Media Trust
Media, according to The Macquarie Dictionary is "a medium of communication that is designed to reach the mass of the people". Because of this capacity to touch even the most isolated of people, the mass media has undeniably become the most influential public consciousness-shaping tool. Unfortunately, as media plays a prominent role in highlighting situations in our society, media stereotypes become inevitable.
Stereotyping refers to the classification of individuals by their class, ethnicity, occupation, gender, and sexual orientation. Stereotypes in the media deliberately lead audiences to pre-conceived, standardized opinions of particular situations or individuals and as such can bring about biased views. For instance, using such types of classification transform assumptions about a particular group to assumed realities.
These perceived realities can be used to justify one's position or power, and can create social prejudice and inequality that was not evident to begin with. Although not all stereotypes and biases are deliberate, many create false images of individuals.
Groups most prolifically stereotyped by the Australian media are: aboriginal or black people, females, homosexuals and other ethnic minorities, such as people from Arabic-Muslim or Asian countries. Stereotypes act like codes, attempting to give the audience a quick common understanding of a person or a group of people.
The biggest problem with this stereotyping is that it serves to transform vague assumptions of a person, culture or group into realities, oftentimes leading to social prejudice and inequalities. Media stereotyping is irrefutably evident in nearly every instance of advertising, and in nearly every television, radio and newspaper item involving one of the afore mentioned marginalized minorities.
Probably the group that is most commonly stereotyped against without any reserve, is a group that makes up one half of the population: Females. It seems that a...
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