View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication Summer 7-19-2013 The Reality Of Televised Jezebels and Sapphires: Blogs and the Negative Stereotypes of African American Women on Reality Television Safiya E. Reid Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Recommended Citation Reid, Safiya E., "The Reality Of Televised Jezebels and Sapphires: Blogs and the Negative Stereotypes of African American Women on Reality Television." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2013. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/100 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE REALITY OF TELEVISED JEZEBELS AND SAPPHIRES: BLOGS AND THE NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN ON REALITY TELEVISION by SAFIYA REID Under the Direction of Dr. Marian Meyers ABSTRACT Americans spend an average of 5.1 hours a day viewing television, with reality television as the most prevalent type of programming. Some of the top reality television shows feature African American women in negative and limiting roles. However, little research examines how the stereotypes presented on reality television about African American women are viewed by the audiences of these reality shows. This research seeks to understand how African American women on reality television are discussed by their audiences online, and whether African American women who contribute to blogs resist the negative stereotypes and portrayals.