Post a response to another classmate’s posting, discussing your thoughts of their post in a respectful and thoughtful manner. What stood out to you about their analysis? Which sociological or psychological theories best explain the dissemination of these racial or ethnic representations in the mass media?
NOTE: Make sure you answer all parts of the discussion question and that each post and response meet the minimum word count requirement of 250 words for each post and classmate response. Posts that do not have an accompanying classmate response or do not meet the minimum word count requirement will not be graded and will receive a “0” for the given assignment.
General Requirement(s):
Discussion postings are worth 20 percent of your total grade (5 percentage points per post and response)
You are required to first post a response to the discussion board prompt and it must be a minimum of 250 words. Citations, titles, copying questions, references, and other identifying information does not count toward word count.
You are required to use proper grammar and spelling. When using other sources, citations using APA style are required.
Direct quotes are not permitted in discussion posting, therefore you must paraphrase and cite.
You are required to post a response to a classmate. Your post will not be graded unless you do so as well. When responding to a classmate to a classmate, your response needs to be pertinent and of substance. Stating that you agree or disagree is not sufficient. You must substantiate your responses. Responses must be a minimum of 250 words as well.
Above all, your posts must be respectful and worthy of intellectual honesty, sincerity, and humility.
1. Stephanie Murillo,
In mainstream society, most people view race and ethnicity to be the same thing. From a sociological perspective, race deals with biology while ethnicity deals with culture. In addition, mainstream society views race to be an indisputable fact, something undeniably real. However, race is actually something subjective, something based on an individual’s perception. Somebody’s race is determined by their physical characteristics, what they look like. The most common indicator of race is skin color. But race is also determined by the skin color of those in someone’s family. A person could be white or light-skinned, but if they have a parent or another relative who is black or with dark skin, they will usually be considered black. But it is important to consider that this might not happen the opposite way (that a person with dark skin in a family full of whites will be considered “white.”). This may be the result of racial prejudice. Prejudice is when someone has a preconceived notion about someone, usually negative. Racial prejudice in particular is when someone has a negative view towards a particular race. When these negative views reach the point where someone is treated unfairly because of their race, then it is called discrimination, specifically racism.
In contrast, ethnicity deals with culture rather than physical appearance. Those who are within the same ethnic group share a certain aspect or aspects of their culture with others in the group. These shared cultural aspects may be religion, for example. Jews are an ethnic group. All Jews share the same religion. They also share a language (Hebrew) as well as certain dietary restrictions. A scapegoat is a person or group who is blamed for the problems of someone else or another group. Again, a good example of a scapegoat would be the Jews during World War 2. Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany, believed that the Jews were the reason Germany lost World War 1 and were looked down upon by the rest of the world.
The media is one of the major outlets that display the various racial and ethnic stereotypes in the world. Take, for example, the stereotypical beliefs of illegal immigrants and of terrorists. In the US, illegal immigrants are all labeled as “Mexican.” In reality, illegal immigrants come from all over the world: from Europe, from South America, from Central America, from Asia. But Latinos are stereotyped as being illegal immigrants, with all Latinos being called “Mexican” even if they come from another Latino country. Within that stereotype, “Mexicans” are seen as rapists and criminals. Now, another stereotypical belief is that towards Muslims. Because the terrorist group that caused the 9/11 attack was a Middle Eastern fundamentalist Muslim group, the media has started attributing all terrorist attacks to Muslims.
2. Alexandra Rico,
From a sociological perspective, the difference between race and ethnicity is that race refers to physical differences that are significant in groups and cultures and ethnicity refers to shared culture, such as language, practices, and beliefs. Prejudice is an assumption or an opinion about someone based on the group that person belongs to. An example where someone can be prejudice is when people assume that just because you are Hispanic that you are loud. Racism is when someone discriminates a person based on a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority. A scapegoat has come to mean any group or individual that innocently bears the blame of others. A scapegoat is a person who is blamed for the mistakes or faults of others, especially for reasons of convenience. My racial and ethnic identity has played a significant role in my life. It’s kind of hard just because a lot of people can discriminate specifically in Hispanic cultures. I am American and I was born in the United States but I am Hispanic and Spanish was my first language so when I speak English I have a very thick accent. I have gone places where even though I have been speaking English my whole life and my English is very good, a lot of people have been very rude when speaking to me because of my thick accent. Racial and ethnic stereotypes are everywhere in the mass media. Surveying some of these mediums, an example of a racial or ethnic stereotype in the media that I have seen would be this watermelon soda that was advertised in 2009 which featured a little black girl on the can. The image of African americans eating watermelon dates back to slavery times in the 1800s. After receiving backlash from the African-American community, the manufacturers removed the image of the little black girl and changed it to a little boy with white skin. This is something that happens every single day on TV and social media.
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