Week Eight: Stereotypes and Representation


I feel that stereotyping can be an undoubtedly helpful strategy, but that artists should not have to rely on it entirely in order to develop characters; creators should be cautious with when and how they use stereotypes. I feel that harmful stereotypes simply aren't worth using, especially when they are used in representing already persecuted or vulnerable groups of people/at the expense of these groups of people. The issue of the representation of black people, for example, has an extensive historic precedent, especially in the United States; to say that that media negatively representing black people was not hurtful to them would be completely inaccurate. The only 'worth' in this kind of representation when it was created was to dehumanize and harm black people; today it serves only as a reminder of our past, and what not to do.

I don't think stereotyping is always necessary, as I've seen a number of characters break stereotypes successfully and effectively. In fact, what may be more necessary are characters that break stereotypes; these kinds of characters give audiences a more multi-dimensional understanding of various groups of people, and helps people from minorities, for example, to feel empowered.

I've absolutely been affected by stereotypical representations. As a woman of color with a Latino and Middle Eastern background, I've consistently seen how the sexualization of Latina and Middle Eastern women in popular media has been received by broad audiences. In fact, these representations seem to be so deeply ingrained that half the time people think nothing of it, and it even took me a while to realize that being sexualized and considered exotic based solely on my ethnic background was not something that ought to be normal or okay. And while things are getting better, there certainly isn't any lack of voluptuous, ditzy, and overly sexualized Latina women in popular media, nor mysterious, sexually available Middle Eastern women. I'd encourage all creators to work in the interest of crushing stereotypes of that nature.

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