Black Men Stereotypes

From Jersey Shore to Zoey 101, stereotypes practically make up reality TV. Whether the stereotypes are offensive to people down South or showing the “expectations” of what different genders should look like, they are dangerous and unfair. Stereotypes are simply a fixed belief that all people with a certain characteristic are the same. When people are put under a label, certain decisions are made that can affect them in harmful ways. Recently, a study was done by Professor Michael Inzlicht on the reactions of people when put into negative stereotyping situations. Inzlicht said, “People are more likely to be aggressive after they’ve faced prejudice in a given situation. They are more likely to exhibit a lack of self control. They have trouble …show more content…
Many black male actors play the role of a ‘thug’ or another type of criminal in reality TV or movies. The amount of black men playing these roles creates the stereotype that black men are dangerous and more likely to participate in illegal activities. Nadra Nittle, a Race Relations Expert, says that “racial profiling make(s) black men targets of the authorities” (Nittle). Saying this, the young black men’s lives are now in jeopardy. Whenever a person of another race sees a person of color on the streets that person will most likely feel threatened by them, which does not necessarily have to be true. If everyday people believe this, authorities will too. This means if they see someone of color on the streets, even unarmed, they will not hesitate to question. In the 1998 movie Belly, two black guys ‘Sincere’ and ‘Buns’ live off their lifestyle of drug dealing and robbery. Younger teenagers or even adults watching this movie can be easily persuaded to think every black male lives a life of drugs and theft, which can be harmful for their perception of other people. Another race affected by stereotypes are Asians, and the fact that most people associate Asians with being smart. Hearing this, it sounds like a good stereotype, right? It is not the stereotype name, it is the way it alters the mind of other people. Jin Wong says, “..when an Asian person accomplishes …show more content…
In reality TV and media, most women are portrayed at this and to even more extremes. The effects it has on women, especially young girls, as they grow up and feel as if they have to look and act like the women in the media, is an obvious issue. “As we progress through school, these attitudes are reinforced by our classmates and peers” (PsychAlive). This further exaggerates the fact that young children are getting this stereotype in their mind. The reality TV show America’s Next Top Model is basically a competition to determine which woman is the prettiest to be the next ‘top model’. There really is not a more obvious stereotype out there. When young girls or even young adults are watching these shows and seeing all these women dressing up and acting the way they are, they feel less of themselves when they are not the same. It is not only offensive to all the women that are not models, it is unfair that women tend to compare themselves to the models. This causes a serious sadness in women when they believe their appearance is not enough. Yet, women are not the only gender affected by stereotypes. An unfair stereotype towards men are the fact that all men are supposed to be extremely muscular or fit. A majority of magazine covers “often contain images of what the media defines as masculine” (“Unexpected Social Pressures”). Men reading these magazines have the same effect as women