Invention Activity

Step 1:

• ●  Beauty Standards: the idealizing of skin tone (favoring light skin versus dark skin; colorism)

• ●  Andrew Tate (Bringing back masculinity, how masculinity and male thoughts are shut down by media not by individual thoughts but because it is the popular thing to do) 

• ●  Gender Roles – Traditional Male vs. Female Roles in Society
 – Men should get a job and women should stay at home
• ●  Stereotypes of the ghetto/hood
• ●  Menstruation is considered dirty (religious beliefs)
• ●  Work hard (working hard is the only path to success)

• ●  Immigrant families pushing their children to be at the top of everything (sense of toxic competition with the normalcy of “high achieving white people”)
• ●  Views on homeless people (they are all dangerous and drug addicts)

Step 2:

● Stereotypes of the ghetto/hood (socioeconomic status, music, movies) – Impoverished areas, mostly encompassing minorities and African American people, often have negative stereotypes and connotations associated with them. These stereotypes are especially found in the way it is portrayed in mass media, such as in music and movies. The portrayal and perpetuation of these stereotypes may lead to negative outcomes for minority youths that may see that this is their only way and path, as they were born into a life of poverty that they feel like they cannot escape from.
● Views on homeless people (they are all dangerous and drug addicts) – Homeless people often have a negative connotation associated with them. There is always this conception that all homeless people are “crackheads”: or are dangerous human beings, when in reality they are often misunderstood people that have been neglected or do not have a home. All homeless people are also not drug addicts, even though this is the common stereotype that they are. Sometimes they are people who have been mistreated by their families, made a mistake with a drug, and have not recovered ever since because they don’t have the proper help and support system from others.

Step 3:
Stereotypes about the ghetto/”hood”

Everything I know about the topic

Everything I want to find out about the topic

●  The ghetto or “hood” is often linked to minority groups of people, who are often in impoverished communities or project/community housing ●  These minority groups often refer to African Americans or Latino groups of people. ●  These stereotypes are widely expressed in music, movies, social media, and other forms of mass media ●  The perpetuation of these stereotypes shown to people may have a negative impact on youths growing up in these environments, as they may feel like turning to a life of crime and gang violence will be the only option. As most people say you don’t choose gang life, gang life chooses you. ●  You see on TV all the time and often see these minority groups in media, showcasing the negative stereotype that this “ghetto” is only characteristic of black and Hispanic people ●  Gang violence has been an emerging issue in these areas, and a lot of deaths have resulted ●  The rapper “Notti Osama” recently died on the 137th street 1 train stop as a result of gang violence- music, and diss tracks influenced the violence surrounding his death.

●  How have these stereotypes impacted youth growing up in these communities? ●  Where did the background of the word “hood” come from? ●  How has mass media impacted the influence of gang violence in lower-income areas? ●  What are the underlying problems plaguing areas considered as the ghetto/hood?

Stereotypical views on homeless people

Everything I know about the topic	Everything I want to find out about the topic
●  All homeless people are not drug addicts as people mostly think ●  Homeless people are often subject to the environment in which they were born or placed. ●  Mass media often portrays homeless people in a light that paints them all as “crackheads” that just do drugs and beg for money.	●  What really influenced the stereotype underlying people’s belief on homeless people? ●  How have these stereotypes negatively impacted the people who are homeless, but not for reasons they can control?

Step 4:

• ●  How have these stereotypes on the hood impacted youth growing up in these communities?
• ●  Where did the background of the word “hood” come from?
• ●  How are minors impacted by these stereotypes?
• ●  What are the actual demographics/population statistics of the people in these communities?
• ●  How does music further perpetuate these negative stereotypes?