Quanieka Colbert: Don’t just accept the stereotype, reach out and find out

In today’s society, media outlets dominate the information being released on a daily basis. Elite groups and organizations in political and corporate domains use their power to control how citizens initially perceive information. It’s important to take a mental note that not every citizen analyzes the situation presented to them. Most people only glance over the titles of articles or watch local news networks that don’t always allow them to receive the full background of a situation.

Take the representation of Muslim women in the media. There are two main representations, in one you have Muslim women depicted as an oppressed population; in the other you have them presented as non-radical political activists who have an unspoken agenda against the United States. There is no intermediate depiction of Muslim women being a part of any happy or satisfactory life – only the two extremes.

I press the importance of citizens using social media outlets to pose questions and concerns on the information being presented as well as bringing awareness to unspoken issues happening around the world. I attend UC Merced and I know students use all sorts of apps and outlets every day. One post, tweet, share or like is all it takes.

This story was originally published May 3, 2017 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Quanieka Colbert: Don’t just accept the stereotype, reach out and find out."