Thug Stereotypes

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The term “thug” has become synonymous with young black males in the United States. This stereotype owes its origins not to rap music, but to the racialized political atmosphere of the late 1950’s (Abagond, 2015). The notion of the stereotypical black thug of today took hold in the 1990’s with the advent of gangsta rap (Abagond, 2015). As rap has grown in popularity, integrating the thug stereotype into mainstream movies, television shows and even advertisement campaigns was easy and systematic. The thug is now, such an ingrained notion that when asked, almost anyone from any demographic will most likely give you the same description of what one is. The answer will probably be, a young man who is Black has tattoos, wears baseball caps, lots of gold jewelry, sunglasses, baggy shorts or jeans with their underwear hanging out. They always swear, are extremely vulgar, sell drugs, have piles of money that they stole, likes to drink Courvoisier and exploits women (Carter, 2014). It took just a little over twenty years, for something that started off as a small underground musical genre to become a universally accepted stereotype of a young black male. The impact of these …show more content…
The easy access to all the many different media types has allowed individuals all around the world to create identities based on experiences they never have nor will they ever have (Kellner, 2011). While I do not think all black men are thugs, it just does not resonate with me that these other young men and women can come close to fitting into this stereotype. This stereotype has become so ingrained that other nationalities embracing the thug life, seem almost comical to me. In a way, I guess you could say society has done an excellent job branding the young black man as a thug because while other people may dress the dress and talk the talk, they will never in my mind, be a thug (Linn,

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