Michelle Obama on Learning to "Talk White"
In Michelle Obama's new memoir, Becoming, she discusses how at a young age one of her classmates asked her why she "talked like a white girl." Obama addresses the issue of 'code-switching' and how it accents can affect young people of color and force them to change themselves to fit white society. It was interesting to read about how, even at a young age, Obama was aware of how people treated her differently based on her skin color and were shocked to see she was actually a well-spoken, intelligent individual.This reminded me of when we discussed Latino accents in class. In many cases Latino characters are given an accent to show where they are from, but this also "others" them in society. The same can be said to all people of color in the media. Characters are given 'urban' accents to distinguish them to the audience. While there are many people who speak in this way, it is a tool the media uses to perpetuate stereotypes about people of color as unintelligent or uneducated. This is known as the internal effect because people can begin to internalize these stereotypes and ideas about themselves based on the images that are shown in society.
I think you bring up some really good points in this post, especially tying this part of Obama's auto-biography to our discussion of Latino accents in class. This also reminds me a spoken word piece called "You Talk White" that my mom showed me a couple of years ago. In the piece, the artist says, "You must be mistaking me for some preconceived stereotypes in your life, cause I talk like I'm educated, not like I'm white."
ReplyDeleteI think the concept of code switching is a reality for many people of color and that there is a pressure put on them by white people to speak impeccable English with no accent. Language and accents are such a ludicrous way to measure perceived intelligence.