Widespread and Pervasive Tropes and Stereotypes of Black people still used in media today

[Rhapscallion Démone]

So me and a friend were having a discussion about how we were and still are depicted in the media based off old stereotypes and tropes that have been historically used to demean and dehumanize us. She sent me a post from her blog that had this to say on the matter of how black women are being depicted.

“The tropes and stereotypes of Black women - there’s about 4, 5, or 6. These tropes always come up in art & film, television depictions. A lot of times they’re detrimental…The first one: Mammy.

The Mammy trope has roots all the way back to slavery. They are usually heavy-set, matriarchal, jovial, Big Momma, subservient, almost like maids, dark skinned, motherly, self-less, always trying to do everything for everybody, homely, asexual, not sexy. That’s the external idea of a Mammy. The internal is ‘I’m selfless’. Gotta do everything for my husband. Everything for my kids. Everything for massa. Everything is about pleasing other people. The Mammy stereotype gained increased popularity after the Civil War and into the 1900s. During this time her robust, grinning likeness was attached to mass-produced consumer goods from flour to motor oil. Considered a trusted figure in white imaginations, mammies represented contentment and served as nostalgia for whites concerned about racial equality.


Another one is: Jezebel.

So Jezebel is sexy. The woman who is the nemesis of respectability politics. The nemesis of a ‘good woman’. Good, wholesome woman. The opposite. She’s the ho. She has no morals. She’s the oversexualized woman. She’s got the sexy coke bottle figure. She’s promiscuous. The bytch you don’t want around your husband. This is the one your mama taught you about. Them women! Them street walkers. Them sex workers. Them women that be in the church trying to sleep with your husband.


Then we have the Queen.
There’s a positive and negative to Queen. The negative is more of the side of 'Welfare Queen’ - They live by themselves. They are lazy. They live on the government. They are just breeders. They just have babies. Just having babies to file for them.

The positive Queen is the motherfukkin Erkyah Badus. The Jill Scotts. She got her hair natural. She’s pro-patriarchy. She knows her place as a woman is to serve her Kang! She’s the ultimate Pickme. She knows her place as a woman is under a man. It’s that good, respectable, 'Mammy’ too, but she’s a 'woke’ Queen. She looks like she smells like Shea Butter, sage and soul food…They are like the Hotep nikkas. They are usually 'sexy’ because they are under the male gaze.


The last one is The Sapphire.

The Sapphire is feisty, masculine in a feminine way, castrating. She’s the type of woman who always looks down on men. She always has something smart to say. She don’t take no shyt. 'Oh honey, you ain’t gonna do that to me!’ That feisty Black best friend. She will fight. Candy on Pose was The Sapphire of the show. She was the main Sapphire. Usually when we have a conversation about colorism,your proximity to whiteness means you are more 'feminine’ when it comes to female’s tropes…A lot of times, back in the day, even to this day, clearly to this day because of Pose, the softer, more feminine girls, typically light skinned are gonna be given this imminent image of femininity and softness, and the darker girls are gonna get the harsher Sapphire type of images….Look at Pose. Who of the girls has the harsher personalities and images? Candy & Electra! They are the darkest girls of the show. Electra’s outward appearance is refined. She puts on airs of this 'active refinement’. Just as soon as Candy pulled a knife, she pulled a blade. She’s very heartless and feisty as well. Electra isn’t soft as far as her personality. Her outside is. She got the furs and stuff! Saaphires are villains. They are depicted as the bad ones. I think because the creators and writers of Pose thought that positioning one of the darker girls - Electra as one of the pinnacle beauties was enough to balance that colorism thing! But when it came to personality and character arc, they failed because they went back into those same level tropes. The lighter girls are made to be soft and more 'considerate’.. Candy had to be the one who was a catalyst to die and teach everyone a lesson. That goes back to the social norm that Black women have to be the mules of social change.”

What are some tropes and stereotypes you've noticed in the media? Particularly pertaining to Black Men?

 

[Neuromancer]

The black brute.

More Images
The brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal -- deserving punishment, maybe death. This brute is a fiend, a sociopath, an anti-social menace. Black brutes are depicted as hideous, terrifying predators who target helpless victims, especially white women. Charles H. Smith (1893), writing in the 1890s, claimed, "A bad negro is the most horrible creature upon the earth, the most brutal and merciless"(p. 181). Clifton R. Breckinridge (1900), a contemporary of Smith's, said of the black race, "when it produces a brute, he is the worst and most insatiate brute that exists in human form" (p. 174).

 

[bigdaddy88]

idk tv shows like the first 48 and cops *highkey show love to show the criminal black man etc. Love and Hip hop there is a lot of c00nery as well but whatever maybe am just hating

 

[Rhapscallion Démone]

The black brute.

More Images
The brute caricature portrays black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal -- deserving punishment, maybe death. This brute is a fiend, a sociopath, an anti-social menace. Black brutes are depicted as hideous, terrifying predators who target helpless victims, especially white women. Charles H. Smith (1893), writing in the 1890s, claimed, "A bad negro is the most horrible creature upon the earth, the most brutal and merciless"(p. 181). Clifton R. Breckinridge (1900), a contemporary of Smith's, said of the black race, "when it produces a brute, he is the worst and most insatiate brute that exists in human form" (p. 174).

I guess in the present that would be the "The Thug"

 

[YouMadd?]

The coli says that we shouldnt care what others think of us in real life... So why should we care about how the media portrays us?

 

[Rhapscallion Démone]

idk tv shows like the first 48 and cops *highkey show love to show the criminal black man etc. Love and Hip hop there is a lot of c00nery as well but whatever maybe am just hating

Nah you just observing. It's good to observe and be aware

 

[UncleTomFord15]

A large portion of black people take pride in these stereotypes in modern times. Rap music today is just a giant minstrel show and the black rappers proudly take pride in displaying black stereotypes. The whole concept of being a "real nikka" and being a "lame" all go back to stereotypes. Going to school and not doing "hood shyt" is considered weird by a lot of black people but gang banging, scamming, hustling etc is cool because that's "what real nikka do".

I could go on and on with this but in summary I'm saying a white person, Asian, Hispanic or whatever stereotyping black people is expected to me and not surprising in the slightest it's worse when black people not only stereotype ourselves but cheer on the biggest display of black stereotypes possible in modern times, rap music.

 

[Rhapscallion Démone]

The coli says that we shouldnt care what others think of us in real life... So why should we care about how the media portrays us?

The coli also says things like this

White women are easier to control and manipulate. That's an absolute fact.

Women that are extremely feminine are by their nature more willing to submit to the dominant male. Its the reason I prefer white women and light skin/mixed women. They are typically more feminine and thus more easily controlled and manipulated.

Masculine women are the type who are tougher to manipulate and control. They are quick to fight their man and try to get him under their control. Now all dark skin black women are NOT like this. But ON AVERAGE they do tend to be more controlling and aggressive than white women or light skin/mixed women.

Positive or Negative images and how we are portrayed also affect how we view ourselves and how we develop "preferences"

 

[Neuromancer]

I guess in the present that would be the "The Thug"

Correct.

 

[Thurgood Thurston III]

Don't forget the newest stereotype that ALL black men are homophobic.

The media is seriously pretending that we're the only community with homophobia.

Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and even whites are most of the time way more homophobic than we are.

 

[Rhapscallion Démone]

Don't forget the newest stereotype that ALL black men are homophobic.

The media is seriously pretending that we're the only community with homophobia.

Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and even whites are most of the time way more homophobic than we are.

All fax

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

Don't forget the newest stereotype that ALL black men are homophobic.

The media is seriously pretending that we're the only community with homophobia.

Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and even whites are most of the time way more homophobic than we are.

and if I could add on to what you said - that all black women are "pro gay" or that we support the feminization/feminist movements that devalue the authority or position of black men in society. That we as black women support are all in favor of this gender mis-identity and intersectionality b.s., when this is a misconception.

 

[Yogi]

A large portion of black people take pride in these stereotypes in modern times. Rap music today is just a giant minstrel show and the black rappers proudly take pride in displaying black stereotypes. The whole concept of being a "real nikka" and being a "lame" all go back to stereotypes. Going to school and not doing "hood shyt" is considered weird by a lot of black people but gang banging, scamming, hustling etc is cool because that's "what real nikka do".

I could go on and on with this but in summary I'm saying a white person, Asian, Hispanic or whatever stereotyping black people is expected to me and not surprising in the slightest it's worse when black people not only stereotype ourselves but cheer on the biggest display of black stereotypes possible in modern times, rap music.

So true. Just look at how Nipsey Hussle was deified by black folks. At the end of the day, he was a grown man in his 30’s who was still heavily involved in a street gang, and people made a hero out of him.

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

The absentee father, irresponsible parental stereotype and along those lines - the lazy, unmotivated system-dependent mother. Both are far from facts but some segments of our community mimick the media manipulation. We see it on here and in certain circles daily - the go to insult is the "he aint shyt" or "she aint shyt" mentality.

which brings me to the - "We need to do better" line. Every time there is negative event that reflects badly in the community. I, for one, can't stand that response. It becomes this all-encompassing description.

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

So true. Just look at how Nipsey Hussle was deified by black folks. At the end of the day, he was a grown man in his 30’s who was still heavily involved in a street gang, and people made a hero out of him.

All heroes have faults. Sometimes those faults make the individual into a better person, as they progress later on in life. But I do hate when people jump on the bandwagon, instead of thinking for themselves; based on it being the "popular" thing to do or a need to feel a part of something. "Social media" said it's cool, so I might as well join in. What separates a leader from a follower is the ability to have a sense of purpose to think for themselves.