One of these is the stereotypical view of women. They are appreciated more for their sexual attractiveness than their intelligence, somewhat opposite of how men are portrayed, pressuring them to have a certain body shape. Good-looking women are described in terms of their physical attractiveness, their beauty, and their thinness. With the help of the media, society has influenced what is perceived as the ideal body figure, shaping the way adolescent females feel about their own bodies.
Another very long-standing stereotypical view is that of race. According to an , all races produce stereotypes about themselves. "People simplify the intellectual images they maintain of specific ethnic groups, including their own, often in cruel or damaging ways. Poor white Southerners ("Crackers") are said to be slow, red-necked, and fat. Immigrant Italians ("Wops") are said to be short, oily, and hot-tempered. Upper-class whites ("WASPs") are said to be greedy, emotionally cold, and haughty. Negroes ("Niggers") are said to be stupid, promiscuous, and happy. These generalizations are not accurate, but they are spread widely, not only by word of mouth but also through images in television, movies, newspapers, music, comic books, talk shows, and even textbooks," says W. T. Lhamon, Jr..
But, contrary to popular belief, racial or ethnic stereotypes aren't always negative assumptions about races or ethnicities. Stereotypes can, in fact, be positive beliefs about a certain race, i.e. all Asians are smart or all African-Americans play basketball well. This would correspond with the ideas of Tessa Perkins.
Another very recent stereotypical view that has emerged is that of the criminal teenager. Going by the stories you've seen in recent years, what image of teenagers is portrayed by the news media in your community? Do the headlines give us a balanced perspective on the lives of today's youth? Here are some of the headlines that can cause negative view of teenagers:
Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way society views them, and change society's expectations of them. With enough exposure to a stereotype, society may come to view it as a reality rather than a chosen representation. The media can be a powerful tool in creating or reinforcing stereotypes. An example is the public perception that youth crime is on the rise, or out of control.
This impression has been created largely through media coverage of alarming stories about high school shootings, property crimes, and incidents involving so-called youth gangs. Between 1987 and 1997, the rate of youths charged with property offences, the most common kind of youth crime, dropped steadily. Negative stereotypes not only affect how adults see teenagers, they influence how teenagers see themselves. The feeling that the rest of the world doesn't respect or understand you does little to encourage a positive sense of self-worth.
Other minority groups in society, such as blacks, native people, women, gays and lesbians have all experienced the effects of negative stereotyping and lack of positive images in the media.
Many of these groups have lobbied successfully to educate the media about issues that concern them, to challenge stereotypes, and to provide more balanced coverage of their communities.
The Holocaust was the destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis through an officially sanctioned, government-ordered, systematic plan of mass annihilation. As many as six million Jews died, almost two-thirds of the Jews of Europe. Although the Holocaust took place during World War II, the war was not the cause of the Holocaust. The war played a role in covering up the genocide of the Jewish people. How could this have happened? The answers can be found by understanding how violence of this magnitude can evolve out of prejudice based on ignorance, fear, and misunderstanding about minority groups and other groups who are different from ourselves. The Holocaust had roots in attitudes and behavior, which we see around us every day. It is only when these attitudes and behaviors are manifested in the extreme that genocide can occur. This shows how dangerous stereotyping can be.
There are also stereotypes in media. Mass media became one of the main sources of popular culture in modern capitalist society. Media, however, not only entertains and offers news to people, but also transfers the stereotypes, beliefs and values of the society to reproduce the existing order of social life. Louis Althusser in his theory of ideological state apparatuses, says that schools, families and religions play the role of ideological state apparatuses. These institutions indoctrinate the dominant hegemonic ideology of the society into the minds of people in order to be able to control people. In the modern capitalist world, I would argue, media turned to be yet another althusserain ideological apparatus that control the mind of the masses. It seems like the media creates unique pieces of art: movies, documentaries, magazines, music, TV shows and others. Theodor Adorno, however, would argue that all of these products of media contain zero levels of uniqueness. According to him, what we see on TV screens or what we read in newspapers is being produced for one purpose, that is to be sold. Therefore what is manufactured (popular culture) by media has to reflect the life of people, it needs to be on a level that people would understand and except. This reflection, however, is created through stereotypes, which fill the life of society and, thus are known to everyone. One can find multiple examples, supporting argument on indoctrinating role of media in a capitalist society,. For instance in movies such as Blue crush and Velvet, they had to practice for a long time to achieve their goals. It is beneficial for the hegemonic power to make sure that all people in the society believe in such myth. Another stereotype that presents in these movies was the dependency of women upon men. Male characters always participated in helping a female character to reach their success. Velvet needed her young man who would help her to practice horse riding skills, and the main character of Blue Crush received important advice from a young man whom she fell in love with, and therefore managed to win the competition.
Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way society views them, and change society's expectations of them. With enough exposure to a stereotype, society may come to view it as a reality rather than a chosen representation. I do agree with Tessa Perkins, because I think that all stereotypes have a grain of truth. I think we should start looking at people for who they are individually and work away from stereotyping.
The media can be a powerful tool in creating or reinforcing stereotypes. An example is the public
Other minority groups in society -- such as blacks, native people, women, gays and lesbians -- have all experienced the effects of negative stereotyping and lack of positive images in the media.
Many of these groups have lobbied successfully to educate the media about issues that concern them, to challenge stereotypes, and to provide more balanced coverage of their communities.
Stereotyping is a natural function of the human/cultural mind and is therefore morally neutral in and of itself. A culture, however, endorses moral or immoral actions based upon the beliefs and assumptions implicit in the simplifying stereotype, and every culture seeks to simplify a complex reality so that it can better determine how best to act in any given circumstance.
While it's human nature to categorize people based on our experiences, stereotyping have far greater and more negative consequences than making judgments about individuals.