The Social Scientist: Looking at Nonverbals, The Media & Trayvon Martin

For anyone that has ever studied Nonverbal Communication, you know that it is theorized within the social scientist community that Nonverbals make up 75%-93% of the meaning we derive from any message exchange with another person. To clarify, when I use the term Nonverbal, I am referring to anything that is not verbal (words) communication. This is from the tone, volume, pitch and inflection of your voice, to your eye behavior, to the clothes you wear, your facial expressions and the way you look. Think about the "look" your mom would give you and you knew you were in trouble. She didn't have to say anything, but you just turned around and went to complete whatever task you knew you were supposed to.

That's the power of Nonverbals.

So it shouldn't come to much of a surprise that this number we attribute to the importance of Nonverbals is so large; we have one mouth but TEN Nonverbal channels for people to create meaning from.

It is also fact that (if we are blessed with the gift of sight) the first thing we notice about another person is their appearance. And what are the two things we first notice? Race and Sex.

I know. People think that they are transcending the times when they say, "I don't notice your race at all!" I hate it when people say this to me because it's simply not true and that is offensive. That means you are blatantly ignoring something I am covered in and that this has nothing to do with my identity and who I am. I love my skin and I don't want it to be ignored. I also don't want it to be the reason that I appear to be threatening. Our appearances can also work against us and whether they want to talk about it in a courtroom, this is the what happened to Trayvon Martin.

ANYONE that says, "race did not play a role in Zimmerman murdering Trayvon," has been separated from this society we live in. Maybe you live in a community where you only interact with people that are the same color, wear the same clothes, act like you and you don't watch any television, read any newspapers, or books. So given that, maybe you are Amish and therefore, you have been severed from the greater world and a nonparticipant in the forming of stereotypes of other people.

But let's assume for the next few paragraphs that you do watch movies, the news, or television. You will see that the media creates and reinforces certain perceptions of people based on their race, hair color, religious affiliation, etc. When we are shown a minority group in the same role over-and-over-and-over in the media but have no real interaction with that group, a stereotype is being created and reinforced. So when we happen to actually run into a person that fits that group, guess what our perception of that person will be if that's all we "know?"

For example, the media shows Mormons as being fundamentalists and having multiple wives in the two popular shows that portray Mormons; "Sister Wives" and "Big Love." One of these is also a "reality show" so of course that's how all Mormons live, right?

Let's look at Black men. Most Black men are shown in a criminal or law breaking role, speaking in ebonics, and they're only made successful by athletic ability or for their musical talent (thanks, BET). When we do see them in a role as something else, we usually count it as the exception to our stereotypical rule of thumb.

On the other hand, when we are confronted with a race that is shown in a variety of roles, it is much more difficult, if impossible, to stereotype them. How would you stereotype a White man? Take a minute and really explore what you could say about ALL White men that you see reiterated in the shows you watch, books you read, news you hear and movies you go to. This task was probably a bit more difficult if impossible for you to do. That's because our media is littered with representations of the White male. You can turn to AMC and see him as a maker of methamphetamine, then to NBC and see him sitting at the nightly news desk, then back to AMC and see him as the guy-in-charge at an ad agency, then to Showtime as a serial killer, wait an hour, and see him on the same network as a secret agent, and then to MTV to show him as a party guy/jock. So when I watch Jon Stewart, I don't think of him as a cook of methamphetamine, but a hilarious and credible fake news guy that I consider to be my TV husband. Do I want Walter White to be my TV husband? Well, maybe in his (Bryan Cranston) role on 'Malcolm in the Middle.' [See??]

I wouldn't call myself an expert per se on Nonverbals or Stereotypes, but I would credit myself as an expert in progress. I study this stuff, I teach this stuff and I am constantly thinking about this stuff as I apply it to everything I consume and draw these connections. I surely thought about it before the tragic day where a grown man saw a Black Kid in a hoodie and decided that was reason enough to follow him, despite the fact that there was no weapon in hand, unless you feared a Skittles attack. Tell me: Why else would Zimmerman consider Trayvon a threat if it weren't for his sex and skin color? I bet if I had been walking down the street dressed the same, I wouldn't have warranted the same suspicion. I'm black, but I'm also a female. Due to Black female stereotypes, I'm allowed to be loud and obnoxious, but I'm only a threat if you are trying to 'get with my man.'

Unfortunately, if I ever have a son, he will be considered black no matter what half his other is. Look at President Obama. And unfortunately, as long as the media shows that a Black man is to be feared, my child could be perceived in this same way. So this isn't a distant story I can ignore because it happened in Florida (although it's safe to say, I will never live in Florida), because this could just as easily be my story.

Nonverbals are powerful. And what we see on a daily basis creates our long withstanding perceptions of how we view the world. "We see things not as they are, but how WE are." Zimmerman didn't see Trayvon for what he was on that evening; a kid getting a snack from the store. He saw him as a scary black man.

I want to end on an exercise that I recently referenced in my last blog that I was challenged to do at a conference back in April:

Dr. Eddie Moore Jr. began the session with having us all close our eyes and then told us there is a door. The door opens. Dr. Moore then told us to picture a nigger walking through the door.

What did you see?

Black. Man. Saggy pants. Gangsta. Weapon. Fear. Danger. Chains. These were some of the things our collective group of 80 or so [Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Native) people came up with.

Perhaps my favorite part of the session came at this point. Dr. Moore said "How many of you in here consider yourself a George Zimmerman?" People looked at their descriptors and maybe down with shame as George Zimmerman might be in all of us. "He made a quick point of judgement and stereotyped this young man. We were all so quick to tweet about Trayvon and order and wear, 'I am Trayvon Martin" sweatshirts,' without looking to see what part of us were also George Zimmerman's."