Examples Of Stereotypes In The Media

Language Stereotypes in the Media
The media has molded the way of thinking within many reports decades. The media is known to manipulate certain words to persuade the tone of a message to the public, in terms of character and culture. In addition, racial and gender stereotypes are covered in countless advertisements and media reporting through the use of specific images and words.
McGowan asked the question, “So does language shape character and culture, or is it the other way around? At one level, it seems clear that a language develops to reflect the concerns and preoccupations of the people who speak it” (McGowan, 2015). In support of McGowan’s question, both views are possible to stand true. The people are led by credence in a lot of what is read and seen.
The media has rewritten stories to influence the direction desired to appeal to the interest of the people. For example, the media reported on the shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed “African-American” teen that was shot
by a “Hispanic” neighborhood watch guy. Initially, many of the pictures of Martin shown to the public were of him as a younger boy playing sports and family photos. The media’s choice to present images of Trayvon as a young boy, in my opinion, persuades the people to empathize with him as a child, rather a teen. As the trail progress, images began to appear within the media of Martin as an older teen holding his hands in the form of gang association and smoking drugs. George Zimmerman, the shooter, stated he felt, “Martin acted suspicious which provoked him to take the actions of self-protection” (Associated Press in Orlando, 2015). “Martin was nothing more than a young man wearing athletic shoes, jeans and a hoodie. For George Zimmerman, that's the uniform of a suspicious person. And it apparently was that simple observation that led Zimmerman to follow Martin in his car, get out, confront Martin and eventually shoot him fatally.” (Martin, 2012). Likely, the language of the media shaped the victim and defendant’s character to the public.
Stereotypes in language is used to represent certain cultures. In my opinion, the media may have a great deal to do with the racial divide of society. Many media channels are only concerned with “ratings” rather the effect on the people false or fabricated reports can cause. Oftentimes it appear that society has determined a culture and the actions of those within that culture through media reports. For example, “African-Americans have been portrayed using such despicable stereotypes as the mammy (big, mean, loud mother figure),the coon (lazy, unreliable buffoon), the buck (savage, ruthless brute), and the tom(submissive, loyal slave). Similarly, Latino-Americans, have been the objects of derision in popular media using the following prominent stereotypes: the comic (unintelligent, lazy buffoons), the Latin lover (oversexed, promiscuous seducers), and the crook (violent, law-breaking criminals).” (Ramasubramanian, 2010). The media’s act is using these stereotypical tactics shaped the way other countries and cultures may view the other.
Alongside the media creating stereotypes within certain cultures, racism is believed to be an influence within the media. Within some communities it is believed that not all stories are revealed and some are racial driven. There are people who argue that a raped African-American woman’s story will not be revealed within the media over the highlight of a Caucasian woman winning a Grammy. It almost appear as though the people are not equally valued within the media and certain race are portrayed more negatively. Recently, Freddie Gray, an African American man, was murdered by six police officers in Baltimore, Maryland. The media highlighted the race of the victim, in addition to, the fact that he died during police custody to heighten the awareness of previous African-American men killed during police custody. According to Lopez, “A September 2014 report by the Baltimore Sun's Mark Puente, for example, found that the city had paid about $5.7 million since 2011 to more than 100 people — most of whom were black — who claimed officers beat them up.” (Lopez, 2015). It appears, due to known previous uproars with Caucasian police murdering unarmed African-American, the media used verbiage to portray controversial language.
Language used by the media in regards to gender is very powerful and has manipulated the public for decades.
Sexist language within the media refers to gender disproportionateness, has become hidden in the language system and to the techniques in which language is used to symbolize and imitate gender stereotypes. Sexism within the language system is suggested to be used to insult people. “Semantic derogation is the way in which words that refer to a women have acquired belittling or sexual connotations; ‘deroge’ means ‘to cause to seem inferior’.” (Mooney, 2011) When referring to public restrooms there are some stores and restaurants that label the doors with ladies and gentleman. Labeling the doors to refer to both genders gives the public the indication either party can use that restroom. Conversely, “gentleman” is not recycled as the equivalent of “ladies” in many context. The act of allowing the word gentleman to stand alone inequivalent, belittles the value of women within
society.
There are many discourses used daily to represent gender. According to “Foucault’s (1989[1972]:54) definition of discourse, practices that systematically form the objects of which they speak, to examine how language is used to produce particular ways of viewing the world and to analyse which views are dominant.” (Mooney, 2011)