African American Women : Hypersexualized Vs. Angry Black Woman

If you turn on the television or flip through a fashion magazine, it is very likely you will presented with many displays of hypersexualization of girls and women in advertising images and in media. There are many components to sexualization. It occurs, according to the American Psychological Association, when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics.” This person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy. “Sexualization” happens when a person is sexually objectified- that is, made into a thing for others’ sexual use, rather than being seen as a person with their own independent actions and abilities to make decisions. Oftentimes, sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person without their knowing it or consent. Sometimes, researchers use the word “hypersexualization” to describe roughly the same idea. In the article, “Media’s Growing Sexualization of Women”, hypersexualization is defined as, “The act of making something extremely sexual and erotic.”

Shameless is a Golden-Globe nominated show with a white dominated cast. One of the siblings on the show is black, but is identified as a White male contrary to the character’s skin tone. “When it comes to representations of Blacks on television, the 1980s can be seen as a decade of elevated inclusion both in terms of the quantity and quality of roles -- which remains the norm today. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). Over the years, we will see more shows gearing their audiences to the black community. Producers add in a few social issues to reel viewers in, but the fact remains the same that a prime time heavy hitting shows, will most likely have less than 20% of their cast of African descent. In consonance with researchers, blacks currently constitute between 14-17 percent of the prime-time population. (Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi, 2015). The lack of representation in the media can lead to some interpreting that the Caucasian race is the superior race, and in retrospect, can influence the attitudes and beliefs of viewers. Prior research has shown that exposure to counter stereotypic exemplars in the media can have a positive effect on inter-group relations. (Scharrer, & Ramasubramanian, 2015) In order to reduce the misrepresentation from taking over the media, we must depict a positive image on the lives of minorities and portray them as successful, thriving human beings. By

When you look at the amount of African American stars on television, it is easy to tell that stereotypes of African Americans are being portrayed negatively. Since the 1960s, black television has thrived in many different ways. From “Different Matters” to “Insecure”, African Americans have tried to get rid of this stigma. African Americans are constantly shown as. However, with the increase of representation comes an increase in misrepresentation. The amount of discrimination has risen exponentially in the United States. This is due to the increased hatred and miscommunication of black struggle and black problems in the world, causing an inhumane belief and standard of regular African Americans in the world.

Over the years television has been known to be one of the major educating and socializing institution in America. Television in today’s society is able to play a powerful key through which individuals can be informed, hold forums, and voice their opinion‘s. Television is also important because it offers us glimpses into minority life and minority figures. When sociologists examine minorities in television they document how minorities are portrayed and how those portrayals have changed over the years. Through time, minorities in television have been able to make moderate gains whether they are in front of or behind cameras. However, they continue to remain significantly underrepresented as leading actors in films, as writers, and as TV show creators. Even though minorities are significantly underrepresented in today’s society the TV industry has been pushing to give an opportunity to many minority groups in succeeding in the media. Several TV shows and commercials have succeeded in the TV industry to try and change how minorities are underrepresented, however, there are also shows that reinforce stereotypes and are prejudice towards minorities.

Have you ever noticed the recurring stereotypes of black women that is portrayed on reality television? Everyday you can look on television and tune into any network and see the madness that goes on. Whether it be Love and Hip Hop, Bad Girls Club, or The Real Housewives of Atlanta, you  can see the exaggerated confrontations and animated expressions given off by these women. Media stereotypes of the angry black women have become more persuasive in recent years than ever before. If we as a whole stop these television networks from promoting dangerous stigmas on black women, we can increase the amount of positive representation of women of color drastically in television, advertising, and social media.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” Barack Obama. The question is always asked does the media reflect the reality of society, or does society try and imitate the reality shown by the media? There are a number of stereotypes associated with African Americans in our society such as African American men are athletes, rappers, criminals, deviant, streetwise, uneducated, and unemployed just to name a few. African Americans in the media have changed through the years. The history of African Americans on TV or minorities in general is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are embedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypically and assigned to comedy. This has often been traced to the genre of black minstrelsy that was popular in the early 20th century.

The over sexualized perceptions of black women began with the inadequate observations and studies done by biased white males. Black women were believed to have exaggerated sex organs and uncontrollable sexuality (58). This stereotype was locked in during slavery while African American women were subject to abuse from

Although Jacobs could not know that her criticisms of the way women were treated in slavery would transcend into the modern era, it is important to understand them because they have uprooted explanations as to why they exist. The fact that slave women were sexually corrupted and manipulated in a system of power at the beginning of American history set the foundation for these beliefs to stay deeply rooted within many people. Much of society still believes that black women are sexual deviants or lowly members of society that deserve to be

Black women have never “had it easy” or “had it made” when it comes to the entertainment business. Hollywood has always been white-washed when it comes to the direction they wanted to go in terms of actors for their movies. Most roles that are casted are for white women and men, and the black actors/actresses are given whatever is left. It is truly not fair at all. When black women are given the opportunity to embody a traditionally white role, they are nothing short of phenomenal. This makes one wonder why they are still given supporting roles. African-American women have struggled to gain promising roles in Hollywood, which has hurt their acting careers and affected their lives.

Have you ever tried to eliminate the way people view you? Black women in the United States have been seen as “angry black women” for a multitude of years and no matter how many have proven to society that they aren’t angry, society refuses to accept such proof. Black women have been covered with this stereotype and essentially been made invisible. Although many have empowered themselves and are breaking the stereotype they as still made invisible on the grounds that society refuses to divulge them by understanding why some women may have such behavior, recognizing those who do not display such behavior, and lastly by accepting black women for being strong enough to break such a

This inaccuracy is likely due to the lack of diversity among scriptwriters and television producers. Screenwriters simply regurgitated the images that were fed to them by the white majority. But, in the past few years Hollywood has undergone a somewhat dramatic shift. Black people are beginning to write roles for other black women. As a result, America is beginning to see a new type of black woman-one who is not hyper sexualized, overly angry, or unintelligent. This new breed of black female heroines is just that-heroines. Characters in television shows like Being Mary Jane and Insecure convey characters who are witty, career-driven, educated, and

The inclusion of these factors is known as intersectionality. It is necessary to acknowledge this idea of intersectionality, to truly understand how women of color are impacted by their hypersexualization. The hypersexualization of Black women, is a pervasive idea that has persisted since the times of slavery. The perception of Black women as being primal,

Plenty of television shows and movies appear to be diverse, but after a closer look, unsurprisingly, roles tend to be overwhelmingly pale and male. While I thought the media I watched showed a variety of races, it turns out 74% of the characters are white, and 51% are white males. Shows like The Walking Dead and New Girl both feature racially diverse characters, but are anchored around a white protagonist. In The Shawshank Redemption, the main character, again, a white character, is the hero of the story, but receives crucial assistance from an African American man. Only 26% of characters were nonwhite and only 32% were women.

It is not uncommon for black people in television to be looked at as less than. Since there is a lack of representation for minority groups in television, when they are included it creates room for them to experience “Cultural Blackmail” (Drew, 330). This term refers to how people of colour are often limited to certain roles if they are even incorporated in the first place (Drew, 330). This can be seen with Nia in Dance Moms. Nia is often limited to the number of solos that she receives, and when she does receive one it is often an ethnic dance.

Sexualization is to make something sexual in character or quality, or to become aware of sexuality, especially in relation to men and women; sexualization is often linked to sexual objectification. Before the sexualization of Africans/African Americans, sexualization was given to inanimate objects, Europeans documentation of their conquest is doused with language that’s sexually suggestive to describe the nature of the “discovered” land. Columbus himself wrote that the earth was shaped like a woman’s bosom, discovers also constantly referred to the newly “found” Americas as “virgin land”—suggesting that the land is uninhabited and empty. Hypersexualization is a little different; hypersexualization is defined as a dysfunctional preoccupation with sexual fantasy, often in combination with the obsessive pursuit of casual or non-intimate sex; pornography; compulsive masturbation; romantic intensity and objectified partner sex for a period of at least six months. Preceding Great Britain’s colonization of the Americas, the English were being fed false truths about the nature of African people; the men of Africa were said to have enormous penises and their women engaged in sex with apes regularly. As dramatic as these tales were, they were taken as facts and were most Europeans first impressions of Africans. Europeans had been doing this to the black body for centuries through institutionalized slavery and mediums of art.