As consumers of popular culture, children see many representations of identity. This presentation will focus on the impact of current representations of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, for example, on children’s perceptions of themselves and others.
Young people see messages about who commits crime and who the poor are. Representations include Mexicans as rapists, people who “infest” our country, and as “some bad hombres.” The threat of the big, scary Black man is seen in the young person wearing a hoodie or, as a police officer in a helicopter described one driver, as “one bad dude.” Images of apes (involving Valerie Jarrett and former President Obama) inform standards of beauty, intelligence, and humanity, as does radio announcer Don Imus’ reference to “some nappy headed ho’s” on Rutgers women’s basketball team. And, videos of fraternities mocking minorities, those with disabilities, and others have been posted widely.
Historically, research indicating young people’s internalization of negative messages in their perceptions of themselves and others include the 1940s “Doll study,” revealing the association of desirability and superiority with the white doll and negative attributes with the black doll, among both African American and the other children. Research on the “psychological damage” associated with messages and related policies, such as segregation, for African American and other children, was pivotal in the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation decision.
Research on “Police Killings [of unarmed blacks] and Their Spillover Effects” indicates pervasiveness of messages and impact on perceptions. (Bor et. al 2018) Beyond traditional media, Google’s search algorithm “learns the biases of searchers and then reinforces it by showing those results more often.” Search results for “three black teenagers” yields “an array of police mugshots.” (Guynn 2016)
This presentation will address the impact and potential impact of representations of identity on children’s perceptions.
About the presenterMark Winston
Mark Winston has been a leadership, organizational development, and diversity consultant and trainer, who has worked with academic, corporate, and public sector client organizations. He has held prior positions of Development Officer, Engagement Officer, Assistant Chancellor, Library Director, Assistant University Librarian, and teaching faculty member. His scholarship and publications focus on various aspects of leadership, diversity, ethics, access to information, and economic inequality.