What is the impact of stereotyping within the media?

The media plays an important role within society as it holds the job of shaping how the general public perceive the world and in some cases people. So when stereotypes are being displayed in the media, this can have a negative impact on who are being stereotyped but also the public watching these stereotypes being played out.

The media and the public have a tight knit connection, as the public are able to use the media to shape their identity and behaviour. However, when the media repeatedly display representations of certain social groups, it may lead to harmful stereotypes. Which in turn, affects how the public view these social groups too, as they may believe or adopt these stereotypes into their way of thinking. With this, it metaphorically places certain social groups, for example, men and women, ethnic minorities or people with disabilities into boxes that they are unable to escape. This box shapes them into how they are ‘meant’ to behave which can affect their self-perception and how they are perceived by the public. In the media, the representation of men presents them as being strong, independent, and emotionally unavailable - this can impact how they are ‘expected’ to behave and act, and if they go outside of that box then they could be ostracised by society or other men.

Over the years the media have improved on their levels of diversity but how much of this ‘diversity’ has been rooted into harmful stereotypes still. For example, 64% of UK crime films have featured roles for black actors and films featuring black actors (2006-2016) focused on crime narratives. Another example is ‘Top Boy’ which has a majority black cast, fitting the diversity quota but also further promotes atypical stereotypes of black people. The show displays black characters involved in violence such as knife crime, drug dealing and usage and theft, doing more harm than anything else. 

This can also impact people from less diverse countries that use the media as a form of entertainment, if the media are promoting stereotypical perceptions of POC, this can lead to racist assumptions about black people by grouping them into a certain category. 

Edited by: Eleanor Robinson