Examples Of Stereotypes In The Help

Addie Crosslin

Dr. Bergh

COM 314

1 May 2023

The Help The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, tells the story of a young white woman journalist interviewing the Black help for a book that she is writing. The story is set in Jacksonville Mississippi during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. As the journalist, Skeeter Phelan, forms relationships with the domestic workers, she begins to develop a new sense of respect for the Black women of this time. While multiple theoretical approaches could be fitting for this media, I have chosen 3; racism, sexism, and stereotyping. Racism and sexism are both forms of discrimination. Each type has been present throughout history, and unfortunately still is today. When discrimination is used, stereotypes

Throughout the novel, it is extremely obvious that the white people labeled the Black domestic workers as inferior. They made them seem submissive, uneducated, and untrustworthy. Skeeter mentions how Hilly and Elizabeth trat their workers like they are stupid. She quotes, “Hilly raises her voice about three octaves higher when she talks to colored people. Elizabeth smiles like shes talking to a child [...] (183). Like Dyer's theory, white people used stereotyping for the justification of violence. The white people in the novel felt that since everyone else had put hurtful and scary stereotypes on the Black people, that violence was okay to use towards them. These people automatically assumed, without even getting to know the opposite race personally, that they were all bad and uneducated people. However, the only reason the Black characters were perceived that way was because of the stereotypes white people had given them. While these stereotypes were given, white families pretended like the same people they had labeled dangerous were not also the same people raising their children and doing their domestic work for

This can apply to any gender, but for this piece of media, It applies to females. I will be using Janice Radway's approach to sexism. Radways The Readers and their Romances explains how women use romance novels to escape from their daily lives. She also explains that romance novels can be empowering for women by providing a way for women to envision their fantasies without being judged by men. The novels can also give a sense of meaning to women's lives, providing them with the feeling of accomplishment. In this novel, the white women of Jacksonville used town gossip and racism to escape their reality; that their jobs were to tend to men. Male dominance and superiority ruled the 1960’s, especially in the south. Men had vastly more opportunities than women during this time. Like I previously discussed in stereotypes, women were expected to find husbands and start a family. Skeeter however did not have those intentions. She wanted to be a successful writer, and starting a family was the last thing on her mind. Skeeter attended the University of Mississippi and majored in journalism. When she graduates college and returns home, she finds it difficult to find a journalism job. She quickly notices that men ruled the journalism field. While there were jobs for women for this occupation, men had a much higher advantage of better jobs and pay. The text reads, “My eyes drift down to HELP WANTED: MALE. There