Stereotyping In The Media

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As time goes by, the exploit of stereotypes has been increasing more than ever, and the media has everything to do with it. It might not only affect an individual, but it may also attack certain social groups that get categorized by simple features portrayed by the press. The media today abuses the power of stereotyping in order to gain a favorable reputation. Why might these individuals of different race, gender or age get classified as one general group? The advertisement that works as a clear example is created in the United States in 1952 by The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The ad they launched in 1952 is the perfect example that portrays women as emotionally unstable, prisoners, and being totally incapable of confronting dilemmas without their emotions getting in the way. Advertisements such as these show the weakness of the woman in comparison with the strength of the man. Women are the housewives, and one of their only occupations is the buying and cooking of food; this is understood to be the major role of women in society. The stereotype still lingers in today’s society because women did conform to the housewife image long before media was even available. After the media conquered the world, the stereotype was even more present and it weakened women who eventually wanted to break free in a certain type of way. Analyzing the text implied in the advertisement, the stereotype is reinforced more than ever. As spoken by the man, it says “Anyway, you didn’t burn the Schlitz!”, and also, he calls her “darling.” This is mostly used as an affectionate word, yet in this case it connects with the wife as trying to show her weak mentality and that she needs to be comforted. As an addition to this, the company says “There’s hope... ... middle of paper ... ...her. This leads to the stereotype of how women are always fragile and their emotions take over them, making them after all weaker than men. In conclusion, we can see how everything presented in an advertisement can actually have an impact in the people. Although the company’s target was to sell their product, their way of transmitting the message to the people also fortifies the stereotype. Thus, the media today does abuse the power of stereotyping in order to gain a favorable reputation. Everything they present in the ad, from symbolism to the lifestyle of the characters, race, age and gender, has an effect on strengthening the stereotype. In this case, women are perceived as emotionally drained, weak and incapable, although now a days that characterization is trying to be broken because women are much more than that and can actually get to achieve greater things.

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