Stereotyping in the Media
Advertising and Magazine Marketing
(Reliance on gender)
In advertising the most common stereotype difference is between men and women. This is because the advertisers like to use something in their adverts that are within the comfort zone of the audience and that the audience can connect and feel familiar with. The audience, being naive and ready to be absorbed by an advert, would expect women to appear motherly and ‘frumpy’ or beautiful sex goddesses, for men it is the same, they would either appear as masculine or as weak and comical. Without this use of stereotyping the audience would not be able to connect with the advert and the advert and its principles would then appear ineffectual. For an example we could use a mother in her 40’s, advertisements that would draw her eye would feature women offering deals on products relating to babies or toddlers, or health benefits that were cheap but effective. This would draw her eye as she could relate to the advert easily and compare it to her own life; she would know immediately that the product was relevant to her.
Younger women would relate to adverts and articles that portray others like themselves, usually slim, attractive or flawless women would draw their eyes in magazines and adverts. The girls / women seeing an advert such as the one to the left would be instantly drawn to it as they would then aspire to be as beautiful as the girl present. This is because advertisers portray themselves as wanting their female audience to be as beautiful and successful as the women in the advertisements are presented as being.
In the advertising industry both sexes are targeted on their looks, in adverts portraying products such as razors, aftershaves, jeans, and alcoholic drinks men have been used for masculinity to be present within the adverts general image. These men are to be seen as ‘real’, who are sporty, care about their appearance but at the same time do not care as much so that they don’t appear narcissistic or shallow. In adverts promoting sport sportsmen are present instead of those who are not sporty to enhance the general image the audience will see, however a man who is not sporty can be shown next to a man who is, showing either a transformation or a contrast, usually asking the question of “who do you want to be?” An example of this is the recent Visa Europe: Football Evolution advert.
In this advert a man is watching football and has sudden euphoria over a goal, he then runs from his chair, snatches his visa card and proceeds to run through town. From the advert we can gather that at the beginning the man represents many working class men who watch football regularly and are passionate about it without actually participating. This stereotype is often seen as lazy and loutish.
The man continues to run, all around the world appearing in various countries and culture bases. With each shot he appears to lose weight, through constant running. He has changed clothes, as he is now thinner.
The man eventually loses all of his weight and arrives at the game he was presumably watching at the start of the advert. He proceeds to kick the ball and score a goal, then celebrating before the adverts end.
This advert is an example of a man who is of one particular stereotype transforming into a member of another stereotype. The visa card appears to be the cause of this, saying that the card could change your life even though it can only do so to a certain extent.
In adverts marketing products such as perfumes and aftershaves models will be used that have strong sexual presences. The woman to the left will appeal to women who are promiscuous and free spirited as this is the image depicts a woman with these traits.
To the right is another advert by the same advertiser, this depicts a man who is muscular and is adorned with tattoos. This would apply to men who were from 18 – 30 years old, as it represents men who are masculine and care for their appearance. Men who see this advert would assume that the aftershave Le Male, would immediately transform them into the man present here.
There are advertisements that do reverse the roles of men and women for effect yet seemingly not focusing on the gender at all. This is used to portray a more realistic view for audiences; however most advertisers rely on perpetuating traditional stereotypes concerning gender. This is because it will guarantee the most customers and generally all comes down to money.
Stereotyping in TV Programmes
TV Series
(Stereotyping Based on Reality?)
Reality TV has risen in the last few years to facilitate the public with figures we all love to hate. But in recent years Big Brother and shows like it have only enforced the world’s hatred, recognition and rejection of stereotypes and subcultures. Reality T.V. shows are extremely harmful to its audiences because it reinforces stereotypes and the belief that because one person of a particular subculture is like that, everyone associated with them is to.
These shows target the youngest of society and drill into them that stereotypes are real and that every subculture is a threat to another. Children who believe in stereotypes can bully others that they believe fit into such labels, even if the individual does not. Students who watch reality TV can cast doubt upon who they are and believe that they fit into a particular stereotype, leading to depressed and angry students who can sometimes cause harm to themselves and others.
An example of stereotyping within reality shows is Chantelle from Big Brother. Chantelle represented the usual bleach-blonde, talentless girl of modern society with a penchant for fake tan and unemployment. She eventually won Big Brother and married fellow contestant Preston and shot into the celebrity world with ease. This is a negative effect of Big Brother as it pushes young people into thinking that they are not perfect as they are and therefore must change themselves to look remotely ‘beautiful’. This links to the case when Twiggy came on the scene of modelling and caused every girl in the country to starve themselves into the perfect figure.
Another example of this in Big Brother is when Pete Burns was a housemate. Police investigated Pete Burn’s closet in 2006 after he was shown in the Big Brother house wearing a fur coat that was allegedly of Silverback Gorilla fur. Pete Burns represents a stereotype that can only be described as Hyperrealist. Having intense plastic surgery he is a focus point for the encouragement of young people to engage in surgery to look that little bit better, however plastic surgery is often a slippery slope to looking insanely artificial. This can have impact on those watching reality TV with stars such as Katie Price and Janice Dickinson as young girls may then want to have superfluous surgery to look different.
Reality TV provides the public with figures who are irresponsible and do not care for the impression they create on young people.
Hyperreality within Stereotypes
(Insignificance without society)
Hyperreality is where the society sees something as more than it actually is. A king may wear a crown to signify that he is all-knowing and the ruler of a country, the crown itself is made of simple metals and is meaningless, but because society has made the crown a symbol of the king it is important. Hyperreality is where reality itself is made, by society, more than it actually is.
Jeffree star is an example of a hyperreal person; he is constantly plastic-looking and false. This is a man who uses cosmetics, wigs and photographic enhancements to create a false sense of beauty that was not present in the first place. Jeffree star uses every aspect of his facial features in a bid to appear fake, the illusion he creates is thought of by the audience as being different an exciting when it is entirely destructive to others who wish to be the same as him. People who embrace Hyperreality are often unable to accept themselves at all and others around them, they often have addictive personalities that lead to excessive use of cosmetics.
