TV--Ellen DeGeneres
Scarlett Johanson plays a character in "He's Just Not That Into You" that is part of an affair. On the show to promote movie and played that clip.
Gender Stereotype
2/21 11:45am
CMT--Toby Keith Video "As Good As I Once Was"
He plays a character that picks up twin girls from the bar.
Gender Stereotpye
2/21 9pm
Film-- Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
One white girl attempts to dance at a Cuban club and everyone stares at her.
Racial Stereotype
2/22 11:15am
Poster--Adams Tower
A flyer for a Hip-Hop class with pictures only of black people.
Racial Stereotype
2/22 7pm
TV--ABC Oscars
Best Actor/Actress category only comprised of caucasians.
Racial Stereotype
2/23 6pm
Radio--KJ103
DJ talking about the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident.
Racial Stereotype
2/24 10:40am
Magazine--US Weekly
Ad for denim showing a half-naked woman posing in jeans only.
Gender Stereotype
2/24 5:30pm
TV--ESPN SportsCenter
Only male broadcasters on the show.
Gender Stereotype
2/25 2:30pm
Magazine--An older Vogue that I found at my work
Cover has Gisele Bundchen and LeBron James. She is wearing a beautiful dress and he is wearing athletic gear and holding a basketball.
Racial and Gender Stereotype
To be completely honest, I was very nervous to begin this assignment. I didn't think I would be able to find enough stereotyping. I was proven very,very wrong. I knew that there was a lot of stereotyping in today's society but what I wasn't aware of was how much I would see on a daily basis, especially when I was looking for it. I actually had a hard time only using two per day. It seemed that everywhere I looked I could find some form of racial or gender stereotyping. I came to the conclusion that if you're out to look for it, you can find it almost anywhere.
I know that from personal experience, I try not to make stereotypes of people on a regular basis. It can be hard to do sometimes but I am actively trying not to. Race, Gender and Media is also helping me realize what stereotyping can do to society and is helping me make an effort to be more cautious of my thoughts and opinions. In social experiences, stereotyping can become awkward. For instance, I was in the car with a friend that is black when I heard the horrible stereotying that was being said of Chris Brown. It was very uncomfortable and sad to be seated next to my friend during that circumstance. I can only imagine what was running through his head.
After a week of constantly looking for racial and gender stereotyping, I became very aware of what was happening, and what will continue to happen to our society. It really made me think about what it means to be a young woman in the world today. It also all begins to make sense. I think I have always been aware that it was OK by society if men didn't have the perfect body and women are criticized if they do not. Looking for gender stereotypes has made me believe that that is the case even more. My concern is that "sex sells" and if advertising agencies continue to follow that rule, these stereotypes might only get worse.
We need to teach our children that stereotyping is not a good thing and that people should be open to every gender and every race. If we all make an effort to lay of the stereotyping, our society could make some great changes.
Change is never easy, but awareness begins the process.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I totally agree with what you said. I too was shocked at the amount of stereotyping I encountered, not so much because I didn't know it was happening, but shocked by the amount that our society has become accustomed to. It never ceases to amaze me that as our society progresses, both intellectually and technologically, we continue to perpetuate these stereotypes regardless of the ramifications. I think the first step is to get people to realize the amount of stereotypes used (like we did in this assignment) because I don't think most people recognize the fact that stereotypes are so commonplace.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the advertising world would be a great place to start eliminating these stereotypes because they are the single largest stereotype perpetuator. As an advertising major, part of the reason I want to get involved in this field is to hopefully help create a change in approach to advertising. Unfortunately the "sex sells" idea is a lack of creativity and should be corrected.
kelley- i felt the exact same way you did when beginning this assignment--scared. Because previously i had to been looking for stereotypes, i did not think that it would be easy to find enough for this assignment. i too was very, very wrong.
ReplyDeleteonce i opened my eyes and began looking around i saw plenty of incidents of stereotyping from the news, to ads, to movies and the list goes on.
i realize that it is a "comfort" thing and that we are all used to it, but just because we are maybe used to it does NOT mean we approve of it. It has just become such an enormous part of society that i think people have given up on trying to do something about it.
hopefully people will brave the media world and push for change, i believe we can.
Kelley,
ReplyDeleteAll of your points really resonated with me and the way I feel about stereotyping on both a racial and gender perspective. Although, I wasn't as surprised at the amount of stereotyping I found in the media. Being an advertising major has caused me to look at stereotyping in a very torn manner. To explain, as an advertiser we are taught to sell to an entire audience, therefore when I see an advertisement placing women in a homemaker/cleaning role to sell pine-sol or something it all makes since. Women buy cleaning products, so that is who you have to convince to buy your product. However, this class has made me look into these stereotypes in a deeper fashion and try to rationalize why it is that so many aspects of our society can and have been changed, these stereotypes are continually reinforced whether to sell products or in daily conversations.
I will be working in the advertising industry after this, my final, semester and these racial and gender constructs that I see so strongly embedded in our society will greatly influence the way I feel about marketing certain products and the way we portray men, women, and various races in the media. I agree that the media has gotten too comfortable in these roles and categories they place people in and that it is time for a change.
Hey I completely agree with you! I saw the requirements for the assignment and I was extremely intimidated by the assignment. After watching the television and looking through the newspaper and magazine for a few days, it was not hard to find gender stereotypes at all. It really surprised me. I had a situation like yours, actually where I was sitting with my friend who is Asian. We were at lunch and he overheard someone say a comment about “typical smart Asians.” He blew it off but then went into a long explanation about how he tends to get those comments a lot or asked why he doesn’t play piano. Those questions made me uncomfortable and wonder about our society sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in your account of not realizing how much racial and gender stereotyping there was/is in society today (particularly in advertising on television, in print, etc.) until you started looking for it. When I put my stereotype-sensitive glasses on I was almost able to discern an element of stereotyping from every photo in whichever of the media I looked.
ReplyDeleteThis led me to wonder, is there such a thing as being too sensitive to stereotypes? Meaning, if you can stretch any image in a magazine, on television, etc. to seem somewhat representative of a stereotype, then are some of us just making mountains out of mole hills? Are we just after controversy? Controversy is entertaining, after all.
I really began to wonder about this when I saw your example of a “Vogue” magazine cover featuring Gisele Bundchen and LeBron James. I remember this creating a big racial/gender outrage when the issue came out and I thought to myself then as I think to myself now… aren’t they just being depicted as themselves, living up their successful careers? He seems to be shown as a basketball player dominating the NBA, hence the aggressive facial expression. She seems to be shown as a beautiful, flirtatious model, hence the pretty dress, hair and smiling face. Without being sensitive to stereotypes I see a celebration of careers of each of the people featured (Bundchen and James). With my stereotype sensitivity turned on, however, I certainly see racial and gender stereotypes.
I think it's a huge step that people begin to see what it's like to be a young girl in society. The media forces us to live up to these unreachable standards, and that can have extremely tarnishing effects. I think that you were right when you said that this assignment made you much more aware of the double standards. Men don't have to have the perfect body, but women do. Tina Fey is smart and funny, but mousy and librarian-esque. These stereotypes make it impossible for women to win based on anything other than their looks.
ReplyDeleteIt's up to media professionals to portray all sides of being beautiful and intelligent no matter what race or gender. I also think that the awareness must start with our own behavior. I think once we change our views of women, men, and different races we can "be the change." Though you didn't mention many personal experiences with friends, I think that personal conversations with friends talk about stereotypes just as much as the media. As soon as we can stand up for what we believe in to our friends, a big change will begin.
Great blogs and responses. Thank you for your participation.
ReplyDelete