In a world that relies so heavily on social media and the entertainment industry it is easy for people’s lives to be influenced by what is being shown. People of specific gender, race, and sexual orientation, are portrayed as the common stereotype of each group rather than as an individual in society. These portrayals can have a negative effect on these populations and the ways in which others view them.

Education, Representation, and Resistance: Black Girls in Popular Instagram Memes, by Tiera Chante’ Tanksley analyzes the effects of representation- specifically to black girls and women. As a black women, it is very clear that society wants us to be seen in a certain light, aggressive, hyper sexualized, and uneducated. By the media “confirming” those stereotypes it is nearly impossible for women of color to be seen as anything but what society wants us to be seen as.

What the media supports is somewhat of an enigma. It is very often that we see a white women sport a look (rooted from black culture) and it is hip or become a new trend, but when a black woman wears the same thing it is considered “ghetto”. Just as when a white women stands up for herself she is doing a great job fighting for her rights but when a black women does so she is being “aggressive”. It seems almost impossible for a black girl or woman to be able to carry out an act without some kind of backlash and criticism.

What society wants black girls and women to be seen as erases the history of black women. It reduces our value, and does not allow girls and women to recognize their potential. This short essay challenges the media being put in front of these girls and women. It recognized that this image is damaging, especially to the education [of black girls] and that it need to be altered.

Citation:

Noble, Safiya Umoja, and Brendesha M. Tynes. The Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class and Culture Online. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2016.