Positive Media Images & Black Children
Reader Cynglo offered the following comment on my post on Chris Rock's film "Good Hair" - -and I just had to share it with everyone because I 100% co-sign on this. Her daughters are the same age as my two sons and I have the exact same concerns. She says:
Thank you SO much, Cynglo, for taking the time to write this comment. To me, these are the parenting issues that are most challenging, and how we handle them is what will define this next generation.
"I really think that we need to look very closely and seriously at what is happening with our children. I have two girls (ages 6 and 8) and I am concerned with what they feel beautiful is and how that image is affecting opinions they have about themselves. They are at a school where they are indeed the minority. The television shows that are appropriate for them to watch don't show main characters that look like them. When they read kid magazines (Nickelodeon, Pixie, etc.) there is page after page of people who don't remotely resemble them.
Why haven't we done more to insist that our children see more images that look like them? Even our own "black television" stations (BET, TVOne) don't run shows that are appropriate and positive for our young children. Are shows like Flavor of Love and the other ghetto reality shows the only original shows that can be created? Watching shows like that are even more damaging than having no media representation. What happened to magazines like Ebony Jr.? Are African-American adults the only ones who can appreciate magazines that relate closely to our culture? Might the young people (children, teens, etc.) also appreciate this?
Now, let me be clear. I don't feel the media should be responsible for instilling positive self-images in my girls' minds. That primary responsibility rests with me and my husband. I do, however, feel that we as an African American community must do everything possible to ensure that our children develop the character and self-esteem needed for our kids to develop into responsible people that have self-efficacy and a passion for making this world a better place. This development will not come by giving them more material things. It will only come through the adults working purposefully to provide opportunities and experiences that allow for the children to embrace their rich heritage.
One thing I know for sure. If we as adults don't start spending more time developing our children and creating opportunities that set them up for success, we will never be able to change the way we are viewed by the general public and, most importantly, the way we view ourselves."
Thank you SO much, Cynglo, for taking the time to write this comment. To me, these are the parenting issues that are most challenging, and how we handle them is what will define this next generation.
Comments
I never thought about the casting diversity in UK shows much, actually, until one of my African-American friends pointed it out. Now I notice all the time.. they are more diverse than prime time TV here, I'd wager.
In the US, it seems they only go out of their way to diversify children's media in cartoons? I could be wrong as I don't have children so don't really follow them too much, but it seems the glimpses I do catch usually have a mixture of kids - though sometimes it feels like someone went down a checklist, creating generic archetypes. But then again, children's programming for the most part seems to lack depth and creativity in general, which I find quite sad.
I'm curious, Los Angelista, about your feelings on Princess and the Frog? I guess it's hard to say without seeing the movie in full, though.
Actual conversation with my kids:
“When you see black women on TV, do they look like Oprah or these other women you see now?
Halle: NO!!!!
Tyler: Uh uh… they’re in their underwear… stripping.« curlykidz.
I'm glad to see we didn't show up to support this garbage. And even though I have not seen it, I feel more than comfortable in calling it garbage.
The original post says we must be responsible for the media.
I know that as a child I thought I wasn't pretty because I have dark hair and eyes. As much as my parents made sure to educate me that beauty isn't what they say on TV, I internalized the message that I was less attractive. Despite my feminist mother's lessons that beauty wasn't the most important thing etc. - I knew it was important. All this despite an almost total ban on television in our house as a child.
The media does matter, and I can only imagine that what I experienced is the tip of the iceberg and that children with darker sin internalize all sorts of harmful messages from the media despite the best messages that parents can give. What parents do and say can give youth the tools to think critically about the messages we encounter, but can not obliterate those messages or prevent children from internalizing them to a degree, despite the best intentions.
By ignoring the problem, the problem only gets worse.