Samenvatting

The purpose of this research is to find out if there is a whitewashing of the Dutch media and what effects, if any, it has on young females of colour. In order to answer this question desk research has been done about several studies regarding the representation of ethnic minorities. In addition to this, field research has been conducted in the form of a survey to view the opinions of Dutch females of colour as well as the Dutch citizens. The desk research revealed that when it comes to the representation of ethnic minorities on television, women of colour are underrepresented in the Dutch mainstream media. If they are represented on television, it is mostly in a stereotypical way (Redmond Amsterdam, 2013). Furthermore, when females of colour are shown in magazines, it always seems like they fit the white beauty ideal: long, straight hair and a light skin (Alvarez, 2008). This does not only influence the perception of white females about females of colour, but also the self-perception of females of colour (Covert and Nixon, 2008). Advertisers played an important role in this, since they prefer a white readers public. In addition to this, new media and social media can be considered as two important new mediums when it comes to the negative or unequal representation of females of colour (Moody, 2012). Besides this, the way females of colour are represented in hip hop videos is also an example of negatively stereotyping the female of colour. Moreover, when it comes to the representation of females of colour in Dutch history, images of black in Dutch history varies from slaves, uncivilized people, devils, bogey men or clown (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 2007). According to Tessa Boerman, black females were negatively represented in Dutch paintings as well as positively represented (Boerman, 2008). The field research revealed that from the surveyed Dutch females of colour, 52% was affected by the current media representation of females of colour in the media. Of these females, 36% has felt the pressure to fit into the Western beauty ideal. This pressure was especially felt, when it came to wanting to have straight hair, a lighter skin, light eyes and Eurocentric features. These findings suggest that in general, there is a white washing of the Dutch media. The general public also thought that females of colour in the media did fit the white beauty ideal more. However, they also considered light skinned females with Eurocentric feautures as more beautiful.