Media, Diversity, and Representation in the U.S.: A Review of the Quantitative Research Literature on Media Content and Effects

ABSTRACT The U.S. population is becoming more diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and sexuality. In some ways, television, film, video game, and news content reflect that reality. Yet, in other ways, such content falls short, in terms of underrepresenting particular social groups and/or depicting those groups in a limited manner. The current review essay details the ways in which a number of minoritized social groups are portrayed in major media forms in the U.S. and connects to the research on implications of such depictions for minoritized as well as non-minoritized groups. A call for future research that centers the ways in which identities are intersectional, balances agency and vulnerability, and unpacks the complex and contextual nature of media content and influence is made, in addition to identifying new topical areas for research.