In advertisements, and media in general, everyone is subjected to having a stereotype. Even though these stereotype do not represent the whole population they are portraying, the consumer does not always see past it. While TV shows and movies do show the stereotypes the world has created, advertisements are an easy way for the media to portray them in a quick manner.  Generally, when comparing men and women in advertisements the male tends to look more powerful and commanding. The black male seems to be portrayed in a negative light more often than not.

To start off, one of the stereotypes black males fall under in advertisements is that they are violent and/or aggressive. This has been shown over many years and it does not look like there will ever be an end. In many advertisements, the black male often goes up to people in a confrontational manner, making it seem like they were on the verge of physical violence. This is why many celebrities, like Britney Spears, tend to have “big, scary black men” as their body guard. The effect this has on the generations for coming is significant. This stereotype has led for many young black males to feel uncomfortable in many settings including school. “Young men of color often feel the burning glare of misperception early on in school, where teachers are more likely to perceive their actions as disrespectful or defiant” (Knight). Because of this, young black males are afraid to participate in class or even go to school because of the internal fear they have of being reprimanded for actions the typical white student would get away with. An example of the violent nature of black males in advertisements would be the Vogue magazine cover of Lebron James. Intended or not, the magazine portrays Lebron like King Kong who looks violent and aggressive towards his gentle female counterpart. Not only did this show the black male as being violent, but also as a primitive, large gorilla. This is only one example of how the black male is seen as violent and aggressive in advertisements.

Another relevant stereotype of black males seen in advertisements is that they are drug dealers, drug users or gangsters. This has been the case for many years now. Black male drug dealers are perceived to dress in white tank tops, baggy jeans, with durags on their hair and flashy gold chain. One Public Service Announcement warning kids about the danger of drug had a black man perceived as the drug dealer telling the camera “that’s the price you pay when you deal with dudes like me.” As the advertisement continues, they show the once black man transforming into a snake and saying, “do I look like the kind of guy that would do that to a kid like you? Yes.” This leads to young blacks thinking that it is okay to fulfill the role of a drug dealer since the advertisements already portray them in that way.  A study by Dr. Dan Blazer shows that despite the stereotypical “black drug user,” the black youth is less likely to use any illegal drug out of any race in the U.S. (Szalavitz). Another advertisement was released by Mountain Dew that featured a white lady on crutches being asked to identify the suspect of a crime out of a line of black men and a goat. The black men were dressed as stereotypical gangsters, wearing a durag, gold chains, and baggy clothes. The goat was the true criminal, but she was unable to identify him as such because of the men surrounding him. These are only a few examples of how black males are seen as drug dealers, users, and gangsters.

Black males are also portrayed as tremendous athletes. For the most part, they are the ones big companies like Nike or Under Armor are going to have on their advertisements. This comes from the academic success black males have had in sports like basketball and football. Although the black population only makes up about 13% of the American population as a whole, they dominate the NBA with about 75% of the players being black, they also dominate the NFL with about 65% of those players being black. Not only are the basketball and football player major stereotypes, but for also being a fast runner. This is supported by the fact that all but one athlete has completed the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds has been black (Racial Stereotyping in Advertising).  What comes from this is young black males thinking they have to live up to this stereotype, even if they do not have the talent. The majority of athletes at this level, no matter the race, tend to have some kind of natural talent. So when a young black male sees an athlete he loves, no matter of his ability he will work hard to become like that athlete. This may seem good, but after a point practice only gets you so far and the kids with natural talent beat you. In turn, this child would over work himself and become injured, or mentally abuse himself for not being good enough.  A poll ran in the early nineties indicated about half of the U.S. population agreed with the idea “blacks have more natural physical ability” (Racial Stereotyping in Advertising). Also, it is thought by a majority of the white population that numerous number of black athletes get into the colleges they do because of their athletic ability. This means, they are saying that without athletics, these students would not have been able to attend the university or college they are going to. Having this type of stereotype leads the population to believe that white people excel in other aspects of life, like intelligence.

The black male is also shown as having “nappy” hair. Many cosmetic products appeal to this stereotype. The Nivea Re-Civilize Yourself ad, is a prime example of this. In the ad you see a black male with a clean cut head throwing what appears to be a mask of himself with long “nappy” hair. This not only shows that the black male has “nappy” hair, but society does not accept it and considers it to be uncivilized.  After research, it is notable that many black males create their own hair products because they believe it works better than the products available on the market.

A final stereotype would be that the black male does not partake in his child’s life. After many act of vandalism in Philadelphia by teenage black males, Mayor Nutter addressed the community saying that the problem within the black community is that “too many men are making too babies that they don’t want to take care of.” Even Obama has said that when it comes to raising a child, black males act like boys instead of men (Banks).  Many believe that the issue of black males abandoning their children is because many of those children are produced out of wedlock. This gives the male a sort of “easy out”, in the sense that legally they have no obligation to the wife or even the child at that point. Many times, the relationship the child has with their father depends on the relationship the father has with the mother. If the mother believes that the man who impregnated her would not be a good father, then she may not even let him know she is pregnant. While that is not always the case, it happens more often than not.  This stereotype is also more prevalent in urban centers and black males who are living in these areas tend to have a job with a lower income. Therefore, if they impregnate a woman they do not feel like they are at the financial state to help support and raise a child. Advertisements that show this stereotype include images of the single black woman taking care of her family. For example, the brand BABY K’TAN, ran two ads on the cover of their diapers. The one showed a white family with the baby, mother, and father all represented. On the organic version of the diapers, there was only a black mother and her baby. This company fell into the stereotype when deciding which audiences would be buying their product. They believed that only the black mother would be buying for her child, not the father.

Advertisements always play into stereotypes. The information presented only focused on one aspect of that. Men and women of all races fall into a stereotype. In particular, the stereotypes for black males are typically harsh. This is based on their history and what the stories the media chooses to cover.  While not all of the stereotypes were covered in this assignment, these are some of the most prevalent. The black male in today’s world however, is working very hard to diminish these stereotypes and create new ones for themselves. But as far as the media and advertisements are concerned, the black male is violent, a gangster, a tremendous athlete, have nappy hair, and an absent father.