¨A person who feels appreciated will always do more than expected.¨
Author Natachi Onwuamaegbu addresses the phenomenon lack of representation in her article. The article tells us that media is a reflection of what American society is and is not. Minorities are starting to be listened to, but for a long time America has not acknowledged minorities as part of their cultural identity. She says that media is a way of bringing stories to life. Therefore, the complexity of different races is not represented, because they are not visible for most Americans. If certain topics or groups are not represented, the media silences the voices of millions. Representation in media can impact America to see more to minorities than only stereotypes and make disadvantaged groups become visible and important (Onwuamaegbu, 2018).
The lack of representation has risks for our society. Fist, negative stereotypes in media impact the way people see minority groups and how they see themselves. Media has an educational impact and therefore can be seen by people as a reality of our society (Lawson, 2018). Second, Language influences the way media addresses certain topics or groups within our society. Using terms that refer to stereotypes can create an image in the mind of people and immediately when they hear a word, they link it to the stereotyping image in their mind (Grant & Patmore, 2012). Finally, people that are part of a minority group can feel excluded within their environment or within society and experience barriers in being able to participate in society. If we do not see people that are part of a minority group as part of our cultural identity, they will always experience a way of being excluded in our society.
¨Cultural racism is about the image of POC (People of color) that is propagated through different platforms like books, newspapers, travel reports, language, religion, art or cultural celebrations (Essed, 2018)”.
If someone just learns a single story this influences the way they see, approach and react to other people in our society (Grant & Patmore,). The danger of a single story is that for the white majority group they just see one image an see that as their truth (Ngozi, 2009). For minority groups only seeing white characters on TV or in books creating that as their only image of the truth, they will not be able to identify themselves with the persons they see and read about. This can have a crucial impact on how they see and position themselves in our society (Onwuamaegbu, 2018). The way media portraits minority groups can also influence for example higher sentences by judges, lower changes of getting a job, being admitted to a school, lower grades and higher change of getting pulled over by the police. As Onwuamaegbu writes there are authors that questioned and pushed these boundaries of the media out of balance, to give future writers a different perspective and empower them to look for their own identity in creating stories and characters (Onwuamaegbu, 2018). This shows that is crucial to develop and explore your own identity and that there has to be people who inspire and encourage you to do so. It is already beginning to change and more movies, TV show, podcasts, models and activist are representing and appreciating the underrepresented groups in our society and get their story out. Positive media influences and representation in your own surrounding gives you the opportunity to identify yourself with someone and to develop your own identity to the highest level.
I think it is important that in different professions there has to be a representation of the population. Cities are growing fast and more are becoming a minority- majority city, where the complexity of diversity and identity are visible (Geldof, 2016). A diverse representation in the media ensures that the different identities of someone are represented and acknowledged. By facing our super diverse society, we see that the different identities of someone are all active and established at the same time (Wekker, 2005). It is important to learn about these different identities, so you see that there is more than your own environment and not a single story and to learn about the diversity of people, cities, countries and continents.
“When all we study is white and all we see is white, all we create is white (Onwuamaegbu, 2018)”.
If I look at representation in my own work environment it is important to make sure that within education the staff represents the student population and that students can identify themselves with the teachers/professors within their educational environment. This gives the students the opportunity to experience a sense of belonging within education (Elffers, 2016). A diverse representation ensures that students have role models within environment to identify themselves with. This also has to be visible in media and other professions so everyone has someone or a group they can identify themselves with, feel encouraged and experience a sense of belonging and valuing.
Within education references can be an important part in working intersectional. As a teacher you can have an influence on what kind of sources and literature you use in your classes. But also making sure that students are aware of media impacts and how this influences our society and their work field. For me it is also important to support and empower individuals or groups to give them the feeling that they can accomplish their goals and that it is about them. I think that addressing and talking about social issues within education goes together with acknowledgement, binding and to enable students to experience equal opportunities.
I do see you!
Fabienne Batista Morais
Projectleider SESI en docent Social Work