COMMERCIALISM'S CONTINUING CHALLENGE to YOUTH of COLOR and LOW-INCOME YOUTH*

 Velma LaPoint, PhD**

Associate Professor, Howard University 

Many years ago, I began to observe the many ways that commercialism impacts the lives of children of color and low-income children and youth—especially the horrendous reports of Black and Latino males assaulting and killing each other over high-priced, celebrity endorsed sneakers, jackets, and other items.  And these reports were in just in the one area of commercialism—fashion.  There were and are so many more such as food, tobacco, alcohol, the “screen magnets” of television, DVDs, and movies, videos—often all linked and cross-marketed together to sell specific youth oriented products for the sole purpose of endless marketing for multi-billion dollar corporate profits.  So when I attend meetings or read information related to the impact of commercialism’s influences on children, there is often little or no information about youth of color and low-income youth.  This gives the view that the commercialization of childhood is not a relevant social problem to youth of color and low-income youth.  This article, based on some of my publications, will highlight how commercialism’s influences impact youth of color and low-income youth and what actions have both occurred or need to occur to counter such influences.    

“Commercialism influences” is defined as the impact of corporate and industry practices, occurring all together, to produce, manufacture, advertise, and sell products and services to children directly or indirectly through adults—in an effort to meet their bottom line of making endless and gigantic profits generally at the expense of children’s health and well-being. Many areas of corporate and industry products and services have been identified as having adverse or potentially adverse impacts on children and adolescents, with more and more information about the impact on children of color and low-income children.  Some areas are: (a) food industries with a focus on low nutritious foods, sedentary lifestyles, and rising overweight and obesity rates; (b) polluting industries which includes toxic products in children’s environments such as their toys and new, existing, and renovated schools;  (c) media industries which has some violent, sexual, and other problematic programming on television, radio, movies, videos, electronic games, and the Internet; (d) fashion industries including sexualized dress, accessories, and cosmetics; (e) tobacco, drugs, alcohol, and firearms industries, (f) toy and entertainment industries including violent, sexualized, and food-linked toys; (g) testing industry especially the high stakes testing thrust and other curricula areas; (h) gaming industry where youth may engage in gambling; (i) commercial sex trade industry where children are victimized; (j) pharmaceutical industry where children may be over-prescribed medications; (k) credit-card industry, with online child shopping services thru parental deposits, and  targeted middle and high school students and undergraduate college students; (l) service employer sector (e.g., restaurants and retail stores) where high school students may  be excessively employed part-time primarily to finance the youth-oriented products such as fashion and electronics; and (m) detention centers, jails, and prisons, including for-profit institutions, that incarcerate youth.  Many of the corporate and industry products are manufactured in developing countries where the labor of poor children and children of color is exploited, and often illegal, for huge corporate profits in developed, Western countries.       

The U.S. is becoming more ethnically diverse—with African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians representing about a third of all children now with an expected rate to be almost half in ten years. These children are disproportionately poor with poverty rates almost double of all U.S. children.  What these numbers suggest, given current marketing practices including targeting children globally, are four major, and interrelated, issues.  First, children of color will increasingly be used in and exposed to commercial messages.  Second, cultural aspects of children of color—yes these children, their families, and communities have a distinct, asset-based culture—will continue to be used, manipulated, and exploited in commercial messages. Third, youth of color and low-income youth often bear the burden of the cumulative impact of certain adversities. For example, commercial messages generally play on low-income children’s vulnerabilities—how they are not like their middle or upper middle-class counterparts (e.g., possessions; appearance)—in an effort to get them to buy products to “boost their images and self-hood.”  In another example, the combined impact of poverty and institutional racism, with discrimination in many areas of their lives (e.g., schooling, healthcare, housing, parental income and underemployment) may seem to suggest that fighting commercialism is not a priority in the lives of poor children and children of color.   And fourth, child advocacy to reduce and prevent commercialism in the lives of youth of color and low-income youth is often compromised because communities are not sufficiently organized and/or or connected politically to those who can advocate on their behalf.         

Here are some further elaborations of these four, interrelated points. Youth of color and low-income youth generally listen to the radio and watch more “screen entertainment”—television, videos, and movies.   This is primarily because: (a) children have less access to high quality supplemental education programs after-school and on weekends; (b) the radio and “screen entertainment” are more available and less costly for children and their families; (c) the high proportion of single parent families for many children and youth which suggests that these youth may have large amounts of unsupervised time; and (d) commercial programming and advertising that is filled with entertainers and celebrities, generally filled with the same ethnic group, “low-income looking” persons and surroundings—marketed to children and youth to appeal to their needs for peer approval, belonging, and “to be hip and cool.”  To conclude this section, much of the radio and “screen entertainment” programs and commercials—often with blurred lines—is supported by the commercial interests of media corporations and industries that cross-market products such as food, fashion, electronics and toys. And these products are also cross-marketed with violent, sexual, and even racist content.  The marketing also generally includes some parts of child and youth culture such as their aspects of their own images (e.g., models and celebrities), music, language) with appeal to child and youth psychological and social needs.       

Many researchers have shown that there are adverse or potentially adverse psychological and behavioral outcomes of specific types of commercialism’s influences such as (a) violence, (b) academic and challenges in schools (e.g., attendance, grades, peer ostracism and teasing; gang membership); (c) ethnic identity, body image, sexual identity, and appearance challenges; and (d) rising and epidemic health problems such as obesity and dental cavities among children and youth—linked to many under-resourced public schools with have contracts with big soda corporations, low nutritious fast foods, sedentary lifestyles where children are “captured by  “screen entertainment,” and a lack of high quality food stores in most poor neighborhoods.

We really have a clash of child rearing and caring values, attitudes, and practices between the corporate marketers and more traditional child-rearing giving persons such as parents and family members and professionals in education, health, human service, and faith-based organizations.  Yet, many parents, families, and the community of every-day citizens, professionals, and advocate organizations, especially those in ethnic and low-income communities, have used and continue to use strategies to resist, counter, and protect children.    

The commercialization of childhood is a social problem—yet many communities, especially communities of color and low-income communities are not fully informed and may be unsure about what can be done.  We need to have mass education and social marketing about this social problem using strategies and materials that are relevant to low-income communities and those of color.  For example, materials can use direct quotes from marketers about how they want to “capture and target” youth for forever profits and use messages that relate to how people of color and low-income people are often taken advantage of by the “system.”   Community organizing approaches can link with professionals and advocacy organizations in these activities.  We clearly need federal government legislation and action that can help to “level the playing field” where there is a battle for our children’s lives between parents and families and corporations who want to “own and rear” children and youth for their bottom line profits.  As the U.S. becomes more ethnically diverse and with a significant percentage of these and other children in poverty, it important that youth of color and low-income youth are represented in our professional and advocacy activities than can counter commercialism’s influences.

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*This commentary is adapted from three articles:  (a) Alleyne, S.I. & LaPoint, V. (2004, In Press).  Obesity in Black Adolescent Girls: Genetic, Psychosocial, and Cultural Factors, Journal of Black Psychology; (b) LaPoint, V. (2003).  Commercialism in the Lives of Children of Color: Change, Challenge, and Confrontation, Journal of Negro Education, 70,  351-367; and (c) LaPoint, V. (2004, Winter). A Commentary on Commercial Exploitation of Children of Color and Low-income Children.  Kids Can Make a Difference Newsletter, 9, 1., pp. 1-2.      

**Dr. LaPoint can be reached at vlapoint@howard.edu and (202) 806-8583.