Stereotype refers to oversimplification or even generalization of the many qualities attached to groups of persons such as nationality, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion or tribal affliation mentioning just but a few. Some of the qualities regularly used in day to day life to describe individuals for instance creative, intelligent, hardworking, brave, feisty, good in maths, good in athletics or seductive usually pose no particular threat.
However,this references can also be stereotypes when they generalize groups of individuals in ways that will lead to them being discriminated and therefore ignoring diversities found in groups. It is therefore crucial that stereotypes are avoided as much as possible.
The issue of media perpetuating stereotypes is not a matter of assumption but of fact since that is same measure for all the criterion of stereotyiping mentioned above but in a well calculated way and has in most cases achieved the persued mission.
Most of the media houses studied have perpetuated these stereotypes by race, nationality, gender, religion, tribe and sexual orientation in order of listing with race as nost covered and sexual oriention getting least coverage (Adorno, Horkheimer & Max 2003).
Some of the aides that the media has used as it continues to further stereotypes are televisions stations, radio stations, music, magazines, documentaries and movies. As the media advances these stereotypes, the society continues to do nothing to combact them. The problem with the society is the fact that they continue to be numb about these stereotypes.
The society ignores them as if they were not there while they continue to put peoples lifes in jeopardy. One of the leading grouping the media uses most of the time is race. These involves grouping individuals by their skin colour which are black and white just to quote the most dominant races in the world today.
Most international media houses especially in Europe and even those operating in Africa describe the black race that occupy most territories in Africa as weak, lazy, less intelligent, unreliable and even go ahead to describe the continent as the dark one. This has been evident in the way black Africans,black Americans and the Australian blacks have continued to get a raw deal in comparison to their white counterparts in same countries they live in.
These is depicted in the employment sector where black people cannot secure employment permits to work in white dominated countries or if they do so it has to be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the person has qualifications. Black australias for instance have continued to suffer in their own countries while the country has potential to provide for all the citizens in equal ways.
Despite human rights, charitable and church organizations campaighns to ensure that all people are given the same status regardless of their race the media has given these organizations less coverage so much so that racial discrimination has become a leading stereotype perpertuated by the media and most shows aired enforces this kind of stereotype (Althusser 1971).
Media has continued to use nationality in grouping individuals together and therefore creating a lot of discrimination by people’s nationality.United States (US) nationals have always been depicted in most media houses as being superior to individuals belonging to other nationalities in the world.
They have been described as superpowers and their leaders opinion has always been followed and at times taken as law especially in developing countries that rely on donor funds from the developed countries like the US itself. Nationals of other countries have therefore been taken as less citizens and therefore discriminated in most cases.
The effect of these has been the denials to nationals of most African countries travel documents to Europe and America whlist nationals from these continents travel unhampered to Africa.
Media plays a critical role in these because of its unrelenting labeling of Africa as a mass of flourishing corruption,disease and hunger. These problem can be solved by reversing the trade and airing those contents that display the best image of the nationals from African countries that have been marginalized historically.
The situation has in the recent past been seen in Africas largest country, sudan, where they had to go for a referendum to decide how they want to be governed. Prior to the vote there had been civil wars linked quest for all people to be recognized as having same nationality. Southerners who are Christians were regarded as less nationals as compared to their northern counterparts who are muslims (Kareem 2000).
Stereotypes are also known as generalizations as mentioned earlier. Oversimplification of gender by the media has too passed as a stereotype. The female gender has been aired as a weaker sex and that which is not able to do some things which are done by the male gender.
The effect of these generalization is lack of women in positions of leadership and the tussle seen in property ownership. In a continent like Africa there is only one female president despite the population of the women being more than men in all the countries.
The media has continued to give less coverage to the women who come out to express interest in going for position of president in general elections. Oversimplification of gender is mostly and likely to be circulated in all or in certain sections of the society by the media. The solution to this stereotype can only be reversed by the media since it can reach many at a short time to display all genders as equal to each other. Research has shown that men and women have same abilities in academics and leadership (Wallace 2009).
Stereotypes in media have been seen in religion. Overtime, people affliated to Islamic religion have been caught up in some acts of lawlessness which have widely been aired by the media. Few and not all muslims have been involved in acts of terrorism in the world. The victims have also been linked to Islamic countries and these has gone ahead to display all muslims and those who confess Islamic religion as terrorists.
These stereotype has been conveyed widely by the media which has consequently created problems to most muslims who have had to endure sanctions,searches and in other cases being rounded up in police cells without any reason to justfy.
In some countries muslims cannot travel without identification documents and if they travel and are caught will have to face full force of law.The solution to these kind of stereotype perpetuated by the voice and print media can be got through the media using the same channels to air what is good about the muslims and islam but not what is negative (Rosenshiled 2008).
Media has continued to group people by their tribes and the effects of the tribal stereotype is mostly felt in the less developed world.Some tribes have been displayed as more able to take care of wives than others. This has led to single women looking for husband in only one particular ethinic group, which lacks basis in theory and practice since only one person formed the opinion and spread the message as the gospel truth which cannot be backed by evidence.
Some have got titles such gluttons, short, wise, rich, poor and peaceful to approach. The result of these labels by the media has been tensions, conflits, entanglements and at times civil wars that never end and many people have ended up losing their lifes. Sexual orientation has also been advanced by the meda so much so that it now passes as a stereotype.
Gay men lack space in most societies due to the way the media displays them.The acts have been aired and published as unnatural and satanic with most media houses taking sides on debates touching on sexuality.This has resulted in hostilities which at times lead to lyching of people perceived as gay.
They have been denied the freedom to assemble and exchange views on social,political and economic matters and this has led to them meeting secretely. These secret and quiet meetings have led to spread of sexually transmitted disesases such as Hiv/Aids among the gays (Wallace 2008).
In conclusion,stereotype can be combacted in media. However these is not easy because you can get rid of one stereotype but have another one crop up immediately. People should therefore be able to realize the stereotypes and seek ways of outgrowing them.
School going children should be made aware from tender age the stereotypes that exist and this will reduce the possibility of them reproducing the stereotype when they become adults. They should also be cautioned against taking everything they encounter as they watch movies,visit the internet or in the press as pure truth.Stereotypes are very complicated and what most people ask themselves is can a stereotype can be good?
Well, negative and positive ones are harmful due to there ability to limit and leading to lack of space for individuality. They basically limit people in what they have potential to offer to the society.
People will also feel intimidated to do things the way they know them since the media has already given to public their abilities and that means also they can no longer trust themselves. From the public opinion its only the media that can reverse the trade by ensuring that things people do are what they have capability to and not fabrications (Wallace 2009).
Works Cited
Adorno, Horkheimer & Max. Enlightment as Mass Deception. Marxist internet archives. 2003. Web.
Althusser Louis. Ideology and Ideological state Apparatuses.Paris, Macmillan. 1971. Print.
Kareem Nadra. Race relations. Nadra kareem nettle, About. 2000. Web.
Rosenshield Gory. The Ridiculous Jew: The Expolation and transformation of the stereotype in Gogol, Turgerner, and Distoesvsky. Stanford, Stanford University Press. 2008. Print.
Wallace Kimberly. An Angel of Vision: Women writers on their poor and working class roots. Michigan, Michigan University Press. 2009. Print.
Wallace Kimberly. Mammy:A century of race,gender,and southern memory, Michigan, Michigan university press. 2008. Print.