Stereotypes In The 21st Century

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Chimamanda Adichie). Today, the media continues to portray many stereotypes through different media forms. In the 21st century, media is proven to be a great and a powerful factor that holds power, to influence individual’s beliefs, attitudes, and values. Today’s population is constantly disclosed to the images they see on TV, and from those images, the individuals end up forming a sense of reality. Stereotypes often make many ignore individuality. Furthermore, stereotypes lead to social categorization and are one of the main reasons why prejudice attitudes exist. Media perpetuates stereotypes on daily bases through

To being, many gender stereotypes are continued to be shown through different Television shows. In fact, one of the most popular sitcoms “Modern Family” continues to portray female and men based on the stereotypes. This is evident in season 1 when Claire is represented as a housewife, a female character who has a stronger control in the house, and her husband Phil Dunphy as a breadwinner of the house. This example clearly proves that the character of Claire Dunphy is portrayed as a stereotypical woman. She is a stay at home mother and does not work. Whereas, her husband works, has a respectable job, and is the

This fits under the stereotypical qualities of women, where she is expected to choose her family, before her career. This is unhealthy because the way women are shown in television will affect the minds of the society on what they should expect from women. These kinds of scenes in TV Show affect a women’s life, and in reality, the society expects women to choose her family over her career. Another TV show, that portrays gender stereotypes, is the all-time favourite sitcom “How I Met Your Mother”. This is evident through the character of Barney, who is a player throughout the series, and the character of Ted and Robin who fit their stereotype. The example above clearly proves that TV show continues to show gender stereotypes. Barney is always best dressed, shows a little compassion when standing in a public place, and is very arrogant at times. He tries to avoid serious relationships but is sexually active with women. In addition, Barney uses many forms of manipulation in order to sleep with women and leave them abandoned the next night. Barney fits the perfect stereotype of male, who is not serious in his life, is a player and enjoys his time to its full potential.