Becoming Members Of Society Analysis

Currently, this generation lies in a time of unprecedented growth and change. The last few decades have endured years of transformation thereby allowing for the evolution of the human mind. The evolution of the human mind and its thought process all lies within cultural beliefs; beliefs affect attitudes and attitudes invertedly affect behavior. These behaviors may implement a form of prejudice and discrimination upon a certain group of individuals. Perhaps the most concurred concept revolving around attitudes and behaviors rests upon gender roles. This flawed concept created by man himself has indoctrinated society to acquire a negative perception of women. Women carry a stigma that they are both unintelligent and are subordinate to their

Stereotypes and generalizations have negatively depicted the image and character of individuals and groups throughout time. In making these stereotypes we forget about the true character of the individual or group. Somehow throughout time what we have gathered and decided through stereotypes has created the everlasting image we have of one another, it's been hard to change the viewpoint ever since. Through the reading of this article and attaining continuous information of the harm of stereotypes are placing in our world we can start to move away from these unfortunate depictions.

A valid complaint about animation that is rarely addressed is the reinforcement of gender roles and racial stereotypes. Though violence, obesity, commercialization, and short attention spans are also legitimate complaints, the issues of race relations and gender roles create widespread effects. This is not an issue specific to animation; it is prevalent in all forms of entertainment. Yet if we, as a culture, are to remove these issues from our media, we should be focusing on changing perceptions of the youngest members of our culture. A large issue with children’s cartoons is a lack of valid representation. (Parasecoli FIND DATE) What little representation that exists borders on stereotypes, and is catered towards white culture. This underrepresentation is prevalent even in the advertisements of children’s programs. Few commercials feature people of color, and those that do typically retain a white child in a position of power. (Merskin 2008) The lack of representation is so great that it has spawned the term “Symbolic annihilation.” (Klien Shiffman 2009) Those who consume more media are more vulnerable to this tacit confirmation of some groups as unimportant. (Klien Shiffman 2009) Because “Children's television exposure begins in infancy and persists throughout their lifetimes… what is learned during the early years is critical.”

In the article from the 2016 book, Rereading AMERICA: Cultural Context For Critical Thinking And Writing by Aaron H. Devor titled “Becoming Members of Society,” Devor illustrates what it means to become a member of society based off learning their gender identity. Based on attributes that are identified with a type of gender offers insight into the social meaning of gender. Societies base gender off on characteristics identified with “masculinity” or “femininity” instead of sex characteristics. The general idea of the social meaning of gender is that men are the dominant ones, while women should be delicate and dependent on a man. The way society bases a gender is off of a body’s demeanor or tone of voice, which creates a false illusion to

Stereotypes are used to compartmentalize the vast human race. They allow us to, in the blink of an eye, know about a person without knowing a person, to create the whole narrative of a person from one glance. Though they are often inaccurate, stereotypes are a large aspect of our day to day social interactions, and are commonly used in ways that are offensive or oppressive. In “The Ways We Lie’ by Stephanie Ericsson, she references why and how they are used, and the harmful effects of stereotypes. For those who find themselves a victim of stereotyping, daily life can be significantly affected. These people are treated based on the category that they belong to, rather than based upon their individual qualities and experiences. Judith Ortiz Cofer, writer of “The Myth of The Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” and Brent Staples, author of “Just Walk on By: Black Men In Public Space” both chronicle their routine experiences of stereotyping and the consequences of such experiences. Though every individual can be stereotyped based upon the category to which they seem to belong, people of minority races or ethnicities face more stereotyping and are adversely affected on a regular basis, as

Television is regarded as a significant source of information that plays an influential role in formulating an individuals social reality. As a tool that conveys the simulations of every day life it “may become a part of our social experience and serve as a basis for social judgements such as racial attitudes and ethnic stereotypes” (Fujoka, 52). Stereotypes are explained as widely held beliefs about a particular person or group. Research shows that “television images of minority groups might affect minority members’ self-concept and racial awareness” (Fujoka, 54). The portrayal of minorities on television were deemed by minority groups as a conception of socially existing beliefs toward their racial group. As such, television may have perhaps

* Television viewing creates the concept of gender-role and racial stereotypes in children, as they start considering it as very natural phenomena. Heroic acts are expected out of males, while women are displayed as objects and less powerful.

Popular culture is defined as “a composite of all the values, ideas, symbols, material goods, processes, and understandings that arise from mass media” (Atkins 131). It is well-known to the public and reinforces the way people see they world, including aspects such as race, ethnicity, and gender. According to Omi, popular culture “deals with the symbolic realm of social life, the images which it creates, represents, and disseminates contribute to the overall racial climate” (540). The individuals or groups belong to a specific race can be perceived based on their behavior portrayed by the mass media, instead of being recognized for who they truly are. Such effect created by the popular culture contributes to what is known as “racial stereotype”, which is “beliefs about differences in behavior associated with racial differences” (Jones 982).

Why the Medias Role in Issues of Race and Ethnicity Should be in the Spotlight by Dana Mastro explores the effects of portrayal of race in the media. It highlights the issue of misrepresentation of the media on race; which in turn affects real life interactions between people based on preconceived assumptions that the media creates. This journal supports the point of stereotypes in the media enforcing social inequalities in the forms of prejudice and racialization.

We are regularly exposed to media in our everyday lives. Within media, gendered and social messages are exploited throughout. Though very unsurprising, we eternalize and model what we see in popular films and media. This, in turn, creates a cycle of never ending stereotypes and unequal, double-standard social systems. We may think that we are immune to these toxic images, but in actuality, we all internalize them in some way.

The book proves this by showing us how the stereotypes that are made to categorize people are far from reality. In addition, we learn how the stereotypes given to both groups causes

The dominant group—men, white people, upper and middle class people, and heterosexuals—are considered the “norm” and all assumptions are created off of this “norm.” The media today creates the “norm” by showing boys and men as being tough and manly, and girls and women as passive, yet also sexy and sophisticated. Also, in school we are taught that girls should not take woodworking class, and instead should take cooking or health classes. By learning these rules and roles of our gender at school and in society, we are reinforced by what we have learned at home. The article about the cycle of socialization justifies that the media, our cultural practices, and the assumptions on which our society is built “all contribute to the reinforcement of the biased messages and stereotypes we receive.” The messages from the media, culture, and our own homes have embedded in our minds what is accepted in society and how to act. In the cycle of socialization, the institutional and cultural level of socialization is enforced constantly; therefore, the people who go against societies “norms” are immediately oppressed. The results of the cycle of socialization are disturbing, for the majority of society plays their roles and simply does nothing to change the “norm.”

People constantly try to gain direction and insight from their evaluations of other people. One such way they do so is through stereotypes. Stereotypes are cognitive constructs involving an individual’s half-truths and distorted realities knowledge, expectations, and beliefs about human groups. As such, racial stereotypes are constructed beliefs that all members of the same race share certain specific characteristics. In America, the media and Hollywood play an integral role in entrenching and dispelling these stereotypes. However, Hollywood and the media create characters according to stereotypes to attract an audience, from which the viewers can reflect on and laugh at the stereotypes recognizable within American society. This paper seeks to discuss the common stereotypes in American society and how the media and Hollywood promotes those stereotypes and their impacts.

At a young age, we are taught to adhere to norms and are restricted to conform to society’s given rules. We are taught that straying away from stereotypes is anything but good and encouraged to build our lives upon only these social rules. Recently, stereotypes based on genders have been put into the limelight and have become of high interest to a generation that is infamously known for deviating from the established way of life. Millennials have put gender roles under fire, deeming it a form of segregation and discrimination by gender. Researchers have followed suit. Mimicking millennial interests, numerous studies have been published that detail the relationship between gender, stereotypes, and the effects of the relationship between the two. Furthermore, gender roles have been used as a lens to study socialization; tremendous amounts of interest have prompted studies on the inheritance and dissemination of norms, culture, and ideologies based on the stereotypes that cloud gender. For sociologists, determining the extent of the impact of gender stereotypes on socializing our population has become a paramount discussion. Amidst many articles, the work of Karniol, Freeman, and Adler & Kless were standouts and between the three pieces, childhood served as a common thread; more specifically, these researchers studied how gender roles impact socialization from such a young age.

Society has always retained deeply rooted stereotypes in all aspects of life. Whether it is prejudice due to color, creed, or gender, we cannot ignore the differential treatment of specific groups that occurs daily in our world. Although much has been done to alter our views on such matters, can we really suggest that society