THE IMAGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AS PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE: INTERPRETATIONS BY URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT FEMALES REGARDING THEIR LIFE CHANCES, LIFE CHOICES, AND SELF-ESTEEM By Pamela Rose Smith A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Sociology - Doctor of Philosophy 2014 ABSTRACT THE IMAGE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AS PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE: INTERPRETATIONS BY URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT FEMALES REGARDING THEIR LIFE CHANCES, LIFE CHOICES, AND SELF-ESTEEM By Pamela Rose Smith The aim of this study was to investigate the image of African American women in popular culture and gain an understanding of how those images are interpreted by urban African American adolescent girls (N=40) between the ages of 13-19 years old. Black magazine covers and hip-hop/rap music videos that display images of African American women were viewed by the participants. Questions were asked of the girls that explored whether popular culture media images of African American women affect the interpretation of their self-esteem, choices they make, and future chances in life. Specifically, I sought to understand: 1) Do images of African American women shown in popular culture influence the interpretation of life chances and life choices of urban African American adolescent girls, and if so, how?; and 2) Whether portrayals of African American women in popular culture influence the interpretation of the self-esteem of urban African American adolescent girls. A mixed method research process was used to gather data that represents the participants’ perspectives. Results from the questionnaires suggest that some participants perceive that popular culture images of African American women influence their life chances and life choices, while others also resist the image on some level. The quantitative findings from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale indicate that the participants either have high or normal self-esteem. Copyright by PAMELA ROSE SMITH 2014 This work is dedicated to my daughters, Courtney and Zakiya Minifee; from the very beginning of this academic journey you have been supportive, encouraging, and always willing to help where possible. I will always treasure our bond. You were my inspiration for this project. And my mother, Helen M. Smith, who always told me to “stand tall.” With you as my role model, how could I not? Thank you for teaching me to be strong, tenacious, and to have the fortitude to meet life’s challenges. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to the many people during the course of my journey who offered words of encouragement, support, and advice. Without you the completion of this project would have been a very difficult road to travel. To my distinguished dissertation committee: I thank you for the many hours that you contributed by listening to my ideas, reading my dissertation, meeting with me, and offering advice and invaluable guidance. To the chair of my committee, Dr. Carl S. Taylor, I never imagined that my graduate school experience would be filled with so many opportunities to learn outside of the walls of academe, which you afforded me. From local communities to Washington, D.C. to international boarders you shared your expertise with me and it has broadened my perspective on humankind. Thank you for believing in me, including me in several of your projects, and also for continuing to chair my work after the master’s degree. To committee member, Dr. Linda Kalof, I cannot thank you enough for the close and careful reading of my work; your diligence helped me hone my writing skills immeasurably. I am eternally grateful for your guidance and advice. To committee member, Dr. Francisco Villarruel, you never hesitated to make time for me and you always challenged me to think further. I was fortunate that you also served on my master’s committee and continued with me on this journey. Thank you for your support and encouragement through graduate school. To committee member, Dr. Toby TenEyck, I will always treasure the several impromptu meetings that we had over the years that tapped into the creative and visual aspect of my project. Thank you for sharing your insight and willingness to offer advice. v My daughters, Courtney and Zakiya Minifee were instrumental in seeing me through technical glitches while using the computer, one of many facets among their support. I am a “wiz” now because of their assistance and patience. My mother, Helen M. Smith and brothers, Darryl and Raymond Smith always offered words of encouragement and a listening ear through this process, I will always be grateful for their support. To the many friends and family, I thank you for your unwavering support, encouragement, and acts of kindness. To the young women who volunteered to participate in the project and spent an enormous amount of their time filling out questionnaires, attending meetings, and communicating electronically, I could not have completed this work without you. I send my sincere appreciation and gratitude to each and every one of you for sharing your experiences, thoughts, and suggestions. I am particularly indebted to Janice Rowley, a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools who afforded me the opportunity to connect with the adolescent girls in her school. I also thank Virgil “Al” Taylor who was instrumental in the connections I made with the young women at the community center. And, thank you to the administrators from both the school and community center that gave me access to conduct my project. This project would not have been possible without your cooperation and interest in my research. To the staff, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Sociology, thank you to all that contributed to the completion of this project and for the many well wishes. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Statement of the Topic .................................................................................................. 1 Research Questions and Objectives ............................................................................................ 4 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ................................................................................................ 6 African American Females in Historical Perspective ................................................................. 6 The Representation of Women in Mass Media ............................................................................ 8 Media Images of Women ........................................................................................................ 8 Media Images of African American Women ........................................................................ 10 Resisting the Stereotyped Image ............................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3: Research Strategies ..................................................................................................... 16 Operationalization of variables and questionnaires ................................................................. 16 Pop Culture ............................................................................................................................ 16 Life Chances .......................................................................................................................... 17 Life Choices........................................................................................................................... 18 Self-Esteem............................................................................................................................ 18 Demographics ........................................................................................................................ 19 Chapter 4: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 21 Participants ............................................................................................................................... 21 Study Introduction ................................................................................................................. 22 First Meeting ......................................................................................................................... 22 Magazine Cover Selection ..................................................................................................... 24 Second Meeting (one week after first session) ...................................................................... 25 Hip-Hop/Rap Music Video Selection..................................................................................... 26 Third Meeting (two weeks after the initial meeting) ............................................................. 27 Fourth Meeting (once project was completed) ...................................................................... 28 Instruments ................................................................................................................................ 28 Quantitative Measure............................................................................................................