Media stereotypes. All three groups were in agreement that, in the main, the media in the form of television portrayed African Caribbeans in stereotypical roles, namely sports and music and that it has an effect on the career aspirations of African
Caribbeans, particularly young men. One parent said that the media gave out the wrong message about the abilities of African Caribbeans.
“…it’s…the stereotyping thing isn’t it? When… you look at the TV and the TV is churning out… reality TVs…and…the garbage that it is trying to force Afro
Caribbeans into it leaves a perception that we are only good at dancing… music… and that’s the only thing we can get involved in… I think…the TV gives out the wrong message” (Wayne: 395-397, 399-401, 405, 407).
One student concurred that the way in which the media portrays Black Artists is not helpful.
“…basically Black people seem to see Hip Hop, and video girls as…the way to be… it’s very rare to find a group of young Black people that don’t see…THAT’S the way forward” (Heather: 659-662).
Creative Careers Music, Dance, Drama and Sports Media stereotypes
Counselling psychology is not seen as prestigious
Natural talent
Instant rewards Fame and recognition
Perceived expectations
Part of culture Greater exposure to these
Fame and recognition. Participants seemed to be suggesting that the glitzy celebrity type lifestyle portrayed by the media appeared to epitomise what success might look like for Black people and that set a tone for the way forward for some.
“The fact that …you can get famous from it… people know your name… I’ve accomplished something, this person knows my name.” (Jade: 309, 311,317).
“…you see someone like..Usain Bolt…with Caribbeans you see... athletics and a more prominent thing like…cricket…You see the NBA with…black players. When it comes to music you see, Jay-Z, see all these big Rappers. It seems like the ‘in thing’ and more people are drawn towards that” (Dan: 304, 306-307, 309-310, 312-313,
315-316).
Instant rewards. Some participants appear to suggest that it is not just the
‘celebrity like’ status that many African Caribbean young men and women aspire to but it is also the concept of overnight success.
“all the bigs who I don’t listen to;…its forcing…or its…steering Black people into the bling, bling, bling, girly, girly culture and the great big car...and the easy way of getting something, instead of working at achieving what you need to achieve”
(Wayne: 412-413, 415, 417 419, 421-423).
An interesting phenomenon that was highlighted was the length of time that it takes to be trained as a counselling psychologist against the time that it would take to earn millions of pounds as a footballer. It would appear that the length of time that it takes to qualify is a deterrent.
…“within 2-3 years you are earning millions of pounds. You are still studying in your psychologist. Cos it’s half way through your job… you have not even
Counselling psychology lacks prestige. Participants did not equate the status given to the job of a counselling psychologist with the same parity as a career in sports, music or dance.
“…you could be famous by being a pop star, by being a movie star … by being a dancer … but you are not going to be famous by being a psychologist, you understand what I’m saying?” (Wayne: 437-440).
An undergraduate participant evaluated that:
“…they (Black young men) probably are not even aware of how much money a Counselling Psychologist makes…. I think they just see it as a money thing and a status thing…Whereas, if they probably looked into it, they probably make more being a Counselling Psychologist than just being a basic Rapper” (Heather: 700-
701, 703, 705-707).
Natural talent. There appears to be an assumption that using one’s natural talent means being free to “express yourself” which might imply that a career as a counselling psychologist may be perceived as restrictive and potentially the loss of one’s identity. Statements made by two participants alluded to this. Firstly Rosie said:
“it’s just expressing yourself doing what you…want to do… whereas if it’s like counselling maybe like the people that they are introduced to it’s not really for them and they might feel a bit trapped whereas music if you don’t like something just go onto the next thing and you might stay into that. Whereas counselling you can’t really choose your patients.” (Rosie: 440,441-443-447).
“It’s… something that you..like…. That’s more like research and like knowing the …all the terms and stuff….sports is more yourself…like you’re yourself when you want to improve your body…you do it yourself” (288-289, 291-293).
Part of culture. While many of the participants agreed that a career in music dance and sports is popular because the media highlights it and the desire for fame,
recognition and rewards, some felt that dance and music were embedded within Caribbean culture and it was something that came naturally to many people of
Caribbean descent. Culture, natural talent and ability were seen as making a career in music; sports and dance appear more appealing. This view was expressed by Mark. He pointed out that “music and performing and that sort of thing is in African Caribbean
people’s blood” (724-725). However, there was a sense of another parent distancing
herself from that notion.
“…this is something some of them are born with, they have the ability to do, there are some, but it is not ALL Caribbean… people you find do that” (Josephine: 612-
615).
Greater exposure of subjects at school. Unlike studying psychology, parents and 16-18 year olds mentioned the fact that music, dance, and sports have been activities that have been taught to children from a young age. As well as being a part of cultural heritage, it has been part of the school curriculum throughout the school experience. Therefore it was probable that individuals had the opportunity to develop a love for those subjects. This was contrasted with studying psychology which is introduced in year ten.
The findings show that African Caribbeans may well choose more creative careers because of natural talent and ability. However, some participants enter it because it is perceived as “not hard work” (Rosie: 436) and because academics are not involved.
Perceived expectations. On another level, Holly seems to speak about possible disappointment from the school experience that might cause individuals to withdraw and hold back, which in turn might mean that a person’s ability to achieve has been hampered.
“They felt that they couldn’t achieve…academic success so they’d rather go into something where they would be more accepted….Maybe they thought that they’d be happier there because of maybe bad experiences at school… and in education… so they thought to go further than that wouldn’t probably be best for them” (Holly:
192-194, 196-197,199,201-202).
There seemed to be a sense in which a perceived lack of inspiration or high expectancy levels meant that some pupils failed to achieve or fulfil their potential. Rather stereotypical views inhibited success and in turn led to feelings of failure. For some African Caribbeans, as for many people, trying to function in a domain in which he or she is not comfortable can present a big challenge and the temptation can be to remain where it feels safe.
“Well there’s always been,…a study like that…Black men… or young boys do the worst in school so they probably thought okay, what’s the point in me doing that if I’m going to be the worst anyway…. There’s always been the racial stigma of course that…Black people are less than other races…so they probably wouldn’t want to expose themselves to that” (Holly: 219-220, 222-224, 226-227, 229, 231-232).
Figure 19