How far do you agree with Tessa Perkins views on stereotypes? Illustrate your answer with examples from a range of different media texts.

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How far do you agree with Tessa Perkins views on stereotypes? Illustrate your answer with examples from a range of different media texts.

"The importance of an image lies not so much in its truth as in its consequences." (Naegele and Stolar, 1960)

A stereotype is defined as a label, which involves a process of categorization and evaluation, although it can refer to situations or places. Merriam-Webster defines a stereotype as "a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment."

Our society often innocently creates and perpetuates stereotypes, but these stereotypes often lead to unfair discrimination and persecution. For example, if we are walking through a park late at night and encounter three senior citizens aided by canes we may not feel as threatened as if we were me by three high school boys in leather jackets. Why is this? We have mad a generalization in each case. These generalizations have their roots in experiences we have had ourselves, read about in books, seen on television or heard about from friends or family. In virtually every case, we are resorting to prejudice by ascribing characteristics about a person based on a stereotype. Quite often, we have stereotypes about who are members of groups with which we have not had firsthand contact.

Stereotypes also evolve out of fear of persons from minority groups. For example; many people have the view of a person with a mental illness as someone who is violence prone, this conflicts with statistical data.

 Tessa Perkins in 1979 identified many shortcomings in the way that stereotyping is normally assumed to operate:

  • Stereotypes are not always negative
  • They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful
  • They can be held about ones own group
  • They are not rigid or unchanging
  • They are not always false but can be supported by empirical evidence

        

There are many stereotypes that still exist today, I will look at a few of these and see do they correspond with the views of Tessa Perkins.

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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 ...

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