The Sexualization and Misrepresentation of Native American Women: 1920-2020

This paper focuses on the sexualization and misrepresentation of Native American women in popular culture. Historical analyses of how their sexualization has changed over time within the sex industry, as well as the in media and entertainment industries, is severely lacking. To answer the question of how the sexualization and misrepresentation of Native women has changed over the last hundred years (specifically 1920-2020), I analyzed multiple scholars' writing and also print advertisements. These primary and secondary sources featured Indigenous women's images, as well as different aspects of the sex and pornography industries, from popular burlesque shows to Playboy magazines that used Native women's images in racist and sexist ways. The research also includes the reactions of a Native woman to this sexualization—specifically in the entertainment industry. That analysis is then compared to today's cancel culture and attitude toward societal accountability. Although some change has occurred, there is still much work needed to ensure that the blatant racism and misrepresentation of Native American women's character and culture, which is so often intertwined with Native women's sexuality, does not continue to be the norm.