The Unfinished Business of Slavery: The Misrepresentation of African American Men on the Cover of Black Magazines, 1993-2007
Popular African American magazines continue to disparage African American men in negative stereotypical ways that are derived from the cruel and unjust institution of slavery. This research contends that black-oriented magazines capitalize on the sustaining of negative stereotypes and perceptions of African American men as a way to strengthen their publicity in a competitive magazine market. The main research question that is postulated: in what ways do black-orientated magazines have a negative impact on the collective identity of black masculinity? This study analyses the content and images on the cover of African American magazines, between the years of 1993 to 2007 (i.e., vibe magazine), to determine whether or not the racist images that were historically set out to dehumanize African American men are now being produced and promoted by their own culture. The three themes of this essay 1) provide a brief history of slavery and its negative impact on the collective identity of black masculinity 2) African Americans magazines themselves, which are embodied in self-hatred and continue to exploit misinformation based on stereotypes; and 3) the construction of black masculinity in African Americans magazines and its parallels to post-modern slavery depictions.
School:
Bowling Green State University
Department:
Public Relations/Gender and Identity Studies
Research Advisor:
Jason Chambers
Department of Research Advisor:
Advertising
Year of Publication:
2008