Are Representations of African-American Women in Media Accurate?

Negative Images of African Americans in the Media

Mass media is a powerful force in American pop culture. Images seen on billboard
s, television, magazines, and the big screen create lasting impressions. Sometim
es these impressions have a negative impact. Mass media can be very detrimental
to society if it is not criticized. Many groups of Americans are negatively affe
cted by the images and content of mass media. African Americans are at the top o
f this list.
Images of African Americans in television, music, and film are often less than s
tellar. Black men are often portrayed as drug pushers, pimps, thugs, and dead be
at dads, while black women are portrayed as poor, lazy, and promiscuous. This ne
eds to stop! That is a given! Question is, how are these negative images going t
o be stopped? Several steps should be taken in order to prevent these negative i
mages in the media. The origins of these images need to be examined, and modern
racism and prejudice need to be exposed.
There may be some accuracy to the negative images of African Americans in the me
dia, but that is no excuse. The media should focus more on uplifting people. Afr
ican Americans have historically had a disadvantage when compared to their white
counterparts. This should not be exploited for entertainment purposes. African
Americans are often placed in roles that portray them as poorly educated. This d
ates all the way to minstrel shows! This is still a problem today! Americans are
more comfortable laughing at blacks as appose to understanding blacks.
The main problem with images of African Americans is that they are one dimension
al. African Americans are diverse and come from a variety of backgrounds. If an
African American is portrayed as a druggie or a convict, then there should be so
me reasoning behind this. People don't become drug addicts for the fun of it; th
ey become drug addicts because they want to numb themselves from the pain and su
ffering of their everyday lives. Black men and women don't become criminals beca
use they are horrible people. They become criminals because they are taught that
they have no other option!

Does images of African-American women in media really affect lives of women of c

olor?
The media generally portrays African-American women as unfeminine, loud, uneduca
ted, and aggressive. It also tends to downgrade the "blackness" of women that do
n't fit into these stereotypes. In magazines, I often see images of celebs like
Rihanna, Tyra Banks, Beyonce, and Halle Berry with much lighter complexions and/
or eye colors than they actually have. Although it is great that African-America
n women are gaining prominence in today's society, I believe that people aren't
truly embracing the unique beauty women of color posses. Few celebs retain their
natural hair textures and many of them get nose jobs to appear more white or In
dian. The typical West African features are very poorly represented.
All these images make it hard for young African-American girls like myself. Many
young women lighten their skin tones and get weaves while others have low self-
esteems because they cannot conform to our society's narrow standard of beauty.
African women in their early twenties and thirties who came into America as adul
t are facing dilemma of how to proceed with their social life, given different E
nvironment, Culture, Language, Social life style, Christian heritage, Family exp
ectations, Working and Schooling at the same time, Distance between where they c
ome from (Africa) and United States, Immigration issues, Financial issues, and a
host other issues.
Environment: Environmental difference plays a role in the life of most foriegner
s. As a foreigner, you have to learn and adjust to the new environment,system, p
olicys, rules and regulations of the Country.

Culture: Cultural differences is a major issue,

American culture is different from African Culture. Example unmarried young wome
n in America find it very easy to move in with a men and it is like a normal thi
ng. In Africa,such things are seriuosly frowned at, and it does limit the chance
s of a girl getting married. So that young African girls struggle with acceptab
le norms in America. African girls struggle with the pressure of doing the righ
t thing .

Language: This is a big problem to young African women, it creates limitations

and barrie to the level of understanding in communication. Couples from two diff
erent background could misinterpret some things spoken in English language beca
sue they interprete things differently where they come from. These creat a ba
rrie to growth in relationship.
Social Life Style: Christian young women find it difficult to meet up with the l
ife style in America, going to clubs, wearing clothes that exposes the woman bod
y etc

Christian Heritage: Young Christian Women from Africa has noted that the practic
e of Christianity here is different from what they experience back in Africa. Th
ey feel it is hard making decisions regarding who is a real christian and who
is not.

Family Expectations: This is the big one, Parents have great expectations from
their daughters, they expect them to marry an African, they have specific list o
f the kind of a man they should marry. Some parents want their daughters to marr
y from their Christian denomination, example a Catholic Parent want their daught
er to marry a catholic, same thing applies to Anglican parents. They also expec
t that their daughters marry some one from their state of origin, example Africa
n that speaks same dialect. Their is absoluetly nothing wrong in these expectati
ons, they are all healthy except that in some cases it might not work out as par
ents wish.

Work & School: It is very difficult for Africans to adjust to this situation, be
cause they are used to going to school, graduating from school before having a j
ob. Here they have to go to school at the same time keep a job. This gives no ro
om and time for any one to socialize or meet the "right guy". For the men, this
might not be a problem, for the women, it is a big problem, because they also wa
nt to go to school, get a degree, and get married.

Distance between Africa & America: It is such a long distance and a lot of money
involve for air fare and traveling. This creates stress, puts limits on dating
some one from home or dating some one here. The fear of distant relationship and
not being able to keep up creates limit and put strain on such relationships.
Immigration: Immigration /Visa issues is a big problem that creates limitation a
nd course dilemma for young women, even when they are able to keep a long distan
ce relationship and finally gets married, it remains a problem, they are not sur
e if they will be able to bring their spouse here,how long it will take to proce
ss paper and save up money for relocating the man. what is the waiting period be
fore they can finally be together. This is scary, because it could take years. M
ay be 5-10 years. No young couple wants to be apart in their early married life.

Financial Issue: Money Plays an important role in the life of Africans, first if
your parents are back home, than you are thinking of saving up money to have yo
ur wedding back home and that is allot of money. Given financial challenges you
are thinking of marrying some one from Africa to give you opportunity of going b
ack home other wise, it becomes more difficult.
Educational level and background of the man. It is obvious that as a lady livin
g in United States, you tend to be established settled in a job or what ever the
case might be. Given the fact that No matter the level of your education in for
eign Country, once you get to United States, your degree is not so much as worth
any thing, since you have to go through process to prove your qualifications an
d in some cases, you have to go to school all over again. This creates a problem
and concern for our young women, because than you have to deal with the waiting
period and than you have to deal with your spouse to be or husband going throug
h the period of adjustment and settling down, to have a harmonious relationship
as husband and wife. All this creates stress and strain to a relationship.
What can we do as women of God and Parents to help support and make it easier on
our young women in making these great important decisions in their lives?
Our young women have suggested that first of all they need their Parents to unde
rstand the frustration that they are going through, be realistic about some of t
he expectations they are making on them.

Inter-racial marriage