Semester of Graduation
Spring 2023
Degree
Master of Mass Communication (MMC)
Department
Manship School of Mass Communication
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This study focuses on the effects that televised racial stereotypes have on the self-perception of viewers who identify as Black women. This paper lists three commonly used stereotypes for Black women in television and provides detailed background and analysis of each. There were three goals that I wanted to achieve with this study. The first goal of this study was to measure the amount of stereotyped entertainment these specific viewers consume. The second goal of this study was to understand the positive and negative effects that racial stereotypes have on Black women. The last goal of this study was to further understand how Black women internalize these stereotypes leading them to either positively or negatively perceive themselves. To achieve these goals, a survey was conducted.
Three questions guided this research: 1) Does consistent exposure to these portrayals contribute to Black women having positive or negative perceptions of themselves? 2) Does exposure to social media content regarding Black women on scripted TV relate to the perceptions that Black women have of themselves? And 3) Do Black women start to believe Black women stereotypes after consistent media consumption? The study examined the amount and the specific kind of media that Black woman audiences consume. Additionally, the study measured how often these viewers consume these diverse types of media, how they view the media’s presentation of Black women characters, and the relationship between that content and the participants’ self-perceptions. I conducted multiple correlation analyses and thematic analyses. The results are discussed in relation to the consumption of stereotypical content and the effects it has on the Black women that consume it. I concluded that there was no relationship between any of the studied variables.
Date
4-5-2023
Recommended Citation
Shorts, Darian M., "Effects of Stereotypes on Black Women Audiences" (2023). LSU Master's Theses. 5755.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/5755
Committee Chair
Sanders, Meghan
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.5755
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Cognitive Science Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Social Media Commons