Seriously... He's not black (Disclaimer: The following contains reflections on racial stereotypes... please dont get offended anyone)

Part 1

 Isn't it time for the language to move on?

This quote from Marie Arana's editorial, I believe, is one of the most powerful questions raised to society today. It points out how in America today we label people in a way that only goes skin deep and as Americans we expect people to act like the label we have put on them.

Like she says at the beginning of the article

It's as if we have one foot in the future and another still mired in the Old South. We are racially sophisticated enough to elect a non-white president, and we are so racially backward that we insist on calling him black.

Arana feels like, though we have elected a non-white president, we still refer to him as "black". "Black", being defined by the people and not by standard definition, meeaning fitting the stereotype of a black person something which our president-elect doesnt fall under. Because of language such as "black" and "white" we have forced labels on people that may not totally fit them. Just because someone looks one way they are expect to act by the label given to them by American Society.

I feel Arana is tryingg to prove the point that we need to move on from labels and look at people as how they are and not by how they look or where they grow up.

Part 2. Labels and stereotypes in America

Above is a picture of stereotypes. Labels given to people depending on how they look or where they are from. They effect us every day.

Lets look at the label of "Black"

In American culture there is a way to "act black" Wikipedia states in an article about Stereotypes of African Americans:

Racial stereotypes of African Americans have persisted in American culture since even before the early blackface minstrel shows of the 19th century which portrayed blacks as joyous, naive, superstitious, and ignorant. Such scholars as Patricia A. Turner note "stereotyping objects in popular culture that depict blacks as servile, primitive, or simpleminded and explains how the subtle influences of such seemingly harmless images reinforce antiblack attitudes."Stereotypes continue today as blacks are often portrayed as athletic, religious, poor, musically talented, and criminals.

Many "black" people today are automatically slotted into a label and that effects how they are viewed.

Also "White" people have been labeled. Theur wikipedia article says

[White] Americans are stereotyped as brash, ignorant, self-important, unintelligent, decadent, prudish on sexual matters, and obese. The image of the obese American could be due to perception of the American diet, such as the popularity and global spread of American franchises such as McDonald's and Burger King, which has fueled America's obesity crisis. Another popular American stereotype is the cowboy, the overconfident cigar chomping business man and the ignorant tourist couple who has no interest or respect for authentic culture.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008