Some students brought me a brochure about STDs the other day. It is aimed at African Americans. They had been ridiculing it among themselves and thought I might like to take a look. Here are three pages from it:
Text: “Let me holla @ cha about STDs.”
I’m not going to type out the text on that one–just note the DJ.
Note the use of “ladies” and “fellas,” as well as “peep game.” The prominent cleavage is extra-nice.
The brochure includes an internet link, jimmiehatz.com, which takes you to a website about STD awareness and using condoms. Here’s a screenshot:
If I had come upon this brochure myself, I don’t know that I would have thought too much about it, other than wondering if we really needed cartoon cleavage to get across the importance of being tested for STDs. But what really interested me was my students’ reactions: they saw it as an attempt by some group of adults to appeal to young people “like them” by adding some slang and graffiti-style text.
I’m really torn. I mean, on the one hand, any attempt to reach out to a wide variety of groups about a serious issue is commendable. But the reaction of my students–and of some others who picked up the brochure when I set it down for a minute and they picked it up–made me think about the dangers of trying to reach out to youth, underrepresented groups, etc., in ways that seem to them to be superficial or even stereotypical (the students were really annoyed by the image of the woman in the third panel and the implication that if you just substitute “fellas” and “ladies,” you’ve connected with the African American community).
I’ve been trying to imagine how a group could make an STD brochure aimed at young African Americans (or any other group of young people, really) and not be ridiculed by the very group they attempt to target. How do we approach this issue without seeming condescending or out-of-touch, as though we’re just trying to use the lingo of the kids to trick them into caring? On the other hand, my students did read the brochure, which they probably wouldn’t have done otherwise, so maybe something positive came out of it regardless of the students’ reactions.
Thoughts? Any experience with youth-outreach and the difficulties that come with it? Is this just a bad example?
