How women are portrayed in the media disgusts me, especially in the hip-hop culture. When you watch today’s hip-hop music videos, all you see is scantily clad women flaunting their goodies and behaving in a way that degrades them. After seeing these videos, one will think that the word “woman” is synonymous with the word “sex.” The fact that these women are usually minorities adds fuel to the flame. Cofer recalls several incidents where she has been a victim of stereotypical view of Latin women. Because of her Puerto Rican background, Cofer’s mother encouraged her to wear clothing that others deemed inappropriate. Cofer’s culture is different from the American culture, therefore the way Latin women dress give American men the wrong message. American men misinterpret the vivid colors and the abundance of jewelry and accessories Latin women wear as a provocative “invitation.” As a result:
Mixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes – for example, that of the Hispanic woman as the “hot tamale” or sexual fireband. It is a one-dimensional view that the media have found easy to promote. In their special vocabulary, advertisers have designated “sizzling” and “smoldering” as the adjectives of choice for describing not only the foods but also the women of Latin America (225).
Minority women being portrayed and as a result stereotyped as sleazy isn’t the only negative effect of hip-hop music videos. Young girls who are bombarded with these images will most likely develop little personal values. Young boys will probably perceive the women in their lives as nothing more than a piece of meat. It’s disturbing how crime against women has steadily increased as women are degraded in the media.
It’s remarkable how the media has an immense effect on today’s society. This is due to the fact that millions of people spend hours glued to the television. Unfortunately, the characters portrayed by the media fail to reveal how real people are in the real world: “There are thousands of [people] without the privilege of an education or the entrees into society…life for them is a constant struggle against misconceptions perpetuated by [myths]” (227). It’s important to correct any misconceptions; otherwise, people will never know the truth behind a stereotype. Our goal should be, “to try to replace the old stereotypes with a much more interesting set of realities” (227).
Works Cited
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria.” The
Prentice Hall Reader, 7th ed. Ed. Miller, George. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. 223-28.
