Abstract
The issues of media and gender have long been a major area of research in media studies. Studies have focused on the way minority women have been portrayed, paying little attention to how these images affect their self-perception. In this study, the researcher shifts the focus to examine how minority women of various ethnicities interpret and internalize mainstream media images that glorify white femininity as well as the portrayals of minority women. This qualitative, exploratory content analysis research design applies Social Comparison Theory and Self-Schema philosophical approach. Content analysis using latent and manifest coding was applied to the interviews. Ten participants were selected through a snowball sampling design and identified as women with any non-white, ethnic group. Four themes emerged: 1) Mainstream media generally depicts women as sex symbols; 2) reliance on media perpetuates the use of stereotypes; 3) the ideal image of women is depicted as white, tall, and thin; 4) minority women are taught that they are inadequate and unworthy. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.