However I have copied (and censored) their findings on clip 9 as this will be of interest to many. I think you will recognise the programme referred to. I'm sure that anyone making a reponse will be careful to avoid any potentially offensive racial words.
The programme was broadcast at 10pm on a Wednesday on Channel 4.
Clip 9 is taken from a reality programme in which ‘housemates’ live together in a specially designed house where they are recorded by cameras and microphones at all times and they are not allowed any contact with the outside world. The housemates compete to win a cash prize by avoiding evictions from the house. In this clip a white woman and two black women are seen chatting. After a comment from one of the black housemates about feeling pregnant, the white woman comments, in what appears to be a lighthearted way, “Are you pushing it out, you n*****” and is challenged in a discussion which follows.
Across the general UK sample, including both white and BME participants, views on this clip were polarised. Few participants felt that the clip was completely acceptable, and many expressed some concern but did not consider it completely unacceptable.
However, there was a significant minority who considered the clip unacceptable, particularly older participants (aged 55-75) and parents of older children.
Many participants were aware of this clip because of the media coverage when it was originally broadcast. Some participants, including both white and BME participants, believed that it was appropriate for Channel 4 to broadcast the contestant using this word as it created a worthwhile debate about the casual use of potentially racist language. Some also felt that the programme’s producers were showing a real conversation, in line with the aim of the programme. Some participants thought that the use of the word ‘n*****’ in this context was less offensive than if it had been used in an aggressive way because it was not designed to offend and in fact reflected badly on the contestant.
This clip also provoked some debate on the use of the word ‘n*****’ in a wider context. Some white participants said that it had become more acceptable to use the word ‘n*****’ as it is used by black people to describe each other, for example in hip-hop music. Some participants believed that this word has been reclaimed by the people it was previously used to abuse and therefore should no longer be treated as taboo.
In terms of its use in this clip, some participants, including some Afro-Caribbean participants, believed that it was never acceptable for the word ‘n*****’ to be broadcast on television. Others, also including some Afro-Caribbean participants, believed that it was acceptable for the word to be broadcast but only in a documentary or if there was a discussion of its meaning and implications. The use of the word in this casual context was troubling for some as they believed it suggests that it is acceptable to use ‘n*****’ to describe black people. They feared that this might encourage others to see it as acceptable although they considered it to be highly offensive.
Some felt that there was no reason for the producers to use this clip, other than to boost ratings for the show. It was not a live broadcast so an editorial decision was made to broadcast a word that is considered highly offensive by some. This decision was considered irresponsible by some participants.
Given the polarised views on the use of the word ‘n*****’ on television in principle, the scheduling of the clip was not a significant factor. Those who considered it acceptable in principle were comfortable with it being used after the watershed. Others said that it should never be broadcast. Both of these views were expressed by both white and BME participants.
