Sociology

Stereotypes and stereotyping is as old as mankinds culture itself. They are perceptions ways of perceiving that reflect the ideas that a group or groups of people hold regarding others. More often, stereotypes are expressed in characterizing phrases that express notions that people have concerning the dignity, personality or character traits of people who are different from them, leading to negative racial attitudes (Rao, 2000). Similarly, stereotypes are informed by cultural biasness, experiences or group differences. For instance, if some Congress members in the Republican Party oppose abortion or the use of contraceptives, all republicans will be labeled as conservatives. On the other hand, Democrats will earn the title liberals if they support it. Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks are seen as feminists because they promote womens agenda in their TV programs. And that is the tag on anyone who takes a pro-women stand.

In cross-cultural and racial stereotyping, cultural and racial groups are branded a general stereotype based on the actions of some members from those cultural or racial groups. Consequently, because Osama is a terrorist, Arabs and Muslims are widely perceived as terrorists and suicide members. In fact, every tome you hear suicide bomber on TV news, the two words that cross your mind are Muslim, and terrorist, and the image of an Arab dressed in a white garb and scarf. A series of such-like repeated exposure to information associating members of a social group (e.g., Arab-Muslims) with evaluative attributes (e.g., terrorism) might create automatic attitudes toward them (Park, Felix and Lee, 2007). Likewise, when you hear of poverty you think of Africans queuing for relief food- so Africans are poor corruption and abuse of power leads ones mind to African leaders-they are generally corrupt and dictatorial there is Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe and Libyas Muamar Gadhafi. However, stereotypes do not portray the true picture of a given culture or group of people, since they are presented mostly through the media which can be biased and prejudiced, as well as based on generalities and assumptions. The paper examines the shortcomings of stereotyping through the media, and the dangers it poses to the affected groups of people. Besides the stereotypes being biased and prejudiced, they generalize individual characteristics leading to misconceptions.

Media stereotyping is inevitable, especially in entertainment, advertisement and news. In the media industry, stereotypes act as codes that provide a quick shared understanding of a group of people, in terms of their religion, ethnicity or race, socio-economical class, sexuality, gender or occupation (Butsch, 2001). So Muslims are war mongers (Jihad and Islam teachings), Africans lazy and corrupt, women emotional, gays and lesbians immoral, sportsmen unfaithful (remember Tiger Woods and John Terry) and musicians given to affluence and drug abuse the late Ann Nicole Smith and Michael Jackson, rehab cases Britney Spears,  Whitney Huston, Mary J. Blidge among others. And yet, not all Muslims are violent most Africans are hard working and of high integrity, homosexuality is not the standard measure of morality not every sportsman is guilty of infidelity, and neither are all musicians drug addicts. But the medias presentation of these groups of people promotes a generalized conception among different audiences. It forms the basis of stereotyping, which is a threat to group understanding in several ways.

Stereotypes ignore personal uniqueness of individuals by reducing their differences to simple categories (e.g. all gays are pedophiles). They transform into realities peoples assumptions about certain groups of people (Africans and witchcraft). They are used to wrongly justify power positions especially in employment (e.g. women are not suitable for executive positions). They also promote social prejudices and inequalities (role of family name leadership the Clintons, the Bushes, the Kennedy family etc.). Unfortunately, the stereotyped groups have little say on how they are wrongly represented and perceived by others. As noted before, stereotyping is a product of misrepresentation.
Media producers, writers, editors and reporters get biased and influenced by their attitudes towards groups of people, their motives and nature of information sources when they try to present an image that is easily recognizable (and sometimes acceptable) to a selected audience (Clark 2000). When there is limited time to do a thorough and objective research that address specific issues within their respective contexts, players in the media industry craft a generalized view of the issue. Thus, when a maniac throws a shoe at President Bush in a press conference in Iraqi, or a group of rioters take to the streets to protest Washingtons nosing into Iran or Afghanistan, the media reports of anti-West sentiments of the Arab world. It doesnt matter that Iraqi is not the face of the entire Arab world. Similarly, Bush (or America) does not represent the West. In any case, that is not to say that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would have been greeted with a shoe because like Bush, he represents the West. That would be akin to concluding that since Barrack Obama was received warmly in tour of the Middle East, then the anti-Western sentiments have changed. The argument Im making here is that the media generalizes isolated incidences to portray a whole race, culture or group of people.

Ethnic stereotyping tend to present minority groups negatively, especially in multicultural societies like the US that has immigrants from virtually every nation of the world. In news reportage and entertainment, for instance, people of color are featured in issues of violence, drug abuse and other criminal activities. This is seen in movies and films, where blacks play the role of the bad guys who rape, assassinate and steal or the mafia bosses and drug barons of Latin America who smuggle cocaine from the south into the streets of San Diego. This portrayal of colored people as inherently susceptible to crime is dangerous since a fter exposure to a majority of Black suspects or unidentified suspects in a newscast, African American stereotype endorsers are more likely than stereotype rejecters to support the death penalty (Dixon, 2006). Hollywood usually presents blacks (and other immigrants such as the Jews in The Passion of Christ) in negative ways that are designed to appeal to the dominantly white audience (Gelles, 2004). In some cases, minority immigrants (mostly blacks) are highly represented in sports and entertainment, but quite oppositely in business and politics. This creates the idea that people of color are good in physical activities and leisure and poor in leadership and management. It is assumed that such judgments attribute success of Whites to environmental factors and success of Blacks to biological factors (Rasmussen, Esgate and Turner, 2005). The underlying implication is that black people excel in what their genetic make up makes them capable of, while whites adapt to circumstances.

On lifestyle issues, the Western culture is presented as desirable, beautiful and romantic (starring white models) meaning that it is the ideal culture to be emulated. Most soap operas and romance movies feature white actors. This is a subtle way of stereotyping other cultures as inferior. Similarly, the presentation of feminine beauty is modeled around slim and tall female bodies. The general perception created by this portrayal of beauty is that fat and short women are not desirable. In fact, this is the one idea that has been ingrained into the psyches of all cultures. It is unique in that while it does not pity one culture against another, it groups people in terms of their physique, labeling one beautiful and the other ugly( though not so explicitly, but it is implied). This is a harsh reality especially in the media industry were securing a job is dependant on ones physical attraction (Horwitz, 2006). And lastly, the conquest of the Western hemisphere is presented in literature and films to depict the Aboriginals of Canada and Native Americans as savages upon whom civilization had to be forced. Today, they still form a marginalized group that lives on the peripheries of politics and commerce.

Gender stereotyping has a negative impact on women, especially when they are perceived as incapable of some responsibilities. The job market favors men for the misconceived notion that they are better than women. Consequently, this cultural stereotyping allows women to be discriminated against, marking their position as contaminating agents in specific working situations, and determining a specific position in the work process on the lower levels of routine labors (Lazcano, 2003). The presentation of women and men in the media is also based on stereotypes. The elements of femininity and masculinity are exploited to present women as helpless and submissive, wholly dependant on men. The association of beauty with slender and thin bodies promotes fragile and delicate females as the ultimate attraction of the opposite sex. From commercial adverts to popular TV programs, actresses are getting thinner and younger with time. Thus, it is every females dream to lose an extra pound of weight to achieve the ideal figure. Similarly, the emphasis on youth has affected the female populace who are wary of getting old and slipping outside the beauty age bracket. This is a stereotyping aspect that has impacted negatively on women, since many are desperate to lose weight and in so doing harm their health. In addition, it has become a taboo for women to reveal their age, since it is imprinted in their psyches that you are out past thirty five.

Men have also been affected by the stereotyping of handsomeness athletic figure, bulging biceps, tall, darktanned, deep blue eyes (for white men) and muscular. By pinning male idealness to skin tone, body size and figure, the standards of masculine essence are exaggerated into ideals not humanly possible to perfect. As a consequence, basic qualities like character and intelligence are ignored in defining the desirable features. The negative implication of this physical oriented tendency of determining the ideal body figure in men and women is that the values that define and hold society together will be eroded. It is going to create beautiful and handsome robot-like men and women, and a society that makes judgments on face value. The important qualities like intelligence and moral norms that drive society will be overshadowed by physical impressions which if critically examined, address the desires and lusts of men (Armstrong 2009). The culture of slimness on the part of women and masculinity on men is not aimed at solving societal issues that arise from the lack of thin women or athletic men, but to satisfy mens ego and turn women into sex objects. In fact, the way I see it, a thin and slim female figure is regarded sexy, because the whole issue is about sex.

In conclusion, the overall impact of stereotyping is serious and far reaching. By promoting certain cultures over others, stereotyping leads to the erosion of some cultural values in those societies projected as inferior. For instance, negative presentation of female submissiveness as compared to aggressiveness will lead to domestic and family tensions in societies that value patriarchy, e.g. the Muslim world. Anti-racial stereotyping such as the description of Muslims and Arabs as violent creates unnecessary intercultural conflicts and unreceptive attitudes for instance the screening for arms that Arab visitors are subjected to at airports. And lastly, stereotyped definition of beauty and handsomeness undermine the important values that govern society.