Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint pt. 1

Pg 367 – “We develop mechanisms through which we understand our environment and the forces at play therein. These are often enacted through cognitive shortcuts, or heuristics. These cognitive schema are influenced by who we are (our background), what we do (our direct, personal experiences), and what we see, hear, and learn through our exposure to mass media. Media representations play an important role in informing the ways in which we understand social, cultural, ethnic, and racial differences. Racial identity may play an especially powerful role in shaping our responses to mass media.”

~ So, basically our identities create a framework around which we understand the world. Our personal histories, identities, and exposure to other things help us to create these frameworks.

Pg 368 – “Racial identity becomes salient when African American audiences oppose what they see and hear from an ideological position as harmful, unpleasant, or distasteful media representations. The mass media images of Black males as violent and threatening are examples of reified stereotypes that many African Americans resist.”

~ A certain identity takes precedence over others when that identity is threatened. Interesting idea of expression/oppression. Too much threatening of an expressed identity will either cause it to be oppressed or to be redistributed into another identity in order to protect it.

Pg 369 – “The process of identity formation is complex. It is shaped by the routine interactions and challenges that an individual faces on a daily basis. This process is also context specific. A person may identify as a member of a particular group, or a person may identify with individuals or representative members of that group. At the same time, others may assign, or identify, this person with yet another group.”

~ I like this explanation of how one is in a certain identity.

Pg 369 – “Social categories that have been used to groups and sometimes to oppress people may also become important sources of self-identity. A “social self-identity” has been described by Babad, Birnbaum, and Benne (1983) as “a complex integration of personality attributes, unique experiences, personal choices, and the individual sense of ‘self’ on one hand, and ‘socio-identities,’ which are the products of various groups memberships, on the other hand” (p. 37). Similarly, Garza and Herringer (1986) argue that self-identity is the product of personal attitudes, values, past history, and the groups to which we belong, except that membership can be determined by will or by fate.”

~ Hmm, I think I might want to future research this over winter break. The idea of “social self-identity” etc. are kind of the things that I am looking into.

Pg 369-70 – “Tajfel (1982) contends that social identity provides a psychological link between the sense of self and identification with an in-group. In his definition of social identity, Tajfel highlights the salience of group membership and the value and emotional significance that an individual attaches to membership in that group. However, there are certain groups in which we willingly choose membership and other groups in which we, by virtue of our birth,  are said to belong. In this sense, racial group membership can be seen as a resource if it reflects a voluntary self-designation where an individual identifies with other members of this group. Alternatively, racial group membership may be seen as a burden or constraint if a person only identifies as an African American because there is no other choice.”

~ This is an interesting though that one’s overall identity is a combination of self and identification instead of something else. So, I would say that one’s self is what I call one’s personal identity and the identification piece is a combination of what I’m referring to as identity and culture.
Davis, J. L., Gandy, O. H. Jr. (1999). Racial identity and media orientation: Exploring the nature of constraint. Journal of Black Studies, 29(3). Retrieved November 9, 2008, from JSTOR database.