Ad of the image of black women
via AfroGermans
To cut it short. In the story "The global impact of racial stereotypes" the author write about audiences overseas who absorb white American images Her conclusion, "To judge by the shelves of skin whiteners, they watch these shows, and they will identify with the white lead characters. And if those characters don’t look like them, then they’ll do their best to look like those characters, lest they be excluded from America and the privileges of being white." A fast conclusion of a not so strong story.
But in the article the author refers to two two sociologists who write about social constructs. In a very interesting video the authors give an example how black civil right protesters challenged the social image of black people. And they explain why it is important to understand the concept of social construction.
On their website they also write the controversial German ad. The text reads: “The only reason to choose Black. Time for Green.” Okay, so we have a history of the hypersexualization and exploitation of black women by white people. We fetishize their butts as symbolic of their (supposed) hypersexuality. And then this ad comes along and asserts that the only thing worthwhile about Black people is their ass and, by extension, their sexual availability. “ Also see their their story on the "The naked black female body, a recurring theme"
So my first question was: can you change it. In the interesting video the two sociologists say, that social constructs are often contested. But is there is hope? It appears that blue wasn't always the colour for boys, it was pink in the fifties. But today blue is the standard colour for boys and pink the colour for girls. So the image of black people can change.