1. Reality TV: Depictions and Portrayals
of African American Women
Tekia Huggins
CMST 4899: Senior Project

2. Introduction
• Reality Television
- A genre of television programming that
documents unscripted real life situations, and
often features an unknown cast.

3. Nielsen Ratings

4. Main Points
• Cultivation of Stereotypes
• Cultivation of Body Image Perceptions
• Potential Empowerment

5. Cultivation Theory
• Gerbner (1976)
• “Examined the long-term effects of television
and explained that the more time people lived
in the television world, the more likely they
are to believe social reality portrayed on
television” (Gerbner 1976).

6. Stereotypes and Perceptions of
Violence
• African Americans in reality TV represented
historic and new stereotypes.

8. Perceptions of Body Image

9. Potential Empowerment

10. Case Study

11. Conclusion

12. References