| Content analyses of the media have consistently found that women tend to be portrayed in traditional roles that suggest female inferiority. Black women are often stereotyped on television and portrayed as sex objects by the music industry. These portrayals can potentially limit Black girls' conceptions of themselves and ideas about what it means to be a woman. Because few studies have examined these issues with African American girls, little is known about the media's influence on their developing self-concepts. This project examined connections between Black media use and African-American girls' self-concepts and attempted to identify moderators of these relationships. Using the theoretical frameworks of cultivation theory and drench hypothesis, this study tested the following hypotheses: Higher levels of media exposure and identification will be associated with lower self-esteem, increased importance of appearance and romantic appeal in self-worth judgments, and stronger endorsement of sex object attitudes. Racial identity, religiosity, and parental involvement in media use will be significant moderators of these relationships. 176 African American girls, aged 13--17 (mean = 15 years) completed survey measures of media exposure, media identification, self-esteem, self-worth, and attitudes emphasizing the importance of appearance for girls. Hierarchical regression results supported most of the predictions and revealed a few unexpected relationships between variables. The findings indicate that media portrayals of Black women as sex objects whose value is based on their appearance contribute to African American adolescent girls' feeling worse about themselves and developing self-concepts that focus on appearance and romantic appeal. Identifying with less objectifying media portrayals of Black women seems to offer some protection from these outcomes. There was also evidence suggesting that racial centrality, religiosity and parental involvement may buffer media influences on this sample. These findings are of great concern because this heavy emphasis on appearance can have serious implications for girls' overall development and may place them at risk for developing unhealthy romantic relationships. This study was a first attempt to document media connections to Black girls' self-concepts. Further research exploring other dimensions of media use would help advance our understanding of the media's role in African American girls' development. |
