Racial and Gender Stereotypes

02-24-09 6:30 p.m.

Personal Conversation with Kyle XXXX Friend

Argument about how guys are better than girls at everything

Gender stereotypes

 

02-24-09 10:00 p.m.

Social Experience at O’Connell’s

Beads were being passed out to “hot” girls

Gender stereotypes

 

02-25-09 2:00 a.m.

Television

Bow Wow music video

Black girls wearing tiny swimsuits were dancing inappropriately for Bow Wow vying for his attention

Racial and gender stereotypes

 

02-25-09 3:00 a.m.

Film

Doris Day movie, Don’t Eat the Daisies

Gender stereotypes

 

02-25-09 12:30 p.m.

Classroom experience Professor William

Class discussion about healthcare

Racial assumption/stereotypes

 

02-25-09 3:30 p.m.

Personal conversation with roommate (prefers not to be named)

Conversation about crime in Oklahoma

Racial stereotypes

 

02-25-09 10:00 p.m.

Social Experience at Logan’s

A group of girls were inappropriately dressed trying to get free drinks from the bartender

Gender stereotypes

 

02-26-09 11:00 a.m.

Television

South Park

Jesse Jackson episode

Racial assumptions/stereotypes

 

02-27-09 1:00 a.m.

Television

Cheaters

Racial and gender stereotypes

 

02-28-09 5:00 p.m.

Television

Dr. Phil

Racial stereotypes

Reflection:

I was not surprised by the amount of stereotyping in the media at all.  I always notice the way television in particular portrays black people as thugs or athletes, and women as sex objects or stupid.  It is easy to stereotype a group of people and turn it into an entertaining sitcom.  Also, as people commonly say, “sex sells,” and rappers and singers use women as products that sell their music by having them dancing half naked in the background.  One thing that I haven’t noticed though is the amount of comments my friends and classmates make that could easily be considered racist or prejudice against women.  I think we get used to inappropriate racial jokes and jokes against women and we don’t even realize how wrong they are anymore.  “It’s just a joke” is a common thing people say in order to justify their prejudice behavior.  It was very disheartening for me to notice how many racial slurs my friends’ use on a day-to-day basis because they find it humorous.  This assignment made me open my eyes and notice how offensive those comments really are.  Also, instead of laughing at the comments my guy friends make about women, I should be appalled.  They claim to respect women but then make prejudice comments. Saying “it’s just a joke” should never be a justification for racial or gender stereotyping.  It is just another form of discrimination.   

I think the constant portrayal of women as sex objects is one of the main reasons my guy friends don’t respect women as much as they should.  When young men are constantly seeing women dancing half naked on TV and loving attention for it, how could they possibly see us as equal?  We are often seen as “arm candy” instead of appreciated for whom we are inside.  I also think the way the media portrays black people is one of the main reasons white people are still racist today.  The media portrays minorities as less educated and less cultured and consequently society thinks that is reality.  All of the TV shows I noticed with black stars, the writers had them using bad grammar and bad manners instead of portraying them as smart.  Black people are also underrepresented in regards to having powerful job positions and are instead more commonly depicted as thugs, athletes, or blue-collar workers.  The media creates racial and gender barriers instead of breaking them down by showing equality.  I definitely think the media plays a major factor in the racial and gender issues America has today and something needs to be done about it. Women and minorities are being misrepresented in the media and it is causing hurtful stereotypes in society.