When the YN’s Come to the Party: A conversation on the Transformation of Racial Stereotypes in the Digital Age, in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
Racial stereotypes were borne of chattel slavery. Within the context of US chattel slavery, racial stereotypes were used to justify the enslavement and subjugation of enslaved Africans and their ancestors. These stereotypes are specific to the gender binary; with Black men and women experiencing oversexualization, hyper-masculization eventually leading to dehumanization. All avenues of racial stereotypes lead back to maintaining a controlling image of enslaved Africans and their ancestors that justifies and promotes their continued subjugation. It is important to understand that while racial stereotypes are meant to justify denigration and subjugation, they are expressed differently across the gender binary. For Black women, these stereotypes are exemplified in oversexed, irresponsible and aggressive controlling images. Author Patria Hill Collins expounds on this stating "he dominant ideology of the slave era fostered the creation of several interrelated, socially constructed controlling images of Black woman-hood, each reflecting the dominant group’s interest in maintaining Black women’s subordination" (Collins, 72). Stereotypes aimed at characterizing Black women deny their femininity and humanity through oversexualization, masculinization and fatphobia.
For Black men, these stereotypes are seen in characterizations involving aggression, hyper masculinity to the point of dehumanization, laziness and feeble mindedness. "Historically, media have presented black males in a stereotypical and unfavorable light as violence prone, criminal, lazy, unintelligent, and buffoonish" (Berkowitz, 2008). Stereotypes surrounding Black man are used to brutify and further Black men from humanization.
How does this manifest in our current timeline?
Expressions of these sorts of controlling images have transformed throughout the centuries, adjusting for the modern era. In our current timeline, digitized media, short form video content and social media has made our consumption of these stereotypes more subtle. Our current timeline is marred by an ongoing, debilitating pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth a new iteration of the harmful stereotypes.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely detrimental to marginalized people within the United States. In the context of this video however, this scope is specifically focusing on the Black population. Black peoples, specifically, felt the brunt of repercussions from the pandemic. From school closures, loss of employment and housing, new disabilities as a result of Long Covid, destabilized family units from parent deaths, the pandemic has exacerbated a number of social and economic qualities from families across the US . Black individuals are more likely to die from a COVID-19 infection than their white counterparts. Researchers also found that This disparity is yet another marker of how the Black population has borne the brunt of the repercussions from COVID infections.
A social policy report published by psychologists and researchers for the Society for Research in Child Development, concluded that Black people in 32 states, including the District of Columbia, were 50 percent more likely to die from COVID. In predominantly Black cities like Chicago, Atlanta, San Diego and Baltimore, Black people were overrepresented in COVID-19 fatality data (Bass 5-6). When researchers widened their scope to the county level, they found that predominantly Black counties were overrepresented in their findings. In Louisiana, where Black people make up less than 35 percent of the state's population, death rates from COVID-19 were for its Black inhabitants were at 70.5 percent. This number shows that although Black people made up less than half the population, their death rate was almost doubled (Yancy , 2020). On a national scale, researchers found that infection rates in predominantly white counties were 3 times lower and death rates were 2x lower compared to their Black counterparts (Bogan 2-4).
This scenario of mass death and disability has shifted collective thought as we know it.
At the start of the lockdown, many Americans found solace and entertainment in social media platform Tik Tok. While non-essential workers were in lockdown, people sought community and connection through the app. Users are welcome to showcase their improv skills or create a new type of video style that meshes meme culture with conceptual performance. The platform itself offers a short video form model where users can add audio or mesh videos and give commentary on any given subject. The platform distinguished itself as a marketing dream and a consumers best source for mindless ingestion of content and products. This sort of pull and power is always present; we see that pull happen when items, dishes, food orders or home improvement gimmicks are bought out because of a single viral video. We see the social power of the program in organizing and mutual aid efforts undertaken by Tik Tok users.
It is safe to say that Tik Tok holds extreme social, cultural and economic currency in the United States. It could be argued that the introduction and popularization of Tik Tok solidified its importance in identifying and promoting social trends and attitudes. It is also safe and accurate to say that Tik Tok holds a special significance in media throughout the United States. The trends we see, in the United States, are a reflection of the attitudes and sensationalized ideas that cycle in the realm of public conversation.
Because Tik Tok holds such a social and economic currency in the US, it is even more important to consider how the platform also exemplifies a repeated pattern of harmful racial stereotypes, and denigration in the form of racial comedy. In recent years, Tik Tok users have propelled the image and idea of YNs. The persona has exploded with different iterations like "YN Bob and Patrick" or POV (point of view) style videos recounting daliances and interactions with YNs.
What is a YN? A YN stands for young nigga. The word nigga has its originas in slavery and its present day usage is colloquial Its used to promote a sense of reclamation and camaraderie among Black people. The nuance is not easy to explain to non-Black people. This abbreviation for nigga is common is a lot of urban and rap scenes YRN, YFN etc . For example you have rappers like YN Almighty Jay , YN Jay, YFN Lucci and the list goes on, but what is so special about this specific iteration?
In the book The Souls of White Jokes : How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy" author Raul Perez highlights the way collective society places value on bodies. Perez presents writings from Sara Ahmed stating "According to Ahmed, particular affective states can also “accumulate” the more they are circulated (e.g., racial or religious hatred). In this way, shared affective states give particular bodies greater or lesser social value, which in turn (re)produce social affect, or the way shared emotions shape social reality. Ahmed’s insights into these issues are particularly helpful when thinking about how racist humor has long worked to assign social value in ways that align and bind some bodies against others in a white-dominated society like the United States." This is important to consider when reviewing the racial personas circulating around Tik Tok.
In the past year and half, this caricature has become a source of comedy and discussion for communities across the internet. On Tik Tok, you can scroll and find videos about the signs of a YN and outlandish scenes of violence at the hands of hypothetical YNS. The YN or Young Nigga, in the context of Tik Tok, is a young Black , usually, masculine person that is trigger happy, arrogant and violent. These YNs are incapable of compromise and when they step into a party or social gathering you will know it is time to leave. What is a YN in this instance, other than a young, Black (usually male) person existing in a public space or performing mundane activities.
Other than a subjects Blackness, how do you delegate the term YN?
So why is this new social trend a minstrel depiction? Why is this form of racial humor so harmful, how is this a transformation of racial stereotypes?
Black creators are unified in their Blackness and usage of the word nigga but this cannot be divorced from public consumption and interpretation. Although this persona was popularized by Black content creators, it can still fulfill the ideals of minstrelsy. Once this usage diffuses from its cultural origins there is always space for misuse and perversion. This idea is reflected in the book titled The last Darky: Bert Williams,, Black on Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora. Sokei explores early American minstrelsy through minstrel actor turned commercial performer Bert Williams. Williams, a man of Caribbean descent, was a minstrel performer in the United States. His performances were mocking and denigrating towards Black people but he argued that his lack of American ancestry divorced him from said associations. Author Louis Chude Sokei states "Black skin, black mask: the space behind the mask was occupied by another mask; and this in a time when the politics of flesh seemed not arbitrary but immutable." He goes on to say that although Black people are unified through their subjugation and Blackness, the "revisionist histories isolate the active process of black cross-culturality and linguistic catalysis as central to the constitution of the black diaspora (Sokei, p116) ." Sokei explains that because this nuance to Blackness is not observed, Black people across the diaspora can assume depictions of Blackness that will never be divorced from minstrelsy. "Group identity or even racial subjectivity in this context must be rooted in a strategic masquerade that evolves as the mask becomes a new skin, as distinct cultural crowds become a race by pretending to be each other or choosing to act (or sound) the same." (Sokei, p116)
In the context of Tik Tok, the same principle applies. This is a transformation of minstrelsy and racial stereotyping . Although these depictions of YNs are acted out by Black people across the United States (and globally), these iterations are not independent of popular social and racial assumptions.This brewing depiction of young Black boys is a form of racial humor rooted in social disparity brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This sort of persona is a reflection of chattel slavery era stereotypes of hypermasculine Black men. Chattel slavery enforced an animalistic and hypermasculinized image of Black men. This hypermasculinity emphasized a disunion of humanity and personhood (Guy-Walls, 2 -4). Since the inception of chattel slavery, racial stereotypes have been the source of denigration towards Black people and a source of comedy for non-Black entities. Humor at the expense of the Black body and existence holds currency. These sort of depictions of Black people and Black men and boys is not new.
There is a difference between finding unity and whimsy in your experiences as a minority and propelling racial stereotypes. This trend and stereotype capitalizes on Black language and infuses an undertone of racism. The idea of violent racial humor is the topic of Raul Perez’s The Souls of White Jokes : How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy. Perez explains "Racist joking practices in the United States have long played a significant role in shaping how racialized groups and individuals are viewed and treated as inferior subjects and outsiders, while simultaneously forging and maintaining social order, cohesion, and boundaries among white participants and “in-group” members as superior." (Perez,5). Because the term "YN’’ is decontextualized through its use and prominence on Tik Tok by Black creators for a wider audience, its original use and understanding is disseminated for a non-Black audience.
It was mentioned earlier that the COVID-19 pandemic has been and continues to be extremely destabilizing to the Black community. The effects of this pandemic manifest in representations of Black people in our social media. Although the repercussions of the ongoing pandemic are not easily traceable, social media provides a quick snapshot into social attitudes and perceptions. When we engage with representations of Black individuals on social media, we must consider the real world implications and reflections. The YN persona is another iteration of racial stereotypes born of chattel slavery. In this case, these stereotypes are ushered in by a new age of instability and disparity from the ongoing pandemic. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, combined with digital short form media creates a unique ingestion of controlling images. The controlling images presented through Tik Tok are a transformation of racial stereotypes. In our present instance, these personas and minstrel acts justify the continued destruction and lapse in resources that contribute to a growing number of fatalities and debasement of the Black population as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. These depictions on Tik Tok do not exist in a vacuum. The way we engage with the images has meaning and influences us whether we are aware or not. Humor is not without implication, and the images we ingest exert influence over our behavior and perceptions of groups and individuals.
Works Cited
Pérez, Raúl. The Souls of White Jokes : How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy, Stanford University Press, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unt/detail.action?docID=7012510.
Bogan, E., Adams-Bass, V.N., Francis, L.A., Gaylord-Harden, N.K., Seaton, E.K., Scott, J.C. and Williams, J.L. (2022), “Wearing a Mask Won't Protect Us from Our History”: The Impact of COVID-19 on Black Children and Families. Social Policy Report, 35: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/sop2.23
Chude-Sokei, Louis, and Louis Chude-Sokei. The Last Darky : Bert Williams, Black-On-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora, Duke University Press, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unt/detail.action?docID=1168451.
Murry, Velma McBride, et al. "Excavating new constructs for family stress theories in the context of everyday life experiences of Black American families." Journal of Family Theory & Review 10.2 (2018): 384-405.
Kiera M. Coulter, Aprile D. Benner,The racialized landscape of COVID-19:Reverberations for minority adolescents and families in the U.S.,Current Opinion in Psychology,Volume 52, 2023,101614,ISSN 2352-250X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101614.
DILL-SHACKLEFORD KARENE, RAMASUBRAMANIAN SRIVIDYA, DRAKE LAWRENCEM II, editors. STORIES ABOUT BLACK MEN IN THE MEDIA AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES FOR HEALTH. In: National Academy of Medicine; Alexander C, Murry VMB, Bogard K, editors. Perspectives on Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2017. 9.Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK595241/#
Collins, Patricia Hill. “Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images.” Black Feminist Thought- Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment Mammies, Matriarchs and Other Controlling Images , www.sfu.ca/~decaste/OISE/page2/files/CollinsMammies.pdf. Accessed 9 Dec. 2024.