...Running head: RACIALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMALE BEAUTY 1 Racialized Representations of Female Beauty in Popular Culture (Name) University of New Mexico RACIALIZED REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMALE BEAUTY Racialized Representations of Female Beauty in Popular Culture 2 For the past 22 years People magazine has composed a list of the 50 most beautiful people. The list typically includes movie and television stars, musicians, British royalty, models, and television personalities. Every year the magazine crowns the year’s “most beautiful” and features them on the cover. Of the 22 most beautiful 19 have been women and out of the 19 women 16 have been White. This signals to People’s readers that beautiful means White and everything else does not equate beauty. However, this is not unique to People or even magazines like it, but instead represents a larger trend that is present in all forms of Western popular culture. In the various mediums of popular culture, ideologies about female beauty are exceedingly prevalent and constantly managed and reproduced. These ideologies carry with them the notion that in order to obtain ideal female beauty one must be very thin, young, have long hair, and wear expensive or revealing clothing (Stern, 2004). In addition to this there is also a raced definition of beauty, which predominates Western popular culture and dictates that White women with light hair and eye color can only attain true beauty. By looking closely at fashion magazines...
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...British governments have been committed to tackling various aspects of direct and indirect racial discrimination with the incentive of promoting 'equality of opportunity' and remedying other social disadvantages suffered by black minority communities in British society’ (Solomos 1989:2). Equality of opportunity in this sense is associated to the concept of racial equality, which can simply refer to ‘social equality for peoples of all races’ (Crenshaw 1988). In spite of this however, there remain deeply entrenched processes of discrimination resistant to legal and political interventions throughout society (Solomos 1993). This essay will discuss the claim ‘there ain’t no Black in the Union Jack’ in relation to these processes of discrimination which have encouraged the mis representation and exclusion of Black people within British society. The first part of the essay will outline the meaning of race and racism in the 21st century. It will then go on to discuss processes of exclusion, which are reinforced by the media and politicians representation of black migrants and the existence of so called ‘White spaces’. These exclusions of black people can be seen to prevent them from identifying as British thus excluding them from being part of ‘the Union Jack’. Whilst the concept of racism has been restricted by the notion of ‘colour’ as it has concealed the full range of ways in which racism has operated in Britain, including against Jews, Gypsies and the Irish (Jewesbury 2008), throughout...
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...Abstract The impact of media on the society extends to both social and political sectors. There are a variety of elements in each and media touches on both sectors and each element. It should be noted that the extent that it affects each element varies as well. It should also be taken into account that while there is a mass effect on everyone that media touches, the extent it affects the individual varies as well. Social Impact On a social level, media has its greatest impact. Viewpoints have been shaped due to the representation of different cultures, races, genders, religions, and sexual orientations. The two main elements of this are entertainment and news. While the representations should be taken at face value when it comes to entertainment, some representations have led to unfair stereotyping which becomes a part of social norms and thinking for generations. One example is how a segment or culture within a race could and has come to represent the public’s view of that race overall—especially in the case of negative elements of that culture. Another example is both unfair standards of beauty for women as well as negative representation of women. In the case of negative representations, there might be individuals or groups that embody that particular element, but media is able to multiply the negative to the point where it becomes a public accept trait of women. When it comes to unfair beauty standards, women are viewed as beautiful by mainstream media are usually put in favorable...
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...The impact of media on the society extends to both social and political sectors. There are a variety of elements in each and media touches on both sectors and each element. It should be noted that the extent that it affects each element varies as well. It should also be taken into account that while there is a mass effect on everyone that media touches, the extent it affects the individual varies as well. Social Impact On a social level, media has its greatest impact. Viewpoints have been shaped due to the representation of different cultures, races, genders, religions, and sexual orientations. The two main elements of this are entertainment and news. While the representations should be taken at face value when it comes to entertainment, some representations have led to unfair stereotyping which becomes a part of social norms and thinking for generations. One example is how a segment or culture within a race could and has come to represent the public’s view of that race overall—especially in the case of negative elements of that culture. Another example is both unfair standards of beauty for women as well as negative representation of women. In the case of negative representations, there might be individuals or groups that embody that particular element, but media is able to multiply the negative to the point where it becomes a public accept trait of women. When it comes to unfair beauty standards, women are viewed as beautiful by mainstream media are usually put in...
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...1 COM 3702 MEDIA STUDIES Policy management and media representation Semester 1,2014 Student number : 3356-7514 2 I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this is my own and personal work, except where the works or publications of others have been acknowledged by mean of reference techniques. I have read and understood Tutorial Letter CMNALLE/301, regarding technical and presentation requirements, referencing techniques and plagiarism. Name: Bonita Europa Student Number: 33567514 Date: 2014/05/06 Assignment Number: PORTFOLIO EXAM 892092 Witness: Clint Newkirk 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 MEDIA POLICY AND REGULATION 1.1 History of communication policy 1.1.1 Emerging communications industry policy 1.1.2 Public service media policy 1.1.3 New communications policy 1.2 Freedom of the media 1.2.1 The need for freedom of speech 1.2.2 Threats to it 1.2.3 If, how and why such threats can or cannot be motivate 2 MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND MEDIA MARKETS 2.1 Media concentration 2.1.1 The relationship of competition to concentration 2.1.2 The dual nature of the media industry 2.1.3 The four forms of concentration 2.1.4 The dangers of concentration 2.1.5 Positive externalities of the media 3 REPRESENTATION AND THE MEDIA 3.1 Media representation of race 3.1.1 Discussion 3.1.2 Brief explanation of the meaning whiteness 3.2 Media representation of violence 3.2.1 An introductory thesis (argument) 3.2.2 Define and explain representation, violence and moral panics 3.2.3...
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...a gap between races remains. This racial segregation is prevalent in the media, particularly in advertisements, magazines, and television. Today’s media have been more inclusive of different ethnic minorities, as the numerical representation of, for example, African Americans has increased. The media, however, have been condemned for exhibiting and perpetuating the racism still existent in our culture. This critique is due mainly in part to the media’s contribution to the social construction of minority stereotypes. Through the media, stereotypes generally distort the images of minority groups, thereby revealing white Americans’ attitudes toward minorities, particularly African Americans. The most dominant attitude promulgated by the media is one that emphasizes low status roles of African Americans. Although more minorities are being represented in contemporary media, the progression of race relations is often diminished by racist overtones that insinuate inferiority of African Americans. Subordination of African Americans through media stereotypes reflects an asymmetrical stance on race relations. An asymmetric race relation is founded in the notions of white domination and black inferiority, with whites on the higher end of the seesaw. While most degrading stereotypical portrayals of African Americans as slaves, porters, coons, and bucks, have faded, depictions of African Americans still remain unfavorable. The issue with these stereotypical representations, regardless of...
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...Sound, by Alexandra Harmon 4. Aztlán and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War, edited by George Mariscal 5. Immigration and the Political Economy of Home: West Indian Brooklyn and American Indian Minneapolis, by Rachel Buff 6. Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East,1945–2000, by Melani McAlister 7. Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco’s Chinatown, by Nayan Shah 8. Japanese American Celebration and Conflict: A History of Ethnic Identity and Festival, 1934–1990, by Lon Kurashige 9. American Sensations: Class, Empire, and the Production of Popular Culture, by Shelley Streeby 10. Colored White: Transcending the Racial Past, by David R. Roediger 11. Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico, by Laura Briggs 12. meXicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands, by Rosa Linda Fregoso 13. Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight, by Eric Avila 14. Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom, by Tiya Miles 15. Cultural Moves: African Americans and the Politics of Representation, by Herman S. Gray Cultural Moves African Americans and the Politics of Representation Herman S. Gray UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley . Los Angeles . London Chapter 1 appeared as “The New Conditions of Black Cultural Production, Or Prefiguring of a Black Cultural Formation,” in Between Law and Culture: Relocating Legal Studies...
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...privilege is ignored, white people are able to maintain power and dominance in our “post-racial” society. (Mcintosh, 33). In this essay, I will argue that widespread media representation and housing opportunities are the most important features of white privilege, using ideas from Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, bell hooks’ Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination and Ruth Frankenberg’s Introduction: Points of Origin, Points of Departure. Widespread representation is the most important feature of white privilege because we live in an age where the media not only reflects our real worldviews and attitudes, but also controls them. The second most important feature of white privilege is adequate housing opportunities. It is necessary for white people to acknowledge their part in benefiting from a society that has thrived on racial hierarchy and white supremacy for centuries and these two aspects are key in reaching that. Firstly, white privilege entails wide media representation, where people of colour are consistently underrepresented. Many people don’t see this as an issue at all, but it is necessary in an age where the media has such a strong and lasting impact on the way we view one another. White people have the privilege of turning on the TV and seeing people of their race widely represented (Mcintosh, 34). Lack of...
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...influenced the way certain things are seen. Whether it’s in school or the media they usually correlate each other. Having grown up in a time of prosperity and now a time of recession my view on poverty changed drastically. I don’t remember first-hand what poverty was, but i know what I was taught to believe about poverty through the media before I actually knew. One subject has many ways of reaching people, but the media and someone’s surroundings bring a different definition to a word so universally known. Living in a predominately white upper-class town I do not see impoverished people very often. Compared to us those who are poor live in the mostly minority town next to us. The reason I describe it like this is because many people in today’s society express poverty with race. It never changes whether times are good, or bad. Although there is some truth behind it that most minorities are the ones poor it still stereotypes. The media is the key reason for why people think like this. In many urban movies or anything dealing with a poor class the races are definitely divided. In the movie Friday night lights written and directed by Peter Berg the story takes place in Texas on a well-known football team. The players on the whole team are very poor, and are a majority white. Now the point of this movie was to show how all the players can make a name for themselves, but the underlying theme is that no matter the race any one can be poor. Usually if a white person is...
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...Pleasure and pain: Representations of illegal drug consumption, addiction and trafficking in music, film and video It is a safe assumption that when the term ‘drug’ or ‘use’ is mentioned, many automatically associate this with something rather unpleasant, a negative experience. This is due to the fact that individuals throughout most of their lives are warned of the destructive, detrimental and the horrendous nature of drugs and the consequences that arise from one’s involvement with them. This message is conveyed through many platforms, one of them being the media/entertainment industry. It is the same media portrays the image of illegal drug consumption as highly pleasurable. In the article Pleasure and pain: Representations of illegal drug consumption, addiction and trafficking in music, film and video (Fraser, S and Moore, D, 2011), composer Susan Boyd thoroughly explores through qualitative research the role music, film and video playing in creating meanings and images of drug consumption, addiction and trafficking and- in doing so, shapes up our perspective on drug use. This essay will discuss ways within which music, film and video represents illegal drug consumption, addiction and trafficking and how this influences our perspective and understanding of drug use. Media in today’s contemporary society is viewed as a necessity, it is held on the same level of importance as food and clothing (Stoddart, T, 2014). Individuals are exposed to the media throughout all aspects...
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...Morrison points out those major themes in American literature that have Caucasians playing the heroic protagonist whereas the African American plays the antagonist. African Americans are seen as the dark, or the wrong within media. Throughout history most African Americans play minor characters that add conflict to stories such as To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. American history of race has impacted the world and created problematic stereotypes. “I pointed out that cultural identities are formed and informed by a nation's literature. What seemed to be on the "mind" of the literature of the United States was the self-conscious but highly problematic construction of the American as a new white...
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...Popular Images and Race Hit animated series “The Simpsons” Season 29, Episode 15 entitled “No Good Read Goes Unpunished”, which aired April 18th, 2018, created by Matt Groening, asserts that its portrayal of Indian characters as caricatures and stereotypes is not harmful. The specific character that will be discussed is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, a stereotypically Indian character whose seemingly racist creation has been publicly called out. Hari Kondabolu, an Indian-American comedian and actor who has turned his focus to social justice within media representation, created a counter commentary to the show entitled “The Problem with Apu” which was released in November of 2017. The episode “No Good Read Goes Unpunished” was created in response to Kondabolu’s movie. Producers of “The Simpsons” have tried to convince viewers that “political incorrect” commentary is not harmful rhetoric, rather it is just a humorous observation of the clichés of reality. This point is also argued by Dana Gould, a writer and producer for “The Simpsons”, defending the shows representation of Apu by saying “Many white people in...
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...importance of representation in media by examining the effects of it on the world we live in today. It will not only discuss one group of people (such as just people of color but many groups such as women and people of a certain age range. Studies will be shown to convey the possible connection between how long children are involved in some form of media and the way certain demographics are depicted in the media children watch. Considering the fact that children, and people in general, spend a lot of their time involved in some form of media there is some sort of correlation between media and perception. An answer will be given on whether traditions and customs depicted have can have an possible...
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...Media has changed people’s perception about different kinds of ideologies. One of the most powerful visual media that shapes our society is advertisement. It is almost inevitable to ignore advertisements and attempt to remain unaffected, butadvertisements both reflect and shape society norms. Compare to when society was more restricted by conservative regulations, such as Hayes Law, increasing numbers of advertisements in western culture allow queer people to represent in ways that are inclusive and respectful. Many companies have chosen to target on homosexual people who comprised a large potential market. Companies provide positive queer images in exchange for queer people’s good will and support. An example is Expedia’s Find Your Understanding, an ad released on Oct 2nd, has gained more than 2.2 million views. It is a moving tale told by Artie Goldstein, a retired business owner who described his emotion and reaction while traveling to his daughter’s, Vickie’s marriage with another woman. “That startled me. I told her, this is not the dream I have for my daughter,” said Artie when his daughter first asked his permission for marrying another woman. His arrival at his daughter’s wedding and witnessing how happy his daughter is were the turning points. “ You come to terms with it and say this is the nature order of things in your life, and it is supposed to be this way,” he said. His apprehension turned into true acceptance. I decided to pick this video as my analysis...
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...1 Race & Ethnicity Essay I am black. I am of African decent. I am Chinese. I am of Korean decent. I am white. I am Canadian. I don’t have a race or a culture. These statements are common examples of how many people view their race and identity. Even though many are unsure or unaware of what it really means to have a culture, we make claims about it everyday. Some feel they have a race, while others simply feel they do not. We include based on who fits into this ideal and exclude those who don’t. The fact that culture is complex, learned through common daily experience, conflicting and contradictory, relational because it is learned through interactions with others, and performative, as our interactions are performances within a public domain, is something that people never seem to think about, until we are put in a situation, in which we then become aware that we are different. Our knowledge of culture, ethnicity and identity is subconsciously internalized on a daily basis through constant social interactions. Although the concepts of race and ethnicity are socially constructed, they are real in their consequences. Their affects on the social world can be seen from my very own experiences from institutions, to peer groups, to media representations, and lastly, to how I’ve come to view my own sense of identity. Growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood as a child allowed me to constantly become aware that I was different. Through interactions with my peers in elementary...
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