Stereotypes in the Media

An explanation of a very important critical perspective you

need to know for the A2 exam and potentially your research
project.

*Stereotyping is routinely directed at groups of people

How might you stereotype? For example, a person

Stereotyping a person is a simple way to place them in particular

group. It is easy to do this if you only focus on certain characteristics
(what they look like or act like). You may make a judgment of them
based on that. It can often be a narrow-minded approach.

e.g. A stereotype for Goths is

black clothes, black makeup,
depressed, misunderstood by
society.

e.g. Stereotyping black people

has been an ongoing issue in the
media because to be black is to
be linked with negative things e.g.
slavery, crime, and poverty.

The Challenge: Be honest, whom do you stereotype? Have a

discussion and write a paragraph to explain why you may stereotype.

The creation of stereotypes

Stereotyping exists because it is easy to believe what we are told

especially when we are told the message again and again (repetition)
e.g. in newspaper headlines the Daily Mail constantly aim to shape
the perspective of the public when it comes to immigrants trying to
seek asylum.
The media are central to the construction and distribution of
stereotypes because they want to sell products. The media can often
be criticized because they construct stereotypes.
Challenge: write down some examples.

Stereotypes are often assumed to be negative as:

The judgment that creates the stereotype is usually a negative one

e.g. all women gossip or all children eat junk food

They do not allow for individual character traits to exist in

members of the group e.g. some women may not be interested in
other peoples domestic lives, or some children always eat their five a
day

They are routinely created by people outside the stereotyped

group and are often seen to be exerting their power Richard Dyer
(1979) e.g. the stereotyped group often has no way to answer back
e.g. being stereotyped on the cover of a magazine can influence the
perspective of an audience (Hegemony).

They are used to maintain dominant ideologies

Those being stereotyped have little self-expression e.g. news or

magazine articles will be written from one persons perspective.

A stereotype can be seen as an

assumption; therefore, they can be
offensive and can misrepresent a
person, event of groups of people e.g.
World leading scientist Tim Hunts
stereotyping of women in science led to an
public outcry.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-06/11/tim-hunt-resigns-
from-ucl-over-sexist-remarks

Stereotypes limit the understanding of the person or group and

they can often lead to misunderstandings.
The Challenge: How might society voice their opinions against
stereotyping in 2015? What social power do we have to argue against
it?

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The Complete Picture?

The stereotype gives the impression of a complete picture about

the group and implies a knowledge and understanding that can be
applied to all members of the group. Is this right?

The Challenge: Read this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-

26230410ad

Remember that the media:

1. Have an agenda/a plan

2. They often construct a perspective/point of view in their own
interest
3. They re-present the world; it is not the real world
4. When stereotypes are broken or challenged is it obvious. Why
is this?
5. The media may NOT give you much CONTEXT or background on
 who or what is being sterotyped.

Campaigns against racism in football

Removing page 3 from The Sun newspaper
CBBC and employing disabled presenters

Why does the media construct stereotypes?

They want to get their message across quickly Andy Medhurst

(1995). It would be impossible for a magazine to inform audiences from
lots of different perspectives all the time; they know this approach
would be too complicated for any audience and the audience may lose
interest. Does the audience have the time, want or motivation?

To create debate e.g. the media would be happy for audiences to

argue about stereotypes in media texts because it may widen their
audience. Remember that the media want to sell media texts to make
a profit.

They know the stereotypes already exist in society and there

may be some TRUTH in it Tessa Perkins (1979) e.g. it is easy for
them to do this if they know the stereotype is reflecting a stereotype
that is being used by the public. By using these stereotypes, the media
may be supporting the ideas behind them. They may be feeding the
audience a negative stereotype! Imagine a newspaper articles point of
view reaching millions of people.

*It would be interesting to note that over time stereotypes become

normalized therefore it becomes quite natural for the media to
construct them.

The Challenge: Is it right the media create stereotypes? Does the

media have a responsibility?

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DEBATE 1:

It could be argued that the media make big news anytime a white man
murders a black man. When this happens the media sensationalizes it
trying to divide races into their stereotypes. Statistics show that
whites murder whites and blacks murder blacks at a high rate, yet the
media routinely reports certain types of murders, making them very
high profile.

DEBATE 2:

It could be argued that women are often sterotyped as gossipers and

are seen to be continually interested in the personal details of
celebrities lives, discussing real life stories and focussing on
relationships. Marriage and scandal are often seen as products for
women (Heat magazine for example).

One look at the sports pages in a tabloid newspaper or the content of a

lads mag e.g. Nuts shows how this is not really the truth. Much of
what is contained in these magazines can be described as gossip but,
because it is on a different topic and is an acceptable point of
discussion for men in this culture, it is not viewed in the same way.
Where does the stereotype actually come from?

These shared ideas that created the stereotype in the first place must
have started somewhere and we have to look at the historical and
cultural reasons. These are often overlooked.

Cultivation theory

The single story creates stereotypes, and the

problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but
that they are incomplete. They make one story become the
only story.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

GREAT LINKS TO STEREOTYPING:

http://www.slideshare.net/niajones1/week-4-stereotypes
https://twitter.com/tedtalks/status/528210689148846081
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/stereotype-examples.html
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/14/sexist-stereotypes-
front-pages-newspapers
http://krytyka.org/gender-stereotypes-in-mass-media-case-study-
analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/