Stereotyping the Mentally Disabled in the World Wrestling Federation

Stereotyping the Mentally Disabled in the World Wrestling Federation

The ongoing misperception of the mentally ill/disabled, has led me to research the topic in further depth. Since many people don't come in contact with the mentally ill/disabled, where do they get their beliefs or understandings? The bulk of perceiving the mentally ill/disabled comes through stereotyping, and all the outside influences that generate ones beliefs. Besides the fact that some people are a little slower or have a disability, they live their lives as ordinary people.

When one visualizes a mentally ill/ disabled person, most people envision someone that has a deformity, a violent behavior, or an altered state of mind that isn't considered normal. All of these perceptions that people carry can be misleading and inaccurate. Instead of looking at a mentally ill/ disabled person on an individual basis, society has stereotyped the mentally ill and disabled into what they believe the category entitles. Stereotyping the mentally ill/ disabled, falls into the social-conflict paradigm. This unending inequality has demeaned the social prestige of anyone that may have a mental/physical disability. There are many outside influences that contribute to the misperceptions of the mentally ill/disabled, but in most recent times, the World Wrestling Federation has become the nucleus in which society gets their information on the mentally ill/disabled. The constant use of wrestlers that are scripted to have a mentally illness/disability has not only created many misperceptions, but frustration to the mentally ill/disabled and their families to live their lives.

The stereotypical view of the mentally ill/disabled person, stems all the way back to biblical times. ...

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... has an overwhelming grasp on the conception's society generates on the mentally ill/disabled. I, myself, aren't a fan of wrestling but can see where people, especially the youth formulate their ideas on these people. But It's not only the WWF that portrays such a negative view on this social group, but other TV shows, such as 'ER', or movies like 'Silence of the Lambs." When it all comes down to it, "violence involving mental illness is even more terrifying, more morbidly fascinating to the public, more likely to receive splashy coverage, and more important more likely to sell than other kinds of violence" (Wrestling 7). It is easy to fall into a negative attitude towards mentally ill people, and if society doesn't view programs such as the WWF critically, then such shows will continue to strive, creating more and more stereotypes.

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