Mediated Counter-Narratives: A Framework for Studying Media Stereotyping and the Reclaiming of Stories by Marginalized Groups

Media effects scholarship has systematically examined the portrayal and effects of such negative representations and has also explored the more positive influence of counter-stereotyping on attitudes and beliefs about minority groups. Although counter-stereotyping provides a fruitful avenue for exploring the effects of portrayals that contradict stereotypes of marginalized groups, this approach centralizes the counter-stereotypical nature of the portrayal and not precisely the production and viewpoint of the marginalized. We offer a theoretical framework to social scientifically examine media content produced from the vantage point of marginalized groups. Specifically, we propose mediated counter-narratives (MCN) as a lens to examine the use of the contemporary media environment, including digital and social media, to harness narratives to present an alternate worldview to mainstream discourses by members of marginalized groups. This framework centers the voices of minoritized populations within media effects scholarship while empowering the act of reclaiming their narratives. Five characteristics of MCN are posited to guide media effects researchers, and suggestions are made to situate the MCN framework within traditional media effects theories.