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The impact of stereotypes
Impact of stereotypes on individuals and society
Media and stereotyping
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The impact of stereotypes
Impact of stereotypes on individuals and society
Media and stereotyping
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The perpetuation of stereotypes allows prejudice ideas to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, basically we see and believe stereotypes about individual races and when one person or a small percentage of people in that race exhibits that behavior, it reinforces our stereotypes and
In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.
Stereotypes About African Americans That Were Depicted in the Media in the Early 1900s In the 1800s and early 1900s, there were a myriad of stereotypes that depicted African-Americans in a rather negative light. From the Mammy to the Jezebel, the Uncle Tom to the Sapphire, these pejorative stereotypes, which still persist in today’s society—only in a different form—reflected and reinforced systemic racism. THE MAMMY
Every human being belongs to a specific type of race or possibly multiple races depending on his/her background. As a population, society views their fellow citizens according to their certain race. For some, culture and traditions of their own race means everything to them and these people are proud of who they are and where they come from. However, for some races their background and pride carries burdens.
An example of stereotyping is basing people on their religion, physical appearance, how much money someone has, etc. There have been many stereotypes mostly based on religion like the Jews in the Holocaust, and physical appearances like in the Rwandan Genocide for the Tutsi and Hutus. (Doc. C) If we don't force or establish any specific groups everyone will then begin viewing each other as equal instead of someone higher or lesser. Document G displays two pictures of a man being classified into a group based on his physical appearance.
The sentencing disparity for drug use by race is disproportionate for African Americans because of The War on Drugs. Matthew Lassiter (2015) explains, “In 1951, Harry Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, collaborated with senate of criminal investigations to target black ‘dope peddlers’ who were luring pretty white blondes into drug addiction”(2015:128). According to Lassiter (2015), Anslinger believed that peddlers, who destroyed teenagers’ lives, required the most sever punishment (2015:129). Using this rhetoric, presidents like Nixon and Reagan would shape the way drug laws are enforced.
Racial profiling, poverty and high crime rates are the major contributors to high incarceration rates for African Americans compared to their percent of the general population. Besides social and economic isolation, African Americans have been marked as inherently criminal with the war on drugs and crime targeting them even when the statics shows they are less likely to be in possession of cocaine for example (Walker, Spohn, DeLone, 2012). The high number of African Americans on death row is the result of institutional racism. Majority of the judges in the United States are white and more often than not are either implicitly or explicitly biased in their rulings (Walker, Spohn, DeLone, 2012).
We don’t realize that we stereotype others based on their physical appearances and we act very racial towards others, it just comes natural. I believe that humans should take the time to reevaluate their actions when it comes to racial thoughts and prejudice attitudes. Everybody is different. Not everyone has the same beliefs and morals therefore everyone will behave differently. Stereotypes often lead to negative actions, but we have no control.
Everyone that has ever existed has faced some kind of subjugation. Whether it be over gender, sexuality, religion, financial status, ethnicity, or color everyone is stereotyped. Some have more negative stereotypes than others, some just have ones that are neatraul. To dive down deeper into the understanding of different stereotypes, I asked a close friend some questions and compared them to the ones I face as a young woman. The answers were incredibly different, but so weren’t the effects which I expected to be the same.
All Asians are good at math, all blondes are dumb, all Muslims are terrorists - these are all common stereotypes. Without even realizing it, stereotypes have undeniably played an enormous role in individual lives. Minds seem to already set a certain image in them based on the people they encounter. People judge others by their skin tone, ethnicity, and physical appearance unconsciously, and this have been proven by many social experiments. Of course, though these stereotypes might be accurate at times, there are situations where they are completely defied.
Over the course of many years, African Americans have influenced communities in many ways. African Americans have been used as slaves and segregated. After overcoming these struggles, they later were granted freedoms and rights. Many African American individuals have overcome these hard times and worked hard to achieve their dreams. Misty Copeland, Patricia Bath, and Madam C.J. Walker are courageous African-American women who have overcome racial stereotypes because of their determination to pursue what they love; Misty Copeland’s determination led her to pursue dance, and Patricia Bath and Madam C.J. Walker were strong, African American entrepreneurs.
hat is the nature and causes of the issue? Media misrepresentation of African Americans as an industry issue has been a major concern in our American culture; and is also a component of media bias in the United States. Unfortunately, the media representation of minorities has not always been in a positive light. Instead there has been publicized, controversial and misconstrued images of who African Americans truly are. Since the mass media is an important source of information about African Americans and their image, it influences the public perception and reinforce opinions about African Americans.
It seems to be easier for us to conjure up our well known stereotypes for those that clearly hold the attributes of groups that we don’t know, especially those groups that have recognizable traits. Making hasty generalizations could explain why categorize certain grofups into these stereotypical categories so easily, groups such as women, people of color, religions groups such as Muslims and groups designated by their wardrobe. People tend to stereotype for a wide variety of reasons, such as falling into the fallacies of idols of the tribe experiences of ones upbringing and family dynamics. Our parents who have raised and nurtured us may have infused their beliefs onto us as children. Children are raised to embrace the beliefs of the tribe.
Entertainment is a big part in defining all stereotypes. Many people today believe that how the characters act in tv shows and movies are exactly how people act in real life. This is how the mental pictures of the stereotyped groups get over exaggerated. Stereotypes affect individuals who perhaps like different things or do different activities, but feel ashamed of doing so because of the stereotype put on them due to society. Stereotypes happen because people assume there must be something important that led to a groups common classification in the first place, something that makes the group essentially similar.
Most people who are stereotyping and prejudging are often ignorant and misinformed about the characteristics of the people they are judging. (Berstein et al, 2006). This can be changed by groups being organised and informing people about different cultures and different social groups. This can help people change their perception of people and also help form friendships and even relationships. This helps prevent people becoming outcast and being unable to form friendships and relationships with people , in a perfect world prejudice would be handled better and many more people would try and prevent it but in the world we live in humans cannot help but stereotype and pre judge as it is built into our genes from many years ago.