Entertainment and modern media can be seen as an innocent distraction to occupy people’s attention, or as a way to relax and fill the void of one’s otherwise busy life.

However, one cannot ignore its use as a potentially harmful tool that has been used to modernize the minstrel shows from the days of old subtly reinforcing negative stereotypes that black Americans have struggled to move away from.

While the average person quickly dismisses such images as harmless, a proper understanding of psychological concepts such as the self-fulfilling prophecy, would highlight the potential dangers in these images.

This concept explains that preconceived notions about a target influences ones behavior towards that target, in turn influencing the way the target behaves in response to the treatment, which ultimately leads to the target responding in such a way that confirms the original notion.

Perpetuating these stereotypes undermines the advancements made by black Americans in society by limiting the way in which we are perceived not only by white Americans but by black Americans as well.

It is with this in mind that a lurking danger awaits the ever more prevalent resurgence of one stereotype in particular.

Although it is 2013 old stereotypes have not gone away. Like many other aspects of society, they have simply changed form.

Though their appearance may no longer be as blatantly obvious, the undertones and primary functions still exist.

The most notorious of these stereotypes amongst the black community with regard to males are: the uncle tom, the sambo, and the brute.

With regard to black females the stereotypes are: the mammy, the sapphire, and the jezebel.

The mammy is the face of a domesticated female slave who loves her master, enjoys servitude, and remains committed to doing whatever she can to keep the masters house in order.

The sapphire is the loud talking”angry black women” who displays a sassy, brazen attitude often used to emasculate the black male.

The jezebel is one of the most dangerous and problematic images set forth due to the repercussions of such perceptions.

Throughout America’s history of slavery and well into the reconstruction era, a Victorian set of ideals remained prominent in societal perceptions and behaviors.

These ideals advanced the assertion that white women were of a pure nature and did not, nor should have sexual desires.

In 1894 a book written by Ruth Smythers contained guidelines for warding off sexual advances from their husbands such as:

“A wise wife will make it her goal never to allow her husband to see her unclothed body, and never allow him to display his unclothed body to her. Many women have found it useful to have thick cotton nightgowns for themselves and pajamas for their husbands; they need not be removed during the sex act. Thus, a minimum of flesh is exposed.”

This highlights the controlled perception that white women were not sexual objects and so they should not expose themselves as to illicit sexual arousal or desire sex for for their own pleasure.

In stark contrast African-American women were ritually paraded around half naked like cattle on the auction blocks, as part of their treatment as savage beasts.

 

In Feminist Theory And The Body, Evelynn Hammonds points out:

“The black woman was crudely treated and objectified by European audiences and scientific experts because of what they regarded as unusual aspects of her physiognomy, her genitalia and buttocks…”

These scientists argued that, “their primitive genitalia… a sign of the primitive sexual appetites” and would eventually conclude that, “the black female embodied the notion of uncontrolled sexuality.”

This perception would serve as the reasoning behind the sexual abuse of black women rather than accept responsibility for their actions.

As a result the myth of the jezebel was created. The jezebel was deemed the aggressor and invited sexual conduct.

As white men produced children from these sexual relationships, the mulatto female children were of fair skin with European features.

 

To relieve the white male slave owners of any perceived misconduct K Jewell asserts, “generally, when sexual liaisons did occur between the female slave and the slave owner, the compelling image of the bad-black-girl, or jezebel, was used to explain this relationship.”

“That is, slave owners who privately coerced their female slaves, or surreptitiously offered them harsh alternatives if they were unwilling to submit to their owners sexual whims, attributed these sexual liaisons to the hyper sexuality of the female who was purported to be the aggressor or seducer.”

After slavery was abolished this lingering perception gave way to justify the sexual abuse black women would suffer at the mercy of white men.

In the book At the Dark End of the Street, it goes into detail about the constant sexual abuse of black women by white men and how in the case of Recy Taylor after a brutal gang rape, the men claimed they paid her $600.00 in an attempt to paint her as a whore not capable of being violated.

 

White men were often left unpunished by courts or any other means. Again in a direct contrast to this common outcome, black men were beaten and often murdered if an accusation of even looking at a white women in a sexual manner was declared.

On occasions black men tried to seek justice for the black women violated all out race riots occured, with blacks suffereing the highest caualties.

What this essentially created was an unspoken rule that black women could not be violated, black men could not even protect black women who suffered authentic abuse in the vigilante style white men avenged white women for mere allegations.

Presently these perceptions of black women have publicly resurfaced by politicians such as Jim Sensenbrenner who made the statement “[Mrs. Obama] lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself.”

This comment, made by a high profile white male about the First Lady of the United States of America, is extremely reminiscent of statements made by early Europeans in regards to the black woman’s physical features.

Kanye West, who has a great deal of influence on Americas pop culture, made even more troubling remarks in reference to “mulatto women” by claiming “If it wasn’t for race mixing there’d be no video girls.”

Given the history of the perception of mulatto women this particular statement has layers of historic vulgarity.

In rap culture, it has become common place to refer to these video girls as “bitches” and “hoes.”

A bitch being a female dog in heat makes an association between an animal in heat, and the hyper sexual savage beast these black women were labeled as.

Hoe, being that the term is an obvious reference to prostitution, is equally disturbing considering how many of the women were born from the white male using them to breed slaves as a form of business.

 

During this time period being born to a black slave automatically placed them in servitude and often forced into prostitution slavery.

Despite the fact that many popular rappers claim that the terms are not meant literally, the women are still portrayed as scantily clad loose women seeking out companionship with a man of high financial status.

Jewell eerily points out a similar depiction:

“Therefore the bad-black-girl image as a symbol of African-American women has been used to depict the African American woman as and eager, available and willing sexual partner for her slave owner and for other males, with relative degrees of power and wealth, in American society.”

It is especially troubling when those within the black community give validation to such misperceptions and perpetuate them.

Many stereotypes have become woven into the fabric of American entertainment and media, but it seems that specific stereotypes take lead when the atmosphere of the black community changes.

During the height of the civil rights movement the music reflected the heart of the struggle and there was an enhanced racial pride.

The film Soundtrack to a Revolution highlighted how songs played a significant role in spreading a message and increasing a sense of pride among black Americans.

The Kerner Commission Report found that a lack of media control over community perceptions that led to an enhanced racial pride and made suggestions on how to remedy this.

 

Shortly after in the 70s, a new age of disco and a genre of film dubbed “blaxploitation” became prominent and the momentum of the civil rights era was brought to a virtual halt.

This pride saw a comeback in the late 80s to early 90s with images from the Cosby Show, A Different World, and music from Public Enemy dominated the airwaves.

The trends in black pop culture were becoming much more positive and encouraged learning about the roots of black culture and where it should be heading to improve conditions in America.

 

Black consciousness was on the rise, and yet it gave way in similar fashion to the coming of a thug and bling bling era. The sambo had taken control as the lead character in media perceptions.

There seemed to be a theme of targeting the image of the largest threat to the white male power structure. The most recent threat appears to be the black woman.

Born in Germany but raised in Texas, The son of a psychologist which inspired me to pursue a degree in social psychology. I am very cynical in nature which has led to a very sarcastic and satirical sense of humor often highlighting the most ridiculous aspects of our pop culture and political affiliations. I do not subscribe to any one school of thought, I simply believe in common sense and logical decisions. I dont say whats popular, I say what needs to be said.