ERIC Number: EJ916877
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Media Misrepresentations of a Mascot Controversy: Contested Constructions of Race and Gender
Gerstl-Pepin, Cynthia; Liang, Guodong
Journal of School Public Relations, v31 n3 p251-269 Sum 2010
This article examines media coverage of a high school Native American mascot controversy. Discourse analysis of media documents and artifacts was utilized to explore how the issue was socially constructed for public consumption. Critical race feminism was used as a framework to examine how media discourses can oversimplify the complex interaction of racism and sexism. We found that the rich historical and cultural legacies of Cherokee women were rendered invisible. This case provides insight for educators faced with media portrayals of racism and sexism in schools; it unearths some of the processes through which oppressive discourses can be perpetuated in news media coverage; and it suggests that understanding this is critical for school leaders who seek to be media literate and multiculturally competent. (Contains 3 notes.)
Descriptors: Semiotics, Group Unity, Human Body, American Indians, Sociolinguistics, Language Attitudes, Social Attitudes, Sociocultural Patterns, Racial Discrimination, Gender Bias, Gender Discrimination, News Media, News Reporting, Mass Media Effects, Discourse Analysis, Critical Theory, Race, Feminism, Etymology, Power Structure, Females, Cultural Context, Culture Conflict
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A