Stereotyping Happens In The Media

Gender Stereotypes are everywhere in the world. This paper will focus on the formation of Gender stereotypes through different media sources. The media sources that will be used include television shows, movies and magazines. Thus the paper will also explore the effect that gender stereotyping may have on development of a person’s social and individual identity.

Malcolm X, a civil rights activist, stated that “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have to power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent and that’s power. Because they control the minds of masses.” Unfortunately, some people lose their lives trying to get an “ideal body.” From the article “NYC Girls Project - Media and Girls,” this organization conducted a study in 2010 that stated that “63 percent of girls think the body image represented by the fashion industry is unrealistic and 47% think it’s unhealthy. Due to these reasons and others, the media influences individuals in a negative way because of how it reinforces racial/gender stereotypes.

In what ways do the media perpetuate stereotyping and prejudice? Provide examples to support your assertion.

During the process of producing a television series, the demand for the producers to introduce their characters with only their highlighted traits make it impossible for viewers to gain a deep understanding of the community that the characters represent. One of the stereotypic traits that is usually seen on movies and television shows is societal difference that each race is placed into. Michael Omi in his article In Living Color: Race and American Culture stated that “in contemporary television and film, there is a tendency to present and equate racial minority groups and individuals with specific social problems” (546). There are many films and television shows found today that ground racial minorities into a specific social problems that are related to the color of their skin. It can be inferred from the current popular culture that this stereotype still persists.

Harmeen Jones, a former Fox Technician, was fired after filing a complaint to Human Resources of the unfair treatment he was receiving by his colleagues at Fox for being African-American. Jones claims ‘he was subjected to a steady stream of "racist, sexist, and extremely offensive comments,’ against blacks, Muslims, Jews, women and Hispanics” (Shifrel). Unfortunately, not only does the network available to 87 million households make flippant remarks in it’s work environment, but it also promotes racist stereotypes on air. During an episode of The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly made an insulting remark when telling an African-American guest, “Say you 're a cocaine dealer—and you kind of look like one a little bit” (Hall). Stereotyping minority races has existed since the creation of the United States, and continues to be a problem. The privileged social group in society often oppresses minorities, and advertises false statements of the other races. Media, a big contributor to the spread of racial stereotyping that occurs in the United States, often provides viewers with stereotypes that continue to promote racism, and the discouragement of success in a minority group. The media portrays the dominant race in a positive way, while minority groups are depicted in ways that provide people with an invalid reason to feel hatred toward minority groups.

Thesis: Although media is trying to portray ethnicity non-stereotypically and have more diversity in television, it is dissatisfactory because Caucasian characters are still an overwhelming percentage of media and inaccurate stereotypes still portray the ethnic groups.

Everyday people like you or me are affected by media in ways most people are oblivious to. Media shows what they want to show moreover the public is none the wiser. This subconsciously convinces the viewer that what is shown is real and/or the norm. When racial stereotypes are brought into the equation, it can be harmful for one’s self image. With the many forms of media minorities have to face certain stereotypes depending on the circumstance.

As a teenager, I have spent a decent amount of my life watching television, movies, browsing the Internet and playing video games. This has shaped the way I think. These sources are wonderful ways of retaining information, but we need to be careful of how we receive it. Not all information we perceive on TV and the Internet are safe and trustworthy. I believe that the information that occurs on today’s media shapes people’s mind into thinking a certain way. The commercials and advertisements on TV offer a false impression of people. Stereotypes in all kinds of media create thoughts in our mind that may not be true. Video games, TV and movies have an influence on kids. Even though the media is the place where we get our information from, we need to learn to filter the good from the bad. The media is a contributing factor in shaping our minds through

The world today has become quite a diverse place. People of any color, race, or ethnicity, can go to the same school, restaurant, bathroom, and even date one another. The world is constantly changing and learning from its diverse inhabitants, so why hasn’t¬¬¬¬ the media been up to speed with the rest of the world? Race has increasingly become this social concept that the media has embraced and ran with. Inspiring millions, the media constantly transforms assumptions about particular groups of people into “realities.” (Media Stereotyping) The Media often inadequately represents minorities in television shows or movies, which most of the time are demeaning to that particular race or ethnicity. This inferiority put on the shoulders of colored

In our media-intensive culture, it is not difficult to find different opinions as well as stereotypes. Stereotypes are found in the media every day and affect our opinion as well as how we perceive others. Stereotypes of the GLBT community in the media are most commonly found in movies or in TV shows but they rarely talk about their sexual identity. When their identity is being portrayed, it is shown with some form of stereotype. The identity of the homosexual seems to stem from a stereotype itself; sometimes as if the GLBT community has formed their identities based on stereotypes. Men are commonly shown as “feminine” while women are portrayed to be “masculine”. Other stereotypes such as that all gay men are all into fashion or that

We are currently living in a time period were seeking truth became one of the toughest things you can ever get. Imagine you knew nothing about a certain culture or country, and all you knew about it were few biased opinions delivered from your local media. This is the media today. I was a lucky guy when I had the opportunity to work in that field and experience how certain ideas wanted to be carried to the people. I originally come from Kuwait, but I was born in New York. I worked in Ministry of Information when I was 17 year old and became a public figure because I was one of the youngest individuals to work in the Ministries history. One thing I learned was, media can convince the overall population with the ideas and perspectives that they desire.

Negative stereotypes exist everywhere either on readable media, audible media, or visible media, but in the meantime, we are blind to their significant effects that are happening around us. The media are playing the major roles in feeding our society with unrealistic stereotypes that affect our society's behaviors, beliefs, and thoughts that they have about themselves and others, as well as the world. Stereotypes that describe Islam as a bloody religion exist in the media, and this matters because many people around the world wrongly believe that Muslims are terrorists.

Escaping the hypothesis, perspective, and explicitly calculated speculation of the media is nearly unfeasible for the average person. A person’s perceptions of an entire demographic are capable of significant influence due to the image portrayed through a single piece of media. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community, LBGT, has been a demographic group of scrutiny, dread, and confusion within the reports of varied media outlets since the 1950s. The highly convincing nature of the media’s influence is deeply rooted as truth within the minds of most Americans. Research depicts that “40% of Americans are said to gain their direct opinion of LBGTs from the images and reports they attain from various media outlets” (Calzo and Ward,

Your television and computer are controlling every choice you make. Scary thought? Everyday Americans log into their computer or turn on their TV and are fed information from our trusted media. In fact, a Marshall survey states, “By 2015, it is estimated that Americans will consume both traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 5 and a half hours per person per day.” Unknowingly at times, we are allowing our media to shape the choices we make, the ways we see others, and the way we view ourselves. With most of Americans unaware of the media's control on their choices and views, this can be an alarming realization. Media has a major impact on multiple parts of our society.

he United States has claimed for years to be a melting pot, where race or various preferences do not define our role in society. Most everyday people do not even realize or notice the amount of stereotyping that occurs in mass media. It is important to understand the different types of discrimination marginalized groups face. Stereotypes can affect everyone, whether it is based on their race, gender, or sexual preference. Media makers could easily find ways to not discriminate against people, but perhaps this would make that specific media outlet less popularly attended to.