Toni Morrison, in her novel Playing in the Dark, brings up many arguments about today’s American literature, asserting that this world is a “genderized, sexualized, wholly racialized world” (4). She makes commentaries on how Africanism is being used as a way to keep power exclusively to the whites who are far more “superior,” and yet perpetuates Africanist traits as “exotic” and further objectifying the already-marginalized group. Most people nowadays avoid the topic of this racism, hoping that it will go away if they don’t bring it up. However, she argues that by avoiding racism, one is being racist. Just as in many of her other arguments, she is definitely correct about this topic. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, racism
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The most recent example in media is of Miley Cyrus wearing dreads during the 2015 MTV VMAs. Rios states in his article that Miley is “America’s foremost practitioner of cultural appropriation” and even “enjoys the benefits of this personhood.” She uses the exotic Africanist image to call attention to herself but does not use it to bring attention to the problems that the African Americans face, and that is where the line is drawn. Cultural appropriation can be a great way for societies to develop, but when people only take the positive side of a culture without feeling the negative effects that come with it, such as racism, the person is committing an act of racism against the people of the culture they appropriated. An additional example of negative cultural appropriation is Avril Lavigne’s song “Hello Kitty.” In her song, Hello Kitty is used as a euphemism and the song is revealed to have a double meaning, the second being a flirtatious one (Copsey). She uses the racicst image of fetishizing Asian women for their “innocence” and further engrains into the audience’s minds that Asian women are thought to be “sexy” because of their innocence and childishness. By insinuating that these are true, the targets are being stripped of their individuality while being asserted that they are objects, and much less than other people. This harmful image …show more content…
Many people with darker colored skin are being pulled over for “random” searches at much higher rates than whites. People with burkas and other appearances linked to Middle Eastern religions are often stopped for “random” searches at airports, or are often called “terrorists” because of their beards of their clothing. Racial profiling is much more common in the United States than most people think. These applied stereotypes are harmful to those who are associated with these stereotypes, and can actually be a cause of physical damage to these persons, most commonly seen in hate crimes against Arabs, whether Islam affiliated or not, post-9/11. Another big example of racial profiling is the shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old child who was shot by police. In reports, police claimed that he had a gun, even though the gun was a toy. This is a prime example in the way that this child, who was obviously a juvenile, was racially profiled and deemed to be dangerous, which ultimately resulted in the child’s
The most recent example in media is of Miley Cyrus wearing dreads during the 2015 MTV VMAs. Rios states in his article that Miley is “America’s foremost practitioner of cultural appropriation” and even “enjoys the benefits of this personhood.” She uses the exotic Africanist image to call attention to herself but does not use it to bring attention to the problems that the African Americans face, and that is where the line is drawn. Cultural appropriation can be a great way for societies to develop, but when people only take the positive side of a culture without feeling the negative effects that come with it, such as racism, the person is committing an act of racism against the people of the culture they appropriated. An additional example of negative cultural appropriation is Avril Lavigne’s song “Hello Kitty.” In her song, Hello Kitty is used as a euphemism and the song is revealed to have a double meaning, the second being a flirtatious one (Copsey). She uses the racicst image of fetishizing Asian women for their “innocence” and further engrains into the audience’s minds that Asian women are thought to be “sexy” because of their innocence and childishness. By insinuating that these are true, the targets are being stripped of their individuality while being asserted that they are objects, and much less than other people. This harmful image …show more content…
Many people with darker colored skin are being pulled over for “random” searches at much higher rates than whites. People with burkas and other appearances linked to Middle Eastern religions are often stopped for “random” searches at airports, or are often called “terrorists” because of their beards of their clothing. Racial profiling is much more common in the United States than most people think. These applied stereotypes are harmful to those who are associated with these stereotypes, and can actually be a cause of physical damage to these persons, most commonly seen in hate crimes against Arabs, whether Islam affiliated or not, post-9/11. Another big example of racial profiling is the shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old child who was shot by police. In reports, police claimed that he had a gun, even though the gun was a toy. This is a prime example in the way that this child, who was obviously a juvenile, was racially profiled and deemed to be dangerous, which ultimately resulted in the child’s