Television
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== Gender & Racial Stereotypes Depicted Through Television ==
Since the mid-1900’s, television has been a sole source of entertainment and a time for interaction for many American families. Americans have been born and raised in a culture bursting at the seams with mass media, most effectively through television due to its entertainment and convenience value. What began as only one in a few households owning a set of their own during the new era of television steadily progressed into more than one set per household. Today, it is not unusual to see children have television sets in their bedroom due to cheaper costs and social norm. Essentially, the growing rate of technological advances has made rarity of television the thing of the past. Television ownership is now commonplace and its content easily viewed by billions every single hour of every single day. The growing numbers in ownership not only prove how advanced Americans have become, but it also illustrates the possibility of how much Americans have grown dependant upon television content. As a result, some have taken what is presented on the screen at face value, negatively affecting them both socially and culturally. While the viewer may assume he/she has power to control what is being watched with a simple push and control of a button, the truth of it is, the content on the television is the very thing that controls the viewer.
Television content has continuously surrounded itself around stereotypical classifications, both subtly and blatantly. While television alone is not solely responsible for shaping people’s gender roles, it has played a powerful role in projecting characteristics of a particular group. Viewers with the least exposure to individual members of that group are the most vulnerable to these particular images. A majority of us use these images because we believe they are universally acknowledged, any easy way to connect with the viewer, an actual part of history, and not to be taken seriously. But the thing is, there are instances where it is taken seriously. It has been linked with attitudes and beliefs among viewers. A substantial amount of the population may not have as easy of time as others do in identifying with what they see on the television screen. Something as simple and innocent as a mother cooking dinner and a child riding a bike sends a certain message and reaffirms stereotypes, depending upon the context. The thing is, stereotypes are not just ideas, but have an important material function, which are the support and justifiable means to mistreat people from particular social groups, in terms of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and economic status. Content have grown even worse as shows have become more risky and, unfortunately, socially acceptable. It has already reached a point where negative connotations targeted at certain groups are consciously unnoticed, resulting in an unconscious affect. Viewers have grown desensitized to the mass media’s categorization of people because it has existed since the very beginning of television. It has slowly but surely constructed the beliefs, values, morals, attitudes, and behavior within American culture. In a sense, television has created, formed, and perpetuated the social ideological standards apparent today. This has become an even bigger problem with America’s youth, as they are more susceptible and inclined to believe what they see. Television has gone from a clean “Leave It To Beaver” and “I Love Lucy” to shows like “Married with Children” and “South Park”. Stereotypes have come in many different forms, all of which gender and race will be my main focus.
Gender Stereotypes
Television contributes to the prevalence of traditional gender stereotypes among men and women. As one might expect in a society still dominated by men, men dominate TV production and, influenced by these stereotypes, unconsciously reproduce a traditional ‘masculine’ perspective, perpetuating dominant gender stereotypes. Seemingly enough, narratives on TV are implicitly structured to be interpreted from a male perspective, which is viewed as the ‘norm’. Typically, women on TV are restricted to a few roles, which include domestication and nurturing, whereas male roles are expanded in every direction. From the 1950’s to the early 80’s, traditional roles of men and women were commonplace, but as the 90’s crept around, the roles have indeed equaled out, but not too much. While women have assumed roles of assertiveness and independence, they tend to still hold onto some traditional trait and qualities from decades ago. However, women are still under-represented, outnumbering men by two or three to one. The ratio of men to women is uneven in the violence-crime and action adventure programs, while somewhat equal in situation comedies. Women are likely to be younger than men on television, but they tend to age faster. The typical woman on television is in her early 30’s, while men are in their late-30’s and older. Women’s work on television is more stereotyped than men, often cast in the lower status professions and in white-collar jobs, such as secretaries and clerks. More than likely, they are seen as attractive, usually blonde or red/auburn hair than black or brown. They typically have almost perfect bodies, few with the slightest problem with their weight. Moreover, the roles women take on include submissiveness, sexual objects, cattiness, sensitive, gentle, materialistic, naive, weak, unintelligent, extremely emotional, and in dire need of love and romance. Women are usually defined by their sexuality over their intelligence. Essentially, women in television are under-represented, but the mass that are take on roles which undermine their intellect and social stability, and focus on their appearance and emotional state. As an example, the link below is a clip from Desperate Housewives. Women in this series are defined by their sexuality and dependency on male relationships. For regular viewers, the stereotypical views of women as stated above are highly dramatized. Not only that, they are also attractive and are physically ‘perfect’. This is one of the many examples of how television help perpetuate the social expectations and stereotypes of women, and men, in America.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwQsvi3d2pI>
Racial Stereotypes
Television content has provided many images depicting ethnicities from all around the world, with many of them over-accentuated and over dramatic. For and foremost, it is important to understand that the realm of television is dominated by Caucasians over any other race. And typically when minorities are actually represented, they are put under a light which is degrading, embarrassing, and sometimes humiliating. Asian Americans and Asians are portrayed in a variety of ways in American media They are sometimes used as a comedic act, speaking English with thick accents who act inappropriately. Their roles also range from martial arts experts, overachievers, nerds, to even being autistic. Usually, Asian men are portrayed in emasculated role, lacking love interest due to unattractiveness, oppressors of Asian women, or desiring unattainable White women. Asian women tend to be hyper-sexualized, as a submissive China Doll or a seductive Dragon Lady vixen. They are stereotyped as sexually available to White men. The American media stereotypes Arab Americans and Muslims as billionaires, bombers, belly dancers, and mini-mart owners. Arab women are portrayed as exotic harem belly dancers whoa re mute, subservient, and repressed. Arabs and Muslims are stereotyped as socially isolated, lonely, and without a social life. African Americans as a group have been stereotyped as animalistic, physically rather than intellectually oriented, violent, and criminally-oriented. They are portrayed as economically and culturally inadequate. American Indians and Alaskan Natives have only been portrayed in television as the wise elder and aggressive drunk. They are usually referred to as they were in the past, in a primitivism manner. These are only a few of the racial stereotypes displayed in television which has had much of an adverse affect on viewers and their perception of the world and diversified people, and essentially, how they perceive them. As an example, the link below is of a clip from Mad TV. The clip characterizes Asian women as being a burden to society due to language barrier, having to struggle in order to communicate with the American society by speaking English with a thick accent. The character, Mrs. Swan, is portrayed as incompetent, extremely odd and weird, and holds inappropriate behavior. There is also a part where a racial remark is made to an African-American man.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RbNQlD8UNw>
Social, Culture, & Psychological Impacts
The gender and racial stereotypes seen on television day in and day out have had more of a negative affect more so than imagined. The holding values, beliefs, and attitudes of viewers are somewhat distorted and unrealistic. Perceptions of themselves and others are run by what is learned through television. Although television content is not entirely responsible for stereotypes, it is one of the highly contributing factors. Gender stereotypes creates and instills roles among Americans, provoking women to take on the ‘lady-like’ roles which entails domestication, submission to their male counterparts, sexism, etc. Not only that, it also creates a poor image of themselves. The fact that a majority of women on television are thin, attractive, and Caucasian, it teaches other women, especially children, what is socially considered beautiful. It is essentially a narrowed scope of the many kinds of women in the world. And with this ideology, appearance is potentially the highest concern among teenagers and women. This has resulted in eating disorders, psychological counseling, a rise in the beauty industry, and unhappiness to attain something that is unrealistic. Due to gender stereotypes, American culture has learned to praise and reward those who are attractive. We now live in a society that puts much emphasis on sexuality and appearance, leading adolescents, as well adults, to focus on the shallow, materialistic, and vain prospects of life- contributing to the rise of capitalism. Racial stereotypes on television has factored in to the hate, ignorance, racism, and violence prevalent in society. For those who are unfamiliar with certain ethnic groups, stereotypes displayed on television can dictate their outlook and perceptions of them. And with this, discrimination and prejudice prevail.
Conclusion
Television has practically been a major educating and socializing institution in America, both positive and negative. It is an extremely powerful tool that has the capability to persuade and influence the minds of viewers on a political, social, culture, and personal level. It is important for viewers to distinguish between fantasy and the real world in order to be able to interpret the messages accurately. Television offers only a small, and sometimes false, interpretation of how the world is.
References:
Birmingham, Elizabeth. "Fearing the Freak: How Talk TV Articulates Women and Class." Journal of Popular Film & Television 28 (2000): 133-140. Proquest Direct. Washington State University, Pullman. 27 Oct. 2006. http://www.proquest.com
Fuller, Abigail A. "What Difference Does Difference Make? Women, Race-Ethnicity, Socia Class, and Social Change." Race, Gender, & Class 11 (2004): 8+. Proquest Direct. Washington State University, Pullman. 27 Oct. 2006. http://www.proquest.com
"Ethnic Stereotypes in American Media." Wikipedia. 30 Oct. 2006. 27 Oct. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_stereotypes_in_American_media>.