1/27/2009
The images portrayed by the media are dynamic. They change with the times. We watched a part of the film "Ethnic Notions." This film described and depicted the images of Black Americans before, during, and after slavery in America. Some of the common images were:
-The Black Mammie: an overweight, asexual, strong woman, who is very loyal to her white family.
-The Sambo: the laughing, carefree, lazy man.
-Jim Crow: a dancing man with tattered clothing.
-Zip Coon: a buffoon, who tries to dress well and is trying to fight slavery.
-Pickaninny: an animalistic child who is often depicted in trees or by a river.
-The Brute: a violent, and animalistic person who is out of control due to the lack of enslavement.
The intentions of these depictions were to justify slavery as well as entertain people. I thought these depictions were sickening. But, following the film, we discussed how these images have either lingered or changed over time. The modern stereotypical images are often brought about by the Hip Hop or Rap culture. We see Black women depicted as very sexy and beautiful, as demonstrated in music videos. The stereotypical black man is either seen as a rapper (again, along with the Hip Hop culture) or as a criminal (as discussed in the reading).
The Kivel reading discusses how Blacks are generally feared. An example given in the reading was, when a Black man walks near you, do you clutch your purse / wallet, or if you're in the car, do you lock your doors. This behavior, for many, is a natural "instinct" that has been ingrained into our culture from the images portrayed in the media. Black men are seen as dangerous in our culture. This stereotype aids in racial profiling. Why else would we have such a higher of percentage of Black men imprisoned than the ratio actually is in the free society?
This same stereotype is left-over from the "Brute" image seen during the reconstruction period after the Civil War / Slavery. Blacks were seen as violent, dangerous individuals. Some films even depicted Black men chasing after White virgin women.
What's interesting is that, as Kivel says, most (80%) assaults / batteries / rapes are committed by people that the victim knows. And it's usually someone of the same race (often its a significant other, or other family member).
Often we justify our fears of other races by the usage of stories. You hear people say, "It's unfortunate, but my one negative experience (with a particular race) was..."
Well, I was thinking about that. And realized, I don't have any outstanding negative experiences with people of a different race than me. And it's because, the most negative experiences (not that there are really all that many) I've had with people are with people who are White, like myself. Then I started to wonder why that was. And I realized, it's because for the majority of my life, I've been surrounded by people just. like. me. Despite not having any negative experiences with people outside my race, I found myself answering "yes" to some of Kivel's questions: "Have you ever been in your car when a person of color drove past? Did you reach over to lock your car door?" Kivel explained that these reactions were woven into our cultural fabric. But, I think that the education (social education, outside of the school setting) I received about different races was very biased. I now understand much more than I did when I was in third grade and am able to make decisions for myself instead of just thinking that the "right" viewpoint was what my father would say about the O. J. Simpson case, for example.
As uncomfortable as the movie "Ethnic Notions" made me feel, I'm really glad it got me thinking about stereotypes in a new way. I don't usually think about the ways that people outside of my own group are depicted in the media. But, it's good to be aware.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Colorblindness & Children
After reading the literature for class and attending class today, there were two concepts that left quite an impression on me.
1. The topic of "colorblindness." The movie that we viewed in class today at the end of it was advocating this topic. And media reports say that my generation is the most "colorblind" of any previous generation. But after completing the readings, these statements were troubling to me. There is no such thing as colorblindness. Social Psychology says that stereotypes and prejudices are not only natural, but beneficial (Confronting Racism text). They help to understand the environment quickly. It's actually an evolutionary survival tactic. Everyone notices race. I know I notice race all the time - especially if I am the minority... or if the majority of people in a situation are white and there is only one, or very few people of color. The problem with stereotypes is that they are often inaccurate.
But, the text offers a solution to change stereotypes and prejudices. It is a more effortful solution, but it seems like it would work. Every time you meet someone, you form a stereotype. But you should try to get to know that individual, ask him or her questions, to get the "real" person, not just what your split-second perception is of that person.
Personally, I would love to do this. And I'm an outgoing person, so I think this is feasible for me. But, like everyone else (at least I assume), I get scared. I stutter my words and get nervous about what to say (this usually isn't a problem for me). I think it can be fair to say that sometimes when I'm exposed to someone new who is different than me, I get shy. I'm not really sure what this means. But, that's where my thoughts are going now.
2. The early recognition of race in children. There were two examples in the reading that really stuck out to me. The first was a class of kindergartners were asked to draw a picture of a Native American / Indian. All of their pictures included feathers and often times, weapons.
This interested me because in my elementary school experience, we studied Native Americans in third grade. We were taught to use the term "Native Americans" rather than "Indians" because it was the "right thing to say" or that "they liked that term better." This was in third grade. Now, flash forward about five years. I was babysitting and one of the kids was in third grade at the same elementary school I attended. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but I said something about the "Indians" (I usually use the term "Native American," but I wasn't sure that the children I was babysitting for would be familiar with that term). The third grader corrected me and told me that we should call them "Native Americans." I think it's refreshing to know that schools now-a-days are teaching more racial history as well as proper terminology.
Another example in the text that had to do with children and race was in the Kivel text. The story about the little girl who brought in a black barbie doll for show and tell. Her classmates responded with comments describing how ugly the doll was and how it was "not Barbie." This reminded me of a different time when I was babysitting. I was playing Barbie Dolls with the children, and I often chose the Barbie Doll with dark brown hair and tan skin because I thought that she was pretty (and not like all the other Barbies with the yellow hair that all looked the same to me). One time, the little girl asked me, "Why do you always choose the ugly Barbie?" I was really taken aback by this question, because this girl thought that only the light-skinned, blonde barbies were the pretty ones. It's interesting that even slight differences in skin tone and hair color can make all the difference in childrens' eyes.
1. The topic of "colorblindness." The movie that we viewed in class today at the end of it was advocating this topic. And media reports say that my generation is the most "colorblind" of any previous generation. But after completing the readings, these statements were troubling to me. There is no such thing as colorblindness. Social Psychology says that stereotypes and prejudices are not only natural, but beneficial (Confronting Racism text). They help to understand the environment quickly. It's actually an evolutionary survival tactic. Everyone notices race. I know I notice race all the time - especially if I am the minority... or if the majority of people in a situation are white and there is only one, or very few people of color. The problem with stereotypes is that they are often inaccurate.
But, the text offers a solution to change stereotypes and prejudices. It is a more effortful solution, but it seems like it would work. Every time you meet someone, you form a stereotype. But you should try to get to know that individual, ask him or her questions, to get the "real" person, not just what your split-second perception is of that person.
Personally, I would love to do this. And I'm an outgoing person, so I think this is feasible for me. But, like everyone else (at least I assume), I get scared. I stutter my words and get nervous about what to say (this usually isn't a problem for me). I think it can be fair to say that sometimes when I'm exposed to someone new who is different than me, I get shy. I'm not really sure what this means. But, that's where my thoughts are going now.
2. The early recognition of race in children. There were two examples in the reading that really stuck out to me. The first was a class of kindergartners were asked to draw a picture of a Native American / Indian. All of their pictures included feathers and often times, weapons.
This interested me because in my elementary school experience, we studied Native Americans in third grade. We were taught to use the term "Native Americans" rather than "Indians" because it was the "right thing to say" or that "they liked that term better." This was in third grade. Now, flash forward about five years. I was babysitting and one of the kids was in third grade at the same elementary school I attended. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but I said something about the "Indians" (I usually use the term "Native American," but I wasn't sure that the children I was babysitting for would be familiar with that term). The third grader corrected me and told me that we should call them "Native Americans." I think it's refreshing to know that schools now-a-days are teaching more racial history as well as proper terminology.
Another example in the text that had to do with children and race was in the Kivel text. The story about the little girl who brought in a black barbie doll for show and tell. Her classmates responded with comments describing how ugly the doll was and how it was "not Barbie." This reminded me of a different time when I was babysitting. I was playing Barbie Dolls with the children, and I often chose the Barbie Doll with dark brown hair and tan skin because I thought that she was pretty (and not like all the other Barbies with the yellow hair that all looked the same to me). One time, the little girl asked me, "Why do you always choose the ugly Barbie?" I was really taken aback by this question, because this girl thought that only the light-skinned, blonde barbies were the pretty ones. It's interesting that even slight differences in skin tone and hair color can make all the difference in childrens' eyes.
Politics & Race - The Inauguration
1/20/2009
So today was Inauguration Day. Inauguration of our first president who is a person of color. So far one out of forty four US presidents has not been white. We briefly discussed the minority make up of the senators throughout the years in class this evening, so I decided to do a little research:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/minority_senators.htm
There have been six African American senators, five Asian American senators (all from Hawaii except one), six Hispanic senators, and three Native American senators. This is such a sad number considering there have been about, what 2000 senators in US history?
Anyway, I watched the Inauguration speech today, and I thought it was just so moving. The camera panned the crowd and the crowd was so emotional - the mixture between the emotions running through the crowd and the words President Obama was saying were so moving that I actually started to tear up. Maybe it was just since I'm more aware of race now than I ever have been before, but I noticed many people of color in the crowd. Not just Blacks, but all races - Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, White... Obama really spoke a lot about inclusion and "bringing everyone to the table." It really seems like he has a very diverse group of supporters, and I think this is the first step toward something great in our country. I think America has made a huge step against racism in electing a man of color to be the leader of our country.
So today was Inauguration Day. Inauguration of our first president who is a person of color. So far one out of forty four US presidents has not been white. We briefly discussed the minority make up of the senators throughout the years in class this evening, so I decided to do a little research:
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/minority_senators.htm
There have been six African American senators, five Asian American senators (all from Hawaii except one), six Hispanic senators, and three Native American senators. This is such a sad number considering there have been about, what 2000 senators in US history?
Anyway, I watched the Inauguration speech today, and I thought it was just so moving. The camera panned the crowd and the crowd was so emotional - the mixture between the emotions running through the crowd and the words President Obama was saying were so moving that I actually started to tear up. Maybe it was just since I'm more aware of race now than I ever have been before, but I noticed many people of color in the crowd. Not just Blacks, but all races - Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, White... Obama really spoke a lot about inclusion and "bringing everyone to the table." It really seems like he has a very diverse group of supporters, and I think this is the first step toward something great in our country. I think America has made a huge step against racism in electing a man of color to be the leader of our country.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Exposure to Race
1/13/08
So I just started this blog for my psychology of racism class. We just had our first class and even that got me thinking a lot about how my life has been affected by race. I guess I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it until we met in class.
We were asked in class to think of our first experience with race. As I tried to think of one, it became apparent that I grew up very sheltered. The first interaction I could remember was in first grade when I developed the "Asians are smart" stereotype because the only non-white girl was an Asian girl who was the smartest person in our class. My elementary school really had no people of color. In third grade, a Mexican family moved in, and I remember beginning a prejudice - it was what everyone did. Everyone talked about her because she couldn't speak English, she lived in the low-income apartments, and smelled different. In retrospect, it's sad, really, seeing children at such a young age developing such poor habits.
I had more interactions with different ethnicities as a child than different races - I would estimate that about 95% of my community is white and Christian. When we found out the new girl was Jewish, it was really exciting for everyone since she was different than everyone else. Everyone wanted to be friends with her because she was not like the rest of us.
But, sadly enough, I don't think it was until high school until I actually had friends outside of my own ethnicity, and even so, they weren't close friends. It wasn't until my first year of college that I was very good friends with someone outside of my race. My best friend from freshman year is Philippino. It's interesting that I actually had my first "real" discussion about race with her. She told me that she didn't see herself as "Asian", she felt like she was more white than Asian despite her parents being immigrants to America. It was kind of similar to what was said in class this evening. One of the students said that despite his Asian ethnicity, he felt a greater connection to being white than Asian since he grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and hung out with all white kids at school.
I realize I have grown up very sheltered, and some may say "in a bubble", but I believe my college experience is really opening me up to new types of people and new experiences. The classes I'm taking and the friends I'm making are allowing me to become more open-minded. It's a good change, and I like it.
So I just started this blog for my psychology of racism class. We just had our first class and even that got me thinking a lot about how my life has been affected by race. I guess I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it until we met in class.
We were asked in class to think of our first experience with race. As I tried to think of one, it became apparent that I grew up very sheltered. The first interaction I could remember was in first grade when I developed the "Asians are smart" stereotype because the only non-white girl was an Asian girl who was the smartest person in our class. My elementary school really had no people of color. In third grade, a Mexican family moved in, and I remember beginning a prejudice - it was what everyone did. Everyone talked about her because she couldn't speak English, she lived in the low-income apartments, and smelled different. In retrospect, it's sad, really, seeing children at such a young age developing such poor habits.
I had more interactions with different ethnicities as a child than different races - I would estimate that about 95% of my community is white and Christian. When we found out the new girl was Jewish, it was really exciting for everyone since she was different than everyone else. Everyone wanted to be friends with her because she was not like the rest of us.
But, sadly enough, I don't think it was until high school until I actually had friends outside of my own ethnicity, and even so, they weren't close friends. It wasn't until my first year of college that I was very good friends with someone outside of my race. My best friend from freshman year is Philippino. It's interesting that I actually had my first "real" discussion about race with her. She told me that she didn't see herself as "Asian", she felt like she was more white than Asian despite her parents being immigrants to America. It was kind of similar to what was said in class this evening. One of the students said that despite his Asian ethnicity, he felt a greater connection to being white than Asian since he grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and hung out with all white kids at school.
I realize I have grown up very sheltered, and some may say "in a bubble", but I believe my college experience is really opening me up to new types of people and new experiences. The classes I'm taking and the friends I'm making are allowing me to become more open-minded. It's a good change, and I like it.
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