Women in the Media

Are You What The Media Says You Are?

The idea that “you are your own person” holds no superiority in a society where stereotypes have influenced the outlooks on people by others. One should be able to be comfortable in their own skin without worrying what others how to say about them. Others often watch the actions of people very closely as well, which causes one to constantly look over their shoulder in approval of others. For those who do not worry about the views of others often fall under the negative stereotypes that have been labeling the African American community; the more commonly known: Jezebel.

For years African American women have been associated with negative stereotypes. For others, such as men the stereotypes of African American women was no problem. Elaine Richardson’s article “’To Protect and Serve’: African American Female Literacies,” she discusses the terms that are often used to describe women of the 20th century. She states: “Young black females often struggle to invent themselves against the distorted images of ‘money hungry heartless bitch,’ ‘Jezebel’, and good ole ‘Mammy’ among others, many of which were created during slavery (Richardson 676).” The African American community has been aware of these stereotypes for such a long period of time that they do not even know where to begin to break the chain. Black women being portrayed as Jezebel whores began during slavery and are still continued in today’s society as a result of the stereotypes created in media such as films, television, and magazines and as a result of this media the view of blacks on themselves have changed.

The early stereotype of Jezebel originated during slavery and the Jim Crow era. Under the Jim Crow laws blacks were inferior to the white race. Any gestures form blacks that would suggest inferiority to the whites or offend whites in any way was forbidden. Alongside the Jim Crow laws there