Gender Class and Race Stereotypes in American Television
Gender, Class, and Race Stereotypes in American Television Gender, class, and race stereotypes abound in contemporary society, much like they have done throughout human history. With the advent of television, however, stereotypical assumptions have become so pervasive, and so diffused, that some call for a serious and purposeful scrutiny of television's contents. On the following pages, various content analyses of television programs will be addressed, followed by discussions on the greater implications race, class, and gender stereotypes have on society. The research method most often used in studying media images is called content analysis. Content analysis is a descriptive method in which researchers analyze the actual content of documents and/or programs. By systematically counting items pertaining to a specific category, researchers are able to conceptualize a larger theoretical framework based on their observations of media content (Wiseman 1970). Content analyses of television programming show, that during prime time hours, men make up the vast majority of characters shown. Furthermore, women characters found during that same time frame are mainly in comedies, while men predominate i
Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans are virtually absent from television programming. Conversely, men are usually depicted in high-status roles in which they dominate women (Lemon 1978). Almost half of all African-Americans on television are either portrayed as "criminals, servants, entertainers, or athletes; rarely are [African-Americans] portrayed as loving, sexual, sensitive people. Studies done on the relative dominance characters portray revealed that both men and women of professional occupational status are more likely to be found in dramas. (Andersen 29) Segregation by race, class, and gender juxtaposes the human potential. Thus, in order to gain understanding of others, and consequently one's self, one should perhaps look elsewhere than towards television. " Psychological Bulletin 104 (1988) :53-69Rothenberg, Paula S. Bibliography Andersen, Margaret L.
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