Stereotyping and Media Expectations We all have expectations

Stereotyping and Media

Expectations We all have expectations for each new encounter. . . What if I were to say to you. . . ? ? ? Your expectations are based on past experiences Including mediated experiences

Expectations What comes to mind when I say: Chinese student? Urban Black man? Nurse? Cowboy? Muslim? Kazakhstan?

Complete these phrases: a) All athletes are b) Drugs are used by c) All homosexuals are d) All politicians are e) All people with AIDS are f) All male hairdressers are g) All male ballet dancers are h) All construction workers are i) She's so dumb, she must be j) She's so smart, she must be k) She's quick-tempered, so she must be

Stereotyping—The Process Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on assumptions derived from prior experiences (again, even media experiences) Stereotyping is a natural process; when it becomes inflexible to change with the introduction of new information, we call it prejudice, bias, or “…ism” (e. g. , sexism, racism)

Stereotypes engage a particular kind of role schema that organizes people’s expectations about other people who fall into certain social categories. Two primary research questions: #1 --What types of stereotypes are presented in the media? #2 --What effects do stereotypes have on people?

“Instead of being presented with stereotypes by age, sex, color, class, or religion, children must have the opportunity to learn that within each range, some people are loathsome and some are delightful. ” Margaret Mead, social anthropologist

Where do stereotypes come from? Parents and family The media Friends Education (school, university) Travel Laziness Fear Envy A sense of superiority Lack of experience of people, etc.

EFFECTS OF STEREOTYPING ON PERSONS/GROUPS • Prejudice • Stigma • Discrimination • Racism • Conflicts

Media Cultivation Mainstreaming refers to what happen when people of different groups are exposed to the same media ü Ultimately, everyone is being similarly cultivated by media messages Resonance refers to what happens when a person’s real- life environment strongly resembles the environment depicted in the media ü Receives “double-dose” of the same message, making the impact of media cultivation particularly likely

#1 --What types of stereotypes are presented in the media? Sex roles: “Television programming generally portrays men and women in traditional gender stereotypical roles… all content analyses illustrate the consistent finding that men are more often on TV, in higher status roles as characters, and as having greater power than women. ” Other sex roles stereotypes? Body Image? Discuss? ? ?

Body-Image Media Depiction ü Heavy emphasis on females to be overly-thin as compared to males ü Females with higher weight receives negative comments Mainstreaming ü Majority of females desire for thin bodies Resonance (Double-dose effect) ü Friends places great importance on thin body image ü Society’s high values and regards for thin bodies

Effects of Sex Role Stereotypes “Notel” study—Children in British Columbia town with no TV did not have as many sex role stereotypes. Two years after TV, showed a dramatic increase in sex role stereotypes.

Research by Eric Stice & Heather Shaw 157 female college students to view pictures in magazines that contained thin, average or no models Findings: 1) Students who viewed thin models – stress, shame, guilt, depression, insecurity 2) High levels of body dissatisfaction; symptoms associated with bulimia

Magazines Photographic techniques – blur realistic nature of media images Leading consumers to believe the models the viewers see through the illusions techniques create are realistic representations of actual people rather Carefully manipulated, artificially developed images (Stormer & Thompson, 1995, 1998)

What Michelle Pfeiffer Needs www. medialit. med. sc. edu/isbmag. htm D-4 PG 19

Copy of Bill for Touchups D-5 PG 19

Face-ism Media Depiction: ü Focuses more on the faces of males ü Focuses more on the bodies of the females Mainstreaming ü Great importance are placed on a female’s overall figure ü A male face is enough for people’s judgment Resonance (Double-dose effect) ü Most fashion magazines published the entire body of females than focusing on her face ü More importance is placed on the face of a male than his body

Research Summary Media images of females are stereotypical in that they tend to represent females with idealized, overly thin bodies Negative effects on both males & females Females internalize ideal image; strive to attain it despite eating disorders Males reinforce ideal image => create additional social pressure on females

#1 --What types of stereotypes are presented in the media? Racial Stereotypes—Name examples? : African Americans in the media? Latinos in the media? Asian Americans in the media? Native Americans? Whites? Italians? Arabs? ? ? ?

Arab exemplars: Jack Shaheen’s book and documentary Reel Bad Arabs Identifies a stunning array of mostly negative models for Arabs e. g. , The money-grubbing sheik e. g. , The belly dancing woman e. g. , The terrorist

Frito-Lay Example ~ Frito-Lay Company Used cartoon character to convey the message that Fritos corn chips are delicious Character was known as “Frito-bandito” Because of his appearance and Mexican accent, he as clearly identified as a Mexican The Mexican community protested because The image of Frito-bandito depicts an undesirable stereotype Image associates the ethnic group with crime and thievery

Study: Overrepresentation of African American Research Study by Travis Dixon and Daniel Linz Content study designed to reveal information about how TV newscasts in major U. S. city represented African Americans and Latinos in stories about crime Sample: 116 news broadcasts, Including examples from virtually every news program broadcast in the Los Angeles area

Results Intergroup comparison Comparison of the percentage of one group to the percentage of another group Found that the news coverage in their sample included 129 perpetrators of criminal offenses 69 were Black perpetrators 40 were White perpetrators

Results Interrole comparison Used to compare the distribution of the same group of people according to particular roles Coded the race of the police officers depicted in the news as well as that of the perpetrators 87 Blacks depicted in their sample of news 69 appeared as perpetrators of crime 18 appeared as officers 133 Whites depicted in their sample of news 40 appeared as perpetrators 93 appeared as officers

Results Interreality comparison Comparing the percentages of Blacks, Whites, and Latinos who appeared in TV crime stories with the percentages that showed up in actual crime statistics Actual crime data 21% Blacks accounted for criminal arrests 28% Whites accounted for criminal arrests 47% Latinos accounted for criminal arrests Data shown on TV newscasts 37% of TV news perpetrators were Blacks 21% of TV news perpetrators were Whites 29% of TV news perpetrators were Latinos

NATIVE AMERICAN STEREOTYPES Portrayed as bloodthirsty savages, alcoholic indigents, romantic princesses, and silent but wise sidekicks, Native Americans have long been a staple of paperback, movie and television stereotypes.

OTHER PICTORIAL STEREOTYPES IN THE MEDIA

Video game portrayals How are male and female videogame characters portrayed, especially regarding objectification and power, dominance and aggression? What is the common understanding of youth about gender portrayals in videogames? Are these schemas part of general culture?

Female Game Characters 60% Sexualized 1% of males 63% Vision of Beauty 39% Scantily clad 62% Aggressive 39% Sexualized & Aggressive Dill & Thill, 2007

Male Game Characters 83% Aggressive 33% Hyper- masculine Aggressive Portrayal: 4% military 33% fighting 42% wearing armor Dill & Thill, 2007

Figure 1 Substance Appearance in Popular Movies and Songs Percentages reflect the number of movies (200 total) and songs (1, 000 total) in which substances appeared, whether or not they were used.

Figure 2 Percentage of Movies and Songs Associating Illicit Drug Use With: Wealth or luxury Sexual activity Crime or violence Anti-use statement Movies Refusal to use Crime or violence Anti-use statement Popular Songs Refusal to use Pro-use statement or advocacy of use No consequence to user Based on the 33 movies and 156 songs that portrayed illicit drug use.

Figure 3 Percentage of Movies and Songs Associating Alcohol Use With: Wealth or luxury Sexual activity Crime or violence Anti-use statement Movies Refusal to use Crime or violence Anti-use statement Popular Songs Refusal to use Pro-use statement or advocacy of use No consequence to user Based on the 183 movies and 149 songs that portrayed alcohol use.

Figure 4 Percentage of Songs and 5 -Minute Movie Segments with Substance Appearance In order to measure the concentration of substance appearances within movies, each movie was divided into 5 minute segments, and each segment examined separately for substances. The height of the columns above represents the percentage of all 5 -minute movie segments (4, 372) or songs (1, 000) that contained a substance appearance. The 2% above therefore means that illicit drugs appeared one or more times in the 4, 372 movie segments. The percentages refer to the intervals, not the number of appearances.

Figure 5 Substance Use in G or PG, PG-13, and R-Rated Movies Percentages based on 38 G or PG, 65 PG-13, and 97 R-rated movies.

Figure 6 Substance Use in Movies by Genre Percentages based on 60 Action Adventures, 69 Comedies, and 71 Dramas.

Figure 7 Substance Use by Age of Major Characters Percentages based on 79 major characters under 18 years, 473 characters between 18 and 39, and 196 characters 40 and older.

Figure 8 Types of Illicit Drugs, Tobacco, and Alcohol in Movies Percentage of movies with alcohol portrayals that show use of: Beer Pipes or chewing tobacco Cigars Cigarettes Miscellaneous other Heroin or other opiates Hallucinogens Crack cocaine Powder cocaine Marijuana Hard liquor/ mixed drinks Percentage of movies with tobacco portrayals that show use of: Wine or champagne Percentage of movies with illicit drugs that show: Based on 43 movies in which illicit drugs appeared, 172 movies portraying tobacco use, and 183 movies portraying alcohol use. Percentages sum to more than 100% because multiple substances appeared in the same movie.

Figure 9 Percentage of Songs with Substance References by Genre Based on 212 Rap songs, 211 Alternative Rock, 212 Hot-100, 211 Heavy Metal, and 212 Country-Western.

Figure 10 Types of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol in Songs Percentage of songs with illicit drug portrayals that refer to: Marijuana Percentage of songs with alcohol portrayals that refer to: Beer or malt liquor Crack cocaine Powder cocaine Wine or champagne Hallucinogens Hard liquor or mixed drinks Heroin or other opiates Miscellaneous other (amphetamines, inhalants, etc. ) Generic terms--e. g. , “booze” Based on 182 songs with illicit drug references and 166 songs with alcohol references. This includes songs in which substances were mentioned but not used.

The Target