themselves “caught in a double-bind: on the one hand she may experience anger and resentment related to the lack of control over her own life and on the other hand she ...
1. Charisse Jones and Kumea Shorter-Gooden convey the fact that Black women in the United States still experience racism and sexism today. African American women have stereotypes and negative connotations attached to them causing them to experience oppression. In response to this, they undergo the “shifting” phenomenon where they alter themselves to fit into what society expects and wants from them. Black women undergo behavioral changes and emotional ups and downs in the face of bias. They feel stress trying to compromise their true selves. “Shifting” gives an insight of what it is like to jeopardize one’s true self in order to survive in society.
Today’s society is reflected on gender roles that affect everyone on a day to day basis, but, in decades to come, our society will evolve and become powerful in our own beliefs of how our gender will be perceived. In the Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, gender roles play a major role with African American women and how they perceive themselves as a lower class than the non colored. The masculine persona is that of a dominance over women, as characterized over the years from shows, movies, books, and celebrities. “Women are supposed to cook and do housework.” “Women are supposed to make less money than men.” Over the years, we as a society have changed many stereotypes of women and men and their gender roles. As the years go by, our society is considering and understanding that our role has nothing to do with our gender.
African American people have been oppressed for hundreds of years. Slavery was a significant time period when African/African American individuals endured massive oppression, which refers to the feeling of being deprived of their human rights and dignity (Reed, 2016). Knowing that my ancestors had to conceal their feelings along with their cultural values, makes me feel more entitled to express my ethnic identity as an African American woman. My ethnic identity has increase my sense of belongingness because it gives me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. Society has placed its’ social norms on modern day women, which allows men to make more for the same labor, or that stop successful women from achieving their goals by installing the glass ceiling. However, there is a higher increase of risk for African American women, such as decrease in the male head of household, along with urbanization. Which caused African American women to work long hours that resulted in a devastating shift in the family structure (Reed, 2016). Past, present and current experiences of African American women is why my ethnic identity is so important to me, because it is used as a constant reminder of the struggles that I have to overcome for my daughter and the generation after