Media stereotypes can do harm
Poet Allen Ginsberg once said, “Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture.”
From magazines to the nightly news, the media can have a deep and lasting impact on how people view the world around them. Unfortunately, the view the media present often perpetuates common stereotypes that are already rooted in society, said Susan Mannon, assistant professor in the sociology department.
“Generally the media in many ways reflects long-holding stereotypes and in some cases exploits them,” Mannon said. “But they originate from a much deeper place.”
Mannon said family, peers and large social institutions act in conjunction with the media as a way for stereotypes to be communicated and learned.
Jeremy Gordon, adjunct instructor, said the media do not purposefully create stereotypes, but that it’s just how our culture has developed.
Gordon, who teaches a class about media in the journalism and communications department, said although people often think of media as connecting them to each other, they often become a driving factor in separating and stereotyping certain groups.
“The complexity of our society creates a fractured population,” Gordon said. “So the media have to provide a simplistic view of a group of people that is easily identifiable.”
Gordon said a problem is created when people stop trying to interpret the different media that are being thrown at them and think of them as “harmless entertainment”.
Mannon used the example of cleaning supply commercials to illustrate a socially constructed stereotype passed on through various media without most people even realizing it.
“When you continually see cleaning supply commercials with women, or even men who look incompetent, it reproduces the idea of division of labor based on gender,” Mannon said.
The message sent about gender roles can be harmful, Mannon said, because it continues the gender stereotype and teaches people how to act in society.
“It acts as a socializing agent,” Mannon said. “That’s not to say you won’t resist, but it does bombard you.”
However, it is not only the bombardment of images that can be a problem, she said. Omission of certain images can also create stereotypes in media, so in some cases, it is what is not being shown that’s important.
“You just don’t see role models for women in fields like engineering,” Mannon said.
As prevalent as they are, media are not the only factors to blame for stereotyping, Mannon said, and location can play a big part in cultivating and even producing stereotypes.
“I don’t think Utah is too different when it comes to things like women going to college to get their MRS degree, you hear that everywhere,” Mannon said. “But it’s more intensely concentrated here.”
Mannon said people in Utah often try to create a bubble in order to ward off unwanted media images, but that hiding from the problem won’t make it go away.
“We have a way of filtering out media to enforce local values,” Mannon said. “It’s a form of censorship.”
Rather than “burying their heads in the sand,” Mannon said Utahans need to accept the fact that different viewpoints exist in media and try to make choices based on a more complete knowledge. Otherwise, Mannon said, the problems of stereotypes in society will never cease to exist.
In addition to location as a means of perpetuating a stereotype, Gordon said the problem can also be attributed to the fact that it’s hard to decipher who or what is to blame. Gordon describes the problem of stereotyping in the media as a “chicken or the egg” scenario.
“The question remains, does society mirror media or does media mirror society?” Gordon said. “It’s never a clear-cut answer.”
Rather than trying to fix the media, Gordon said people should focus on what they are seeing and filtering out what is unnecessary.
“I wouldn’t wait for media,” Gordon said. “It’s up to the consumer.”
Gordon said one thing consumers can do to eliminate stereotyping in the media and their effects on society is to look for other forms of information off the beaten path.
“Look for in-depth news articles and alternative news Web sites like democracynow,” Gordon said. “If you’re interested in music, get past BET and MTV. You have so many resources like iTunes and Google to seek out underground music.”
Gordon said how people pick and choose their information can be the most influential factor on their knowledge of the world around them.
“It’s important to explore as our world gets more and more diverse,” Gordon said. “It’s smart to understand different cultures and their intricacies.”
From a sociological point of view, Mannon said it is important to begin by restructuring the social relationships that already exist and get other images out there.
Sociologist C. Wright Mills said the first thing to do when looking at problems in society is to examine the roots. Mannon said it is only after the big problem is brought to light that viewers can start connecting the images to constraining roles placed on them.
Gordon said he tries to arm students with theories that help them understand the bad and seek out the good.
“I can’t tell students what to do,” Gordon said. “But I can give them the information they need.”
Some of the advice Gordon said he gives is to think about the messages being sent and where they come from, instead of seeing media strictly as entertainment value.
“Engagement is an active process, and taking things for face value is stagnation,” Gordon said.
-amanda.m@aggiemail.usu.edu