“What a Piece of Work is Man”: Reflection on Masculinity and Gender Perceptions (Men With “Lady” Hair)

albinwonderland:

damnlayoffthebleach:

If you are a white girl, a black girl or a black boy, exposure to today’s electronic media in the long run tends to make you feel worse about yourself. If you’re a white boy, you’ll feel better, according to a new study led by an Indiana University professor.

Nicole Martins, an assistant professor of telecommunications in the IU College of Arts and Sciences, and Kristen Harrison, professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, also found that black children in their study spent, on average, an extra 10 hours a week watching television.

“We can’t deny the fact that media has an influence when they’re spending most of their time — when they’re not in school — with the television,” Martins said.

Harrison added, “Children who are not doing other things besides watching television cannot help but compare themselves to what they see on the screen.”

Their paper has been published in Communication Research. Martins and Harrison surveyed a group of about 400 black and white preadolescent students in communities in the Midwest over a yearlong period. Rather than look at the impact of particular shows or genres, they focused on the correlation between the time in front of the TV and the impact on their self-esteem.

“Regardless of what show you’re watching, if you’re a white male, things in life are pretty good for you,” Martins said of characters on TV. “You tend to be in positions of power, you have prestigious occupations, high education, glamorous houses, a beautiful wife, with very little portrayals of how hard you worked to get there.

“If you are a girl or a woman, what you see is that women on television are not given a variety of roles,” she added. “The roles that they see are pretty simplistic; they’re almost always one-dimensional and focused on the success they have because of how they look, not what they do or what they think or how they got there.

“This sexualization of women presumably leads to this negative impact on girls.”

With regard to black boys, they are often criminalized in many programs, shown as hoodlums and buffoons, and without much variety in the kinds of roles they occupy.

“Young black boys are getting the opposite message: that there is not lots of good things that you can aspire to,” Martins said. “If we think about those kinds of messages, that’s what’s responsible for the impact.

“If we think just about the sheer amount of time they’re spending, and not the messages, these kids are spending so much time with the media that they’re not given a chance to explore other things they’re good at, that could boost their self-esteem.”

Martins said their study counters claims by producers that programs have been progressive in their depictions of under-represented populations. An earlier study co-authored by her and Harrison suggests that video games “are the worst offenders when it comes to representation of ethnicity and gender.”

Other research is starting to show the impacts of other kinds of entertainment sources, such as video games and hand-held devices. It indicates that young people are becoming creative at “media multitasking.”

“Even though these new technologies are becoming more available, kids still spend more time with TV than anything else,” Martins said.

Interestingly, the young people were asked about their consumption of print media, but the results were not statistically significant.

Martins conducted the research while she was completing her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, as part of a larger longitudinal study done with her co-author, Harrison. They sought out certain school districts in Illinois because of their diversity, but African-Americans were the predominant minority group.

BRHood: WHAT’S THIS? A STUDY DONE TO SHOW JUST HOW DEVASTATING A WHITEWASHED MEDIA CAN HAVE ON POC’S SELF ESTEEM? REALLY?

I FOR ONE, AM SHOCKED

(Source: sparkamovement)

some-remain:

First off, if your name is Misha Collins or Dmitri Tippens Krushnic, please do not read this.

In short, the fundraising portion of HBM is a fundraiser for Random Acts (visit their website for more information) in honor of Misha Collins. This charity and its projects largely run on the funds that are donated. By donating, we help fund various projects throughout the year as well as the annual Hope2Haiti trip. This is why I started the HBM Fundraiser. You may be questioning the name a little bit- it stands for “Happy Birthday, Misha!” The reason for this is because the fundraiser, as mentioned before, is being held and supported mainly by fans of the actor Misha Collins who has inspired so many to do good. I am going to have the lovely chance of meeting this wonderful, eccentric man in August, right before his birthday, and when I do I am going to present him with a mock check representing all of the money his fans came together to raise for his charity in support of the people of this world and in honor of him. I ask you to please donate at least one dollar. Help us conquer the world! Check out the fundraiser page to donate, like us on Facebook, and if you live in the Northeast Ohio area, RSVP to the benefit event on June 30th!

The other part of the project is a book. Whether it is through his charity, a role he has played, his humor, his openness and kindness, his “death to normalcy” motto, et cetera, Misha has been a huge inspiration to a great deal of us. This is why we’re compiling a book full of fanart, photography, most importantly essays/letters reflecting on the impact he has had on us, as well as whatever else goes through your creative minds that you’d like to put in. The book will be titled “The Voice of the Minions.” In the back will be a full list of donors to the entirety of the “Happy Birthday, Misha!” project and their state/province of residence (unless you prefer to be anonymous), plus anything else they’d like to include in case Misha chooses to contact someone who submitted a piece he is especially moved by, like e-mail, twitter, deviantart, etc. To find out how you can become a part of this, click here. Submissions are due THE FIRST WEEK OF JULY to be sure that it will arrive on time, so get cracking!

All questions, book submissions, etc should go to marisajshepard@yahoo.com

Guys, I really need your help. Even a simple reblog for signal boost would mean the world to me! And truly, whatever else you can do will be more appreciated than you know. I have talked to so many wonderful new people through this project and I can’t wait to meet more. Thanks SO MUCH, and stay extraordinary, folks!

(via amandatolleson)