Stereotypes

A stereotype is the view that we have on a person just by taking a quick look at their appearance and judging them for it. When we underestimate someone because of what they may look like, we are stereotyping them. For example, if we see a girl with blonde hair, we may automatically think, "Oh, she's blonde, so she must be not very smart."

We also form stereotypes against people with disabilities. Some people underestimate them because for example, if a student is in a wheelchair, assistant teachers or school helpers may think that because she is in a wheelchair, she needs the most academic help. Actually, that person may be really bright and good at schoolwork, and it is other students that need the help. Or if you look at Disney characters, they are all slim as well as attractive. Except for Princess Fiona, who chose to stay as an ogre, we never see any overweight or "normally" sized Disney princess.

Another example of the way teenagers are stereotyped is with high school social groups. In programmes like Glee, there are many different types of groups, such as nerds, jocks, arty kids and cheerleaders. In Glee, the examples of sterotypes are very exaggerated, but they still give a fairly accurate version of how most high schools work. The character of Brittany (left), who is a part of the cheerleading squad, has a GPA (Grade Point Average) of 0.0. Even though most teenaged viewers would realise that real-life cheerleaders are not actually that stupid, they would still have low expectations of their intelligence because of stereotypes like Brittany.

This may have an effect on the audience because some people can be a bit sensitive about what group they are actually in. They may feel self-conscious and like they should be in a different group. It may also encourage people who identify with these social groups, such as band geeks, to act or dress in the way that their representations do on the show.


All images from Google.