From Jezebel to Ho: An Analysis of Creative and Imaginative Shared Representations of African-American Women

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMoody, Mia
dc.date.accessioned2020-10-29T13:46:19Z
dc.date.available2020-10-29T13:46:19Z
dc.date.issued2012-03
dc.description.abstractCritical race theory has affirmed that popular culture represents African-American women in narrowly defined stereotypical roles that are long lasting, dichotomous and degrading. However, not as common are studies that look at creative and imaginative shared portrayals of the group. This essay applies symbolic convergence theory (SCT) with its critical method, fantasy theme analysis (FTA), to explore Don Imus and his co-hosts' use of stereotypes in their depiction of members of the Rutgers basketball team. While Imus began the characterization of members of the mostly black team as "rough girls" and "nappy-headed hos," his co-hosts contributed to his fantasy, resorting to stereotypes deeply entrenched in cultural narratives of black women. The Imus faux pas occurred several years ago; however, many of the same stereotypes continue to resurface in media portrayals of African-American women, particularly in social media outlets. For instance, dozens of Facebook hate groups target Michelle Obama, using both racist and sexist language that questions her personality, femininity and beauty. While media have made inroads in improving representations of women and people of color, historical stereotypes of black women are still a prominent part of cultural narratives. Scholars must constantly challenge such portrayals and advocate for alternative, meaningful and consistent depictions.
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent21 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationMoody, M. (2012). From Jezebel to Ho: An analysis of creative and imaginative shared representations of African-American women. <i>Journal of Research on Women and Gender, 3</i>(1), pp. 74-94.
dc.identifier.issn2375-0944
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/12850
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherTexas State University, Center for Diversity and Gender Studies
dc.sourceJournal of Research on Women and Gender, 2012, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 74-94.
dc.subjectAfrican-American women
dc.subjectstereotypes
dc.subjectrepresentation
dc.subjectculture
dc.subjectsymbolic convergence theory
dc.subjectfantasy theme analysis
dc.titleFrom Jezebel to Ho: An Analysis of Creative and Imaginative Shared Representations of African-American Women
dc.typeArticle

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
54-Article Text-192-1-10-20160408.pdf
Size:
281.81 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.54 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Journal of Research on Women and Gender