Most people find stereotypes to be obnoxious, especially when they have to do with sensitive subjects like gender or race. “Stereotyping is a generalization about a group or category of people that can have a powerful influence on how we perceive others and their communication behaviors” (Floyd, 61). Because they underestimate the differences among individuals in a group, stereotyping can lead to inaccurate and offensive perceptions of other people. Although stereotypes are prevalent in almost every society, becoming aware of our perceptions of others, as well as differentiating between both positive and negative stereotypes can help us overcome those stereotypes. “Stereotyping is a three-part process” (Floyd, 61).
. but the violent images contribute to the state of terror" (Kilbourne, 1999: 278). With advertising reaching millions of possible consumers every day, the need for sexual equality in commercialism becomes an even more important cause. Even though stereotyping is common does not earn it the right to be acceptable. Stereotyping causes society to make false judgments on people because of their race, ethnicity, or even sex.
Society shows women that they should try and fit in while media shows them that one must have certain things and look a certain way to fit in. Teenagers seem to be the most affected because not only are they being told that they are not good enough, but are also constantly reminded of their flaws and insecurities.
Misconceptions are not prejudice and are just assumptions. Unlike misconceptions, stereotypes are based on exaggerated truths and are used to categorize groups of people. The categorization of groups of people can be positive or negative but there is a more negative impact on stereotypes. Stereotypes promote social categorization which lead us to prejudice attitudes towards others. Although humans do not like being stereotyped humans use stereotypes all the time when meeting new people and simply just taking one glance at a person without talking, stereotypes and misconceptions are used by making an assumption of what characteristics a certain person possesses.
Prejudice is a person’s hostile opinion or feeling being based on something they have no knowledge about, thought, or reason behind it. Discrimination is the unjust treatment of a person due the group, class, or category to which that person belongs to. So essentially a person’s adverse attitude toward someone is prejudice and a person’s biased actions toward someone is discrimination. There are misinterpretations about stereotypes that make it seem as these made categorized groups as a bad thing but there is always a little truth in every
Needless to say it plays a very important role in our lives and helps shape our perception of the world. While society has benefited greatly from the introduction of mass media there are times where it is harmful. Women constitute a large demographic and as such are portrayed greatly in the media. The problem is that mass media often stereotypes women into the roles of sex icons and housewives. This stereotyping leads to low self-esteem, body issues and can make it difficult for women to advance in academia and careers.
I think that many people lack an understanding of the issue so therefore they begin to participate in racial tendencies without being fully aware of it. There are many people that play a much more active role in racism such as large business owners trying to keep minorities powerless; however in regards to most everyday people they are much more likely to participate in the racism expressed by Symbolic Interactionism. Racism is a serious social problem that continues to affect many innocent people. The social theory groups all have varying opinions about the causes and solutions but one thing that they strongly believe is that this is a social problem that needs to be solved.
Every day, women experience sexism whether it is on television, at work or even at home. Society sees men as biologically superior creatures compared to women. Sexism has become very common and even acceptable and this is the problem (Gill, 14). If from a young age females endure sexist remarks, they would naturally accept those remarks and easily become the victims of the patriarchal society. Another personal problem that affects women is the objectification in the media.
Why is this? The media has been portraying the “perfect” body image for years, and has made people believe that their body should look a certain way. Teenage girls are the most targeted by this fake image corrupted with Photoshop leading them to develop eating disorders and have self-esteem issues. Teenage girls are obsessed with perfection and are more worried about their body image instead of realizing that their bodies are fine just the way they are. With its obsession with perfection, outreach towards young teenagers and subliminal messages, the media is one of the most harmful sources on the woman’s body image.
The rise of such measures has been more negative and lead to inaccurate and offensive perception of people, especially for sensitive subjects like gender, race, and sexuality. Although humans are able to recognize differences from snap judgments of appearances, they forget underneath the surface they are all similar. An advertisement that has brought attention to this negativity is the PSA: “Holding Hands.” The image itself is particular an x-ray of two people who are joining hands, which is the only part