Using three sets of children's books, we document changes in racial images and examine the relationship between culture, gatekeeping, and conflict in society. In terms of the representation of Blacks, four findings stand out. First, the portrayal of Black characters over time is nonlinear and can be divided into reasonably distinct phases: declining representation from the late 1930s through the late 1950s, nearly zero representation from that point through 1964, a dramatic increase from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, and a leveling off after 1975. Second, images vary significantly over time. For example, in award-winning books, Black characters reappear during the latter half of the 1960s in "safe," distant images. Third, the depiction of intimate, egalitarian, interracial interaction and the portrayal of Black adults as focal characters are rare. Fourth, gains in multicultural portrayals have not been maintained consistently across the different sets of children's books, with prize-winning books more likely to depict Blacks. We link these trends to gatekeeping activities and to strains in Black-White relations in the larger society. Specifically, advertisements from publishing houses are more likely to include Black characters than are award panel selections or editorials in leading professional journals. Prize-winning books continue a trend toward increased representation of Blacks and account for most of the books featuring only Black characters. Finally, when African American challenges to the dominant societal norms are strongest (measured by the numbers of conflicts, protests, and legal actions) Blacks virtually disappear from U.S. children's picture books. 0 ne of the most enduring struggles in the United States centers on social relationships between Blacks and Whites. This struggle has produced not only dramatic changes in the legal, social, and economic
A content analysis of 48 hours of prime time television reveals that sexual harassment on television is both highly visible and invisible. Sexual harassment is rendered visible simply by its prominence in these programs. Incidences involving quid pro quo harassment and environmental harassment occur with regularity on television. Eighty-four percent of the shows studied contained at least one incident of sexual harassment; the average was 3.4. Yet these acts of sexual harassment remain largely invisible in that none of the behaviors was labeled as sexual harassment. They are presented in humorous ways, and victims are generally unharmed and very effective at ending the harassment. Although such programs may actually reflect the reality of many women's lives in terms of prevalence of sexual harassment, they perpetuate several myths about sexual harassment, such as that sexual harassment is not serious and that victims should be able to handle the situations themselves.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.