Category: Stereotype

Which one is superior: male or female superheroes?

The research on the gender differences between male and female superheroes falls under the gender research from sociological, psychological and political points of view. There are some amounts of research conducted on coloring books, comic books and cartoon characters in order to see the ways by which gender differences are depicted.

Some researchers focus on the issue from a theoretical point of view while some others have focus on the effects of these gender stereotypes depicted in mass media organs. Yet some other works give their primary focus to practical applications of comic books in classrooms to teach various subjects such as race, equality, gender, patriotism and American history among others.

My topic is based on the debate on gender indifference when it comes to portrayal of women in the media. The research will examine a number of comic books and the remarks given by different researchers.

According to many researchers, superheroes are known to influence a child’s development in terms of upholding their moral values hence the fact the most male superheroes are portrayed as having more strength than the female counterparts makes it a major concern for researchers. It is evident that girls are not innately weak beings neither should they be portrayed as sexual icons with very unnatural figures that are not obviously like those of a normal girl.

Against this background, our hypotheses of the research will be: (1) Males will appear more often than females. (2) Both males and females will be depicted in gender-stereotypical roles. (3) Males will be depicted in more active states than females.

Literature review

Libby and Aries (302) state that “the way in which we perceive the world around us is not merely a neutral registration of some external reality. Instead, perception involves an active construction that incorporates our past memories and expectations as well as the current context”. The stereotypes have turned against women regarding them as weak beings, cowards, and talkative characters who have a much lower status in the society than men.

The most notorious for promoting gender stereotyping are mostly the social institutions. Since the advancement of media technology that has been incorporated as part and parcel of our every day living in regards to how we involve ourselves with socialization. Entertainment programs such as films, cartoons and dramas are always having a common expectation from the members of the society perpetuating these stereotypes.

It is a common thing that children get to start watching cartoon while they are very young and they watch them almost every time given the opportunity. From many researches that have been conducted, the male characters in cartoons are always superior and dominant beings as opposed to the female (McCabe et al197).

A research conducted by Siegfried and Strand (14) affirms that the cartoon world is a man’s world. While another study conducted by Aiken (74), clearly describes the male characters as also the dominant characters as she describes them as being “chase-and-pratfall”.

Eick (3), a researcher and the author of “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Television Cartoons,” is in support of the fact that male characters were always being the position of power in such character roles as policemen, superheroes and scientists and they were never shown as characters who could perform roles that include cleaning, cooking nor even have instances where they would show emotions through crying. It is noted that in almost all cartoon programs the male characters are portrayed as strong and dominant characters as compared to their female counterparts who are seen as vulnerable, puny and always depending on the male characters.

The creators of the cartoon have their target audience which is mostly around the age of two to possibly eighteen years of age (2-18) an age bracket that considers a child’s growth. Most of the children have no way of differentiating reality from fantasy hence the stereotypes that develops around this age tend to last longer in the children’s minds as they gradually develop and become mature.

Hence, cartoons portray cultural narrations that can be used to enlighten the young ones and show who they are and who they can end up being. The society is responsible for defining the roles for the two genders. From my point of view, superheroes are neither good nor bad; am convinced in this by the views that have been expressed by several scholars from previous researches.

In 2010, Aiken conducted a research on superheroes basing her referencing on comic books. Aiken’s aim of conducting the research was to find how meaningful super- heroes were in terms of teaching children history in the classroom environment. According to Aiken (41), there are many ways through which school curriculums can be incorporated with comics to suite students learning ability.

Aiken found out that comics that are related to superheroes have significant impact in regards to the history of U.S. in the twentieth century. She suggests that the comic characters, such as Captain America, Wonder Woman and Spiderman could be used to show the people that they can improve themselves to be better people in the society “desire for heroes and for somebody to show us that we can be our better selves” (45).

The comic project book founded through the teachers college at the University of Columbia has been helpful for both the students and the teachers. Students are getting involved in comic works especially via the internet through the help of their teachers. The most notable point is that with time, more teachers are embracing comics today and they use these comic books to their advantage and to the advantage of their students in their classrooms.

Baker and Raney (25) conducted a research concentrating on the gender-stereotypical behaviors portrayed by male and female superheroes in cartoons. They conducted an analysis from 160 hours of recorded programming to watch about 70 characters. The main aim of the analysis of the study is to find out how the different gender characters are being portrayed through stereotypic roles (Baker and Raney 33).

After the analysis which involved the analyzing of the characters manifestation individuality, different traits personal behavior and the super heroic functions of the characters, the result confirmed that there is indeed a great difference between female characters and male characters in regards to how they depict their emotional feelings, how tough they are, their strategy in solving problems and coming up with solutions.

From the research, the female characters are depicted as more emotional and attractive characters while the male characters are depicted as tough and superior characters.

According to Fitzpatrick & McPherson (129), male characters in coloring books are depicted as more active, presenting some gender neutral behaviors and as superheroes, adults and animals. Female characters, on the other hand, are portrayed as children and human beings. They collected 56 coloring books, in which 38% of the books were directed to females, 34% of them were directed to males and 29% of them are appropriate for both genders (131).

While men are portrayed as strong and mature, the female gender is seen as more submissive, vane and composed. Mostly women are seen doing roles such as cooking, cleaning, being concerned with makeup activities, sitting and always looking outside the window as boys play.

A study by Siegfried and Strand (250) shows how today’s culture is setting the views of the youth concerning gender stereotyping in our communities. In their study, they were able to gather about 56 coloring books. In their conclusion, the male gender appears more often than the female gender. In almost all books, both males and females will be represented in gender-stereotypical positions. Most obviously the males will be represented in more active states than their female counterparts.

Another survey conducted by Eick (2) analyzing four popular TV cartoon characters portraying their sex stereotype to prove which of the genders was more superior to the other.

The analysis is based on the number of male versus female characters, the physical characteristic of each individual character, the ability to solve a problem individually as either male or female and both males and females will be represented in gender-stereotypical positions. The outcome showed a remarkable account of indifferences between the portrayal of both the female and male cartoon characters.

Most notably is that the male characters were many in numbers than the female counterparts and all the time they had the same job character in bodily aspects and were recognized as the usual stereotypes. The female gender was not under any circumstance the main people who solved the problems or were be referred to as heroes. Instead they were portrayed and drawn with tiny waists and short skirts while the men looked and played their part more confidently and even the way they dressed showed that they had confidence.

Methodology

The study is meant to show how women and men are portrayed individually and what effects each character role has on the comic reading audience. The goal of the study is to find out which comics if any had stereotypic influence on either the male or the female character. This research being a scientific research with a defined problem needed accurate data.

The research will be conducted using both secondary data from various well known scholars and websites and primary data that will be obtained from the immediate people and sources. I will identify different remarks from authors who have researched upon this matter and clearly defined them.

The research above is an exploratory type of research whereby the researcher conducts research with the aim of shedding light on a problem/issue which has not yet been well defined. When a researcher embarks on this type of research, the researcher can therefore make accurate and more justified conclusions.

This type of research will use secondary sources of data and qualitative approaches to describe data. The advantage of using qualitative analysis techniques is that the data can give an indication as to why, how and when certain phenomenon occurs.

Proposed Design

The research design will act as the glue that will hold the study together and give credence to the research. The research design employed in this research would be a randomized experiment /true experiment design. This is the most preferable design to utilize as the interest of the research is to establish a cause-effect relationship between careers and self image.

Based on this design, it will be structured to show how women and men are portrayed individually and what effects each character role has on the comic reading audience. It will be able to show how all major parts, sample populations, and research methods work in tandem to address the central question.

Conclusion

The media has the ability to influence the public’s thinking capacity especially for the children learning process. The media is responsible for making people have a certain perception about something and this account for the reason as to why we view men in a certain way and women in a totally different way.

We can conclude that the media stereotypes leave tracks of associated characteristics in human perceptions. As noted above almost all cartoon programs and comic book characters show the male characters as strong and dominant characters compared to female characters who are seen as vulnerable, puny and always depending on the male characters.

The reason why the media should change the stereotypes in it is perhaps the misjudgments that have taken place in the past because of stereotypes that withhold senseless judgment. The mass media plays a major role in an individual in making his or her judgment especially during a child growth stage and teenage years.

Teenagers are always influenced with what they see on television and what they hear or learn from the mass media. Previous studies have confirmed that a higher percentage of children and teenagers would do things simply because they saw it on television or heard it on the radio. Noting that even the advertising industry always use gender stereotypes in their advertisements in one way or another as they try to convince their target market to buy their product.

Works Cited

Aiken, Katherine “Superhero History: Using Comic Books to Teach U.S. History.” OAH Magazine of History 24(2) (2010): 41-47. Print.

Baker, Kaysee & Raney, Arthur. “Equally Super? Gender-Role Stereotyping of Superheroes in Children’s Animated Programs.” Mass Communication & Society 10(1) (2007): 25-41. Print.

Eick, Kelly. “Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Television Cartoons.” California Polytechnic College of Liberal Arts (May 1998): 1-3. Print.

Fitzpatrick, Maureen and McPherson, Barbara. “Coloring within the Lines: Gender Stereotypes in Contemporary Coloring Books.” Sex Roles 62.1/2 (2010): 127-137. Print.

Libby, Marion N. and Aries, Elisabeth. “Gender differences in preschool children’s narrative fantasy.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 13 (1989): 293-306. Print.

McCabe, Janice, Fairchild Emily, Grauerholz Liz, Pescosolido Bernice and Tope Daniel. “Gender in Twentieth-Century Children’s Books: Patterns of Disparity in Titles and Central Characters.” Gender & Society 25,2 (2010): 197-226. Print.

Siegfried, John and Strand Stephen. “Sex and the Economics Student.” Review of Economics and Statistics 59 (May 1977): 247-249. Print.

Gender roles are likely to make people develop various stereotypes. For example, there are roles that are uniquely and separately designated for males and females. On the same note, masculinity refers to physical characteristics of a man, and therefore, if a female has masculine features, she may be perceived indifferently in society. This explains why the media has a tendency of branding people with masculine features to be gays or homosexuals. In most cases, the print media and radios do not have capacities to stereotype people.

However, televisions and movies have highly been used to categorize people as gay, feminine or muscular in a negative manner.
The media has for a long time been associated with creation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) themes. Meem, Mitchell and Jonathan (2010) observe that the study of LGBT is important because it enlightens people on how society has become dynamic.

The media has also been perceived as the center where negative perceptions about this group of people are created. As a result, there are numerous stereotypes associated with this category of people in the modern society. Out of the many categories of media broadcasts, television and movies are widely known to reinforce negative perceptions on people who belong to LGBT category.

Stereotyping people can be harmful because it can transform slight assumptions on people to perceived realities (Meem, Mitchell & Jonathan, 2010).

Such stereotypes are capable of perpetuating inequality and social prejudice in society. However, it is imperative to note that stereotyping through the media is sometimes inevitable. In the case of television, stereotyping occurs through advertisements, news bulletins and entertainment. For films, stereotyping has been used as a form of marketing. The stereotypical codes give TV and film audiences a common and quick way of understanding a particular person.

In most cases, stereotypical codes focus on ethnicity, social role, sexual orientation, occupation, race and gender. Most often, the groups that are being stereotyped may not defend themselves. They are usually the minority and raising their voices may make little impact. However, there are some measures which have been instituted to help reduce stereotyping.

There are those who have a common tendency of thinking that the way people think and cat can be uniform across the globe (Carroll, 2009). This is not true because people are diverse and their mindsets also vary. This is mostly applicable in homosexuality whereby gays and lesbians are viewed to be outside the mainstream or dominant culture.

The dominant culture in this case refers to marriage and love relationships between people of different gender. With the emergence of gothic culture, it is probable to categorize them as being weird or abnormal. Same sex marriages and behavioral patterns are prevalent in virtually all cultures. As Carroll (2009) documents, “same sex behavior is found in every culture, and its prevalence remains about the same” (p.290).

Media is a viable source of information in society such that televisions and films are very influential due to both sound and visual effect. These two mediums of communication are crucial in symbolic annihilations of lesbians and gays.

According to Vollmer (2003), films and TVs tend to avoid integrating gays and lesbians in their programs for fear of offending advertisers, target audiences as well as investors. This kind of portrayal is not desirable because it denies them their human rights. The fact that they belong to a new generation culture does not mean that they should not enjoy their rights.

With their visual effects, the two mediums of communication cultivate a perception that homosexuals are bad elements in society. They should not be given a chance to be heard if they have views to rise. Due to fear of loosing audience and revenues, these two mediums of communication edit their programs to extent that audiences place homosexuals under the category of abhorred people.

The issue of sexual orientation has been used as an indicator of villainy and deviance in children’s movies (Vollmer, 2003). If children are to be shown movies that portray homosexuals as bad characters in society, then, they would grow up hating them. A negative perception is cultivated in such children.

Such kind of stereotypes can instigate violence in society. For example, a gay male may not be welcomed in a party. It is only a question of ethics. Homosexuals are also put as either victims or villains in movies. They are depicted as belonging to a weird or foreign culture that cannot be tolerated. It is rare to have a movie that has the main character being gay or lesbian.

If a girl begins to demonstrate some signs of male characteristics, she is referred to as a ‘tom-boy’. It is like a taboo to show such kinds of signs in a girl. On the other hand, if a male does not have masculine features, he is seen as an outcast. All of these perceptions are obtained from the media, and especially televisions and movies.

According to Mehta and Hay (2005), media houses have for a long time helped to construct and reinforce stereotypical ideas about masculinity and men. From what is portrayed in the media, it is possible for people to dismiss others on the basis of whether they have masculinity or are feminine (Ferrey, 2008).

Televisions and movies through their visual effects help define ‘a real man’. During advertisements, there are some particular aspects of man that are portrayed. A man who fails to have certain forms of male features may not be shown on TV or may not be considered for a film (Cohen & Hall, 2009).

Moreover, the marketing companies have started to object men in the same manner women have been objected them for long. The fitness of a man, his muscles and general outlook count a lot in determining whether he is to feature in a program or not.

A research study titled, Attitudes toward stereotypical versus counter-stereotypical gay men and lesbians indicates that 662 confessed gays, lesbians and bisexuals had contended with victimization in the society (Cohen & Hall, 2009). 20% of those reported having faced criminals because of their sexual orientation.

In the year 2005, Federal Bureau had reported 1,171 hate crime offenses of people perceived to be of homosexual orientation. This is the kind of segregation that has existed in the society. The major problem is because media and mostly electronic media show homosexuals as people who have undertaken ‘abnormal’ directions of life. They are not part of the mainstream culture.

The only solution to this is for governments to put up institutions that can help people understand that everybody ought to enjoy unlimited human rights. Forums can also help eradicated the notions cultivated by media about gay and lesbians and institute in the minds of people a culture of tolerance.

To recap it all, it is imperative to note that gender stereotypes are discouraging the minorities to invest in businesses (Ferrey, 2008). No particular person should be segregated on the basis of masculinity. However, the contemporary society seems not to be careful on categorizing people on gender and most importantly on femininity and masculinity. The best solution out of this tricky situation is to invest in education of young generation on how to accept all categories of people in society.

References

Carroll, J. L. (2009). Sexuality now: embracing diversity. Belmont: CengageBrain Learning.

Cohen, T. R. & Hall, D. L. (2009), Attitudes toward stereotypical versus counter-stereotypical gay men and lesbians. Web.

Ferrey, P.A. (2008). Gender Stereotypes persist. Web.

Meem, D. T., Michelle A. G., & Jonathan A. (2010). Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mehta, V. P. & Hay, K. (2005). A superhero for gays? Gay masculinity and green lantern. The Journal of American Culture, 28(4), 390-404.

Vollmer, M. L. (2003). Gender transgression and villainy in animated film. Taylor & Francis Journal, 1(2), 89-109.

The phrase, “Do not judge a book by its cover’ is probably one of the most ignored expressions in English societies. Instead of judging someone by the things they say or do, groups choose the easy way out and base their judgments on someone’s appearance.

The color of a person’s skin or the clothing items one wears determines how one is treated, and thus perpetuates stereotypes. A new stereotype of hooded persons has emerged following the death of Trayvon Martin. The story of this seventeen year old reflects how society limits citizen’s ability to dress as they desire without being compartmentalized into an inaccurate and dangerous mould.

Trayvon Martin’s incident sparked off the hoodie movement following a news anchor’s assertion that his hoodie may have contributed to his death. Hundreds of thousands of people, including a US legislator, wore hoodies to protest against this new form of injustice.

The hoodie marches had a lot of racial undertones, but it is clear that the victim’s piece of clothing was the centre of attention in these campaigns. In order to understand why the hoodie is so important to the case, one must place the garment in context. The hoodie sometime solicits negative reactions owing to its tendency to hide the distinctiveness of the wearer. In most cases, the item of clothing will overlap with other stereotypes that build a case against the person.

For instance, issues of race, fear, delinquency and safety will arise when one sees a person with a hood. However, the case of Trayvon has not reinforced these stereotypes from the public; instead, the public has responded by challenging them and asking for justice. This kind of reaction demonstrates that the nation now understands that one must move beyond another’s appearance in order to know another person.

A number of individuals across social networking sites and other media outlets have tried to demystify the hoodie. These sources are quite useful in understanding the psychology and the social misgivings about the item of clothing. Many youth wear hoodies for practical reasons; they have no political agenda when choosing these types of clothes.

Many of them like the comfort and flexibility that they get when wearing them. In fact, hoodies strike the right balance between heavy winter jackets and light summer clothing. They are quite appropriate for those chilly days that are not cold enough for bulky jackets. In fact, even older individuals wear these clothes for comfort and warmth. Additionally, hoodies are conveniently located; they can be found in almost every major supermarket chain in the country.

On top of this, one may not have to part with a lot of money to acquire them. Consequently, it would be wrong to label a person as a delinquent, criminal, or a suspect because of their hoodie. Most of them are simply trying to stay warm. The product was created in order to offer protection against the wind, rain or cold. Many runners will wear hoods in the morning in order to protect their faces from the elements (Prosper 5).

Other people wear hoodies for less-practical reasons; to them, it is more of a fashion statement. High school goers, especially in Martin’s area wear these types of clothes all the time. Some of them have them in various designs, shapes and colors. In certain schools, the hoodie may be mistaken for a uniform. Indeed, this form of fashion is an expression of a young person’s style.

It is a microscopic illustration of what that person is about, and has absolutely nothing to do with the individuals’ character. The danger lies in the people who make conclusions so easily without getting to know the wearer. Since the US is a pluralistic society, then it ought to have open-minded individuals who are ready to apply sound logic before judging others. Citizens need to move beyond the external appearance and use facts in order to come to these decisions.

Sometimes choosing the rational path over the irrational one can make the difference between the death or survival of another human being. Trayvon Martin would probably have been alive if his shooter – Zimmerman – had figured understood the practicality of wearing a hoodie when it was raining. He would have realized that this was just an external cover and had nothing to do with Martin as a person.

A number of individuals have a very twisted view of the world, including the person who shot the hooded victim. They tend to make assumptions about their own safety or a perceived threat on the basis of unfounded ideologies. Even the President himself stated that if he had a son, then he might have looked like or been in the same position as Trayvon. Categorizing people into groups based on their external appearances can lead to irrational actions that may even take away a person’s life (Prosper 8).

If discrimination against people continues owing to their items of clothing, especially the hoodie, then the matter may spiral out of control. Some radicals may argue that hooded clothes should be outlawed in order to protect people from these wearers. However, this would be dealing with the problem in a very aggressive and misguided way. If people continue to discriminate against the wearing of hoodies, then it will send the wrong message to unbalanced people such as Zimmerman.

They will assume that it is alright to attack or even shoot a person because of what they have on. If the stereotype about hoodies was taken to the limit, then everything that criminals wear to conceal their identity should be banned, such as masks, stockings, shades and the like. It may be true that a number of liquor-store robberies are done by hooded individuals, but this is no excuse to make blanket statements about everyone in a hoodie.

Such a stereotype is just a reason for uninformed people to profile other individuals. If the same logic were applied to other items of clothing, then one would be justified to get nervous about a person wearing dark glasses or an individual driving with tinted glasses. One would become sinister about any item that conceals identies and would take away others’ right to do so.

A number of people argue that discrimination against hoodies is also another way of covering racial stereotypes. One can understand their point of view because the victim of this crime was a black male and the assailant was white. It may have been racially based or not; nonetheless, this scenario opens up the possibility of other racists who may use clothing as a disguise for their racist intentions.

They may select symbols that are largely associated with the targeted race or ethnic group and then use them as an excuse to commit hate crimes. If the country prides itself in democracy, then it should not allow this kind of discrimination to continue.

The hoodie movement has brought to light the pervasiveness of stereotypes in society today. It has shown how dangerous prejudices can be if thy are treated irrationally. While biases will always exist, it is what one does with them that reflects who one is. In fact the hoodie movement symbolizes a vital force in society’s democratic space because it focuses on eliminating future excuses for injustice, which is quite commendable.

Work Cited

Prosper, Cheyenne. “Chic and cheap: The symbolic hoodie”. The Oracle. 2012. Web.

Research proposal

Research questions

The research topic is “How contemporary toys enforce gender stereotypes in the UK.” The key research question is: Do toys reflect old stereotypes in gender?. The minor research questions include: How do toys represent their subjects in terms of gender?, In what ways are these representations symptomatic of real life?, Do those representations lead to stereotypes in adult life?.

Statement of methods

The research methodology implies the use of quantitative methods, particularly cross-sections surveys. For the survey four toys have been chosen – two for boys and two for girls. The surveys contain questions about these toys, their appearances, as well as gender-related questions.

The study premises on the answers of fifteen girls at age 8-11 and fifteen boys at similar age category. The survey is based on questionnaires that were specifically developed for this research. The questionnaires contained predominantly multiple-choice questions, several open-ended questions, and some general questions. The toys represented various functions that are traditionally assigned to women and men in society.

Children’s parents also took in survey to define the degree of gender representation in the toys chosen for the experiment. The toys should be scaled as female oriented (scale from 1-4), gender neutral (5 points), and male oriented (from 6 to 9 points). In this study, 18 couples (9 fathers and 9 mothers) agreed to participate in the research analysis of their choices in buying toys for their children. Children also had to go through interviews were recorded by the research participants. The interviews were conducted in the presence of their parents.

Data collection will involve a three step process in which four toys from Tesco will be selected. Two must account for either of the genders. Thereafter, the researcher will analyze the items on the basis of dominant signs or representations. Certain patterns on gender will be identified from the signs and these will be structured in accordance with semiotic ideas. Finally, the patterns will be related to the research questions and similarities found.

Research Paper

Introduction

The research topic is “How contemporary toys enforce gender stereotypes in the UK.” Scholars have argued that a semiotic relationship exists in toys and this perpetuates gender stereotypes. Girls and boys learn about society’s expectations about their gender from what they interact with, and toys are one such example. Therefore, the key research question is: Do toys reflect old stereotypes in gender? The minor research questions include: How do toys represent their subjects in terms of gender?, In what ways are these representations symptomatic of real life?, Do those representations lead to stereotypes?. The research will employ semiotic content analysis to answer the research questions.

Literature review

Toys are an important semiotic resource in that they illustrate social identities and social roles. Therefore, an analysis of their representation is critical in determining social relationships. This research is particularly interested in gender representations. Leeuwe explains that dolls create certain roles among their users.

They are interactive in nature; consequently, their kinesthetic designs will determine the role that a child will take on when playing with them. For instance, a teddy bear has lots of fur in order to encourage the child to cuddle it. Alternatively, a spider man toy may have provisions for sticking on walls. Therefore, the kinesthetic design of a doll will determine how a child will interact with it. With time, children will learn about societal rules and what they can or cannot do with their toys.^[1]

A toy has an identity depending on its physical features. The color of the toy, its anatomical features, the build, its skin color, hair length and other features all form part of a toy’s identity. These features are unique markers of the child’s or manufacturer’s culture. For instance, many dolls in western culture have females with blond hair as a measure of what western culture considers conventional.

Finally, toys carry meaning in their design and representation. The traits in a toy will provide clues about what they symbolize. For instance, some toys may possess huge muscles or large breasts depending on the meaning they want to convey. Sometimes, their physical features may have a comic effect or they may represent society’s expectations about the toy. Toys are, therefore, useful in engaging in a discourse analysis about their social worlds.^[2] Their roles, identities and meanings answer pertinent questions concerning society.

Methodology

The study was premised on the results from the surveys designed for children and parents. To begin with, parents should label the selected toys in relation to gender functions they performed.

The scale that was designed for this study ranged from1 to 9 points, where female-related roles were highlighted by points from 1 to 4, gender-neutral toys were labeled as 5 and male-related toys were evaluated from 5 to 9 points. The proposed scales helped to classify the toys in accordance with gender stereotypes and parents’ attitude to them.

The parents sample included 18 couples with 9 fathers and 9 mothers, who were gathered through mass-mailing and phone calls. The information about electronic mail address and phone numbers were taken from the database from the school in which their children studied.

The average age of parents was about 37.3 years. The scale developed for estimating gender appropriateness sought to define how parents understood the functions that the toys could perform in children’s games (See Appendix 2). The toys were designed for children under the age from 8 to 11.

There were 30 children (15 boys and 15 girls) who also participated in the study who should define the roles and function that each toy could perform during the play. The cross-sectional survey implied interviewing each child individually to achieve the accuracy and objectivity of results.

Both parents and children were presented to four toys. Two toys – Baby Annabel Function Doll and Barbie Doggie Water Park – were designed for girls whereas Bob The Builder Construction Tower and Transformers 3 Ultimate Optimus Prime were selected for boys.

Apart from the gender stereotype scale, parents will be presented with the appropriateness scale that can allow them to determine whether these toys are relevant for children to play. This survey relied on the study Campenni who applied to several characteristics, including appropriateness of toys for girls and for boys in terms of the roles and functions they perform^[3].

Before parents and children were chosen for survey analysis, parents were informed about the purpose and scope of research and were proposed to participate in the research studies. The explanation was also provided to parent’s children who were interviewed in the presence of their parents.

The questionnaire developed for children aims to learn the way they perceived and understood gender roles and functions each toy performs. The questions were composed of open-ended and general type, which contributed to the credibility and validity of the study. The results of the study were processed to define the main attributes that children assigned to these toys.

Findings

The study utilized semiotic principles in order to identify connotations of gender in four types of toys. The researcher selected the toys on the basis of their popularity in Tesco retail chains. For girls’ toys, the two items were “Baby Annabel Function Doll” and “Barbie Doggie Water Park”. For boys the two items were “Bob The Builder Construction Tower” and “Transformers 3 Ultimate Optimus Prime”^[4]. Both genders had a singular toy and a set.

Children defined some of the physical attributes of the toys. “Baby Annabell Function Doll” is a likeness of a baby in that it that it has the size and physical features of a baby. The doll’s mouth allows one to insert a pacifier or a feeding bottle. Additionally, the doll is battery-powered, so it makes noises similar to that of a real baby when it wakes up.

This works whenever the doll opens its eyes after closing them. Some parts of the doll are made of soft material especially on the torso while the hands, and head are plastic. The doll wears colorful material and clothes that are similar to those of a real child. The colors of choice are white and pink.

Conversely, “Barbie Doggie Water Park” is a collection of a Barbie doll walking her dog at a park. The set has three puppies, a picnic basket and blanket, bones, a dog, a handbag for Barbie a well as some scenes from the park. Barbie looks straight at the buyer and firmly holds the dog’s string as she moves along.

She is wearing a colorful pink and purple blouse and a short orange skirt. The doll also has roller skates and knee pads to protect her in case she falls. Barbie also has long blond hair, and blue eyes. Children can comb her hair with a comb from her bag.

Bob the Builder Construction Tower is a series of parts that allow children to create a water tower. The parts consist of a series of staircases, walls, pulleys, wheelbarrows and floors. The child is supposed to use a pictorial depiction of the completed tower to create the whole item. It is made up of bold colors like yellow and red.

Transformers 3 Ultimate Optimus Prime is a black and red robot from the Transformers series. ‘Transformers’ is a successful film trilogy that many boys love and enjoy. Children have the option of reassembling the robot into a vehicle so they can decide how to play with it. The toy makes missile and battle sounds. It also has flowing weapons that are intended on scaring away enemies. The transformer looks like an alien owing to its weird antennas, wing-like creatures and its numerous extensions.

Data Analysis

Baby Annabel Function Doll represents women as nurturers. A baby naturally requires nurturing; therefore, if a manufacturer is selling such a toy, then he or she intends on perpetuating that stereotype. Considerable interactions with such types of dolls will prepare children for their future roles as mothers.^[5]

Unlike Transformer 3, Baby Annabel cannot be deconstructed. The child playing with this doll cannot exercise her duty as a creator. Instead, she must accept that she is a consumer.

Annabel’s set comes with a series of pacifiers, baby bottles and other items. Such a depiction has an adverse implication on what society expects from women as adults. Most manufacturers make their products for women. Cosmetics, household items, and clothes are largely intended for the female consumer. Therefore, this doll is preparing the girl for her role as a consumer in adult life.

Conversely, Transformers 3 is a stand-alone toy. It does not come with several other items like pacifiers. Instead, the toy repeats certain noises that mirror the battlefield. Nothing about the toy signifies care; the boy who plays can take on the role of an action figure in a battle. He has the capacity to defeat his enemies and become a winner.

The toy reflects an outgoing person who does not have to confine himself to domestic situations. This is reflective of what society expects from boys as they grow older. Additionally, the movements of the toys indicate that the child can explore and learn about new things.^[6]

Bob the Builder Construction Tower allows the child to pretend to be an engineer or architect. The fact that it is called ‘Bob’ indicates that it is meant for boys. Clearly, the construction site is a very versatile place for the boy to aspire. The toy proves that manufacturers are offering boys more options than girls. They can think about their future professions and relate to them. Bob the Builder is conditioning boys to become direct participants in the economy when they become older.

On the flipside, Barbie Doggie Water Park has no such professional roles. Barbie is walking her dog on roller skates. Her physical attributes accentuate her femininity; such as a curvy body and long legs. One cannot help but notice her physical attractiveness.

The fact that the manufacturers placed a comb in her bag indicates that Barbie must be preoccupied with her appearance. Such a factor will condition Barbie to become conscious about her looks. In the future, it is likely that she will seek approval from others because of this preoccupation with physical attributes.^[7]

Conclusion

Boys have more options than girls in the world of toys. This conditions them for their future adult roles in which the same distinctions exist. The kinesthetic design of the toys is a sign that signifies power relations among the gender. Annabel the doll is seated while Transformer 3 is standing with its legs part. Additionally Barbie is preoccupied with her appearance while Bob the Builder is not even on the set. These positions indicate that girls must care about appeasing others. The stand-alone nature of Transformer 3 shows that boys should be independent. It is standing with its legs apart to demonstrate confidence.^[8] These are all qualities that society expects from men in adulthood. Additionally, the baby who is seating down has less control than the Transformer 3 who is ready for attack. Power relations of control in the male gender are evident through this kinesthetic design. Boys can change the transformer into a car or they can construct “Bob the Builder’ into something tangible. A lot of rigidity is present in girl’s toys as they can barely move their toys. Girls thus learn that exploration is not a welcome trait. In adult life, it is not surprising that many of them will seek assistance when performing physical tasks like changing tires. Such toys stifle their creative tendencies.^[9]

The identity of the toys also has a lot to show about what society expects from women. The aesthetics of the toys are symptomatic of gender stereotypes. Baby Annabel is dressed in pink and white. It has big eyes and chubby cheeks designed to elicit nurturing and caring reactions. Conversely, Transformers 3 or Bob the builder have daring and bold colors designed to encourage the child to do something with it. Girls toys tend to cause them to become more relational while boys toys emphasize practical aspects of things or aggression.

Reflection

The four research items have proved that contemporary toys still enforce gender stereotypes. Girls’ toys teach them how to become consumers, submissive nurturers and affirmation seekers. On the other hand, boys’ toys condition them for independence, assertiveness, confidence and production in their adult life.

Reference List

Blakemore, Judith & Renee Centers. “Characteristics of boys’ and girls’ toys.” Sex Roles Journal 53, no. 9(2005): 619-634.

Bell, Susan. “How to use semiotics in qualitative research.” Susan Bell Research. Web.

Campenni, C. Estelle. 1999. “Gender Stereotyping of Children’s Toys: A Comparison of Parents and Nonparents.” Sex Roles 40, no. 1/2: 121-138.

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics: The Basics. London: Routledge, 2002.

Cherney, Ian, Linda Kelly-Vance & Kate Glover. “The effects of stereotyped toys and gender on play assessment in children aged 18–47 months.” Educational Psychology no. 23(2003), 95–105.

Keramyda, Maria. “Social and ideological Stereotypes in Children’s toy advertisements in Greek Television.” Applied Semiotics no. 22(2009): 203-225.

Squidoo. “Tesco Top 10 Toys for Christmas 2012.” Squidoo. Web.

Stengling, Maya. “Binding: a resource for exploring interpersonal meaning in 3D space.” Social Semiotics 18, no. 4(2008): 425-447.

Van Leeuwen, Theo. “The world according to Playmobil.” Semiotica Journal 173, no. 1(2009): 299-315

Van Leeuwen, Theo & C. Caldas-Coulthard. The semiotics of kinetic design. Wales: Cardiff University Press, 2002.

Wood, Wendy & A. Eagly. “A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences.” Psychological Bulletin no. 128 (2002), 699–727.

Appendix 1: Toys Images

Appendix 2: Survey Questionnaire

1. Which roles do you assign to the proposed toys:
2. Female-related roles;
3. Gender roles;
4. Male-related;
5. Neutral;
6. Which factors influence your decision to buy a toy?
7. To entertain a child;
8. To develop his mental and physical skills;
9. Do you buy toys to develop gender roles among your children?
10. Yes;
11. No;
12. Why do you prefer buying role-related toys?
13. For developing gender roles;
14. For engaging them into a game;

Appendix 3: Survey Results

Figure 1: Gender Appropriateness

Appendix 4: Survey Questions (for children)

1. How do you describe your toy?
2. Funny;
3. Beautiful;
4. Interesting;
5. Engaging;
6. Which of the toys do you like most?
7. Dolls;
8. Cars;
9. Robots;
10. Superheroes;
11. Do you like your toy?
12. Yes
13. No
14. What games can you play using this toy?
15. Assigning various roles to toys;
16. Entertaining each other;
17. What role do you perform in game with this toy?
18. Active player;
19. Passive player;
20. Do you want to play with children with the same toy or you prefer playing alone?
21. Play with children;
22. Playing alone;

Footnotes

1. Theo Van Leeuwen, “The world according to Playmobil,” Semiotica Journal 173, no. 1(2009): 299-315
2. Maria Keramyda, “Social and ideological Stereoptypes in Children’s toy advertisements in Greek Television,” Applied Semiotics no. 22(2009): 203-225.
3. Estelle C. Campenni,. “Gender Stereotyping of Children’s Toys: A Comparison of Parents and Nonparents.” Sex Roles 40, no. 1, (1999): 133.
4. Squidoo, “Tesco Top 10 Toys for Christmas 2012,” Squidoo, Last modified January 2013.
5. Wendy Wood & A Eagly, “A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences,” Psychological Bulletin no. 128 (2002), 699–727.
6. Judith Blakemore, & Renee Centers, “Characteristics of boys’ and girls’ toys,” Sex Roles Journal 53, no. 9(2005): 619-634
7. Ian Cherney, Linda Kelly-Vance & Kate Glover, “The effects of stereotyped toys and gender on play assessment in children aged 18–47 months,” Educational Psychology no. 23(2003), 95–105.
8. Maya Stengling, “Binding: a resource for exploring interpersonal meaning in 3D space,” Social Semiotics 18, no. 4(2008): 425-447.
9. Theo Van Leeuwen & C Caldas-Coulthard, The semiotics of kinetic design (Wales: Cardiff University Press, 2002), 41-53.

Every person has an ideal image that he considers as the perfect specimen of each gender. Oftentimes, these images can be so far out of the ordinary that there is absolutely no way that a real person can achieve these ideals regardless of how hard that person tries. It is because of these misguided personas that gender bashing takes place. While it is widely believed that men who gather in groups do nothing but bash women, that does not exempt women from this activity either. The truth is that male-bashing is also a reality and the article “The Male Bashing Stereotype” proves this.

Through this article, one can deduce that the image of the perfect male has evolved over time. However, the male evolution has never been geared towards perfection. Such a type of evolution does not exist. Problems about the image and capabilities of men arose because of the way gender power, ability, and skills beliefs have been handed down from generation to generation. Thereby affecting the way men view themselves and the way women view the men whom they deal with regularly as well.

Indeed, the male species has been given specific responsibilities and capabilities in our society. But men do not necessarily have to fall into these stereotypes. This article is highly biased towards seeing men in a very bad light for some reason or another and it shows in the way that the writer depicts the men she has met throughout her life.

The article fails to make mention of the fact that not all men can be depicted as bums, degenerates, and louts just because of their ages, stations in life, and types of social enjoyment. Men, just like women, pass through stages in life that teach them how to become real men. All of the mistakes and lack of social molding that they show women during their youth are not the stuff that dictates the kind of men they will be in the future.

It is not fair to depict men as maladjusted or self-centered, as they are portrayed in the article. Although there are certain types of men who tend to remain chid and adolescent like for most of their lives, the reality is that these are the men who learn the hard lessons in life and become the responsible male leaders in their respective fields in due course and time.

We have to accept that men love to live their lives. But that does not mean that they only have disrespect for the women they come across socially or in the learning or work environment. Instead, these men should be viewed as the social indicators of a person’s ability to adjust to his environment. Learning to co-exist with men, regardless of their accomplishments or shortcomings in life is vital to the survival of the human race and further fuels the battle of the sexes.

Speaking of the battle of the sexes, it is my belief that the author of the article is one who is so female empowerment oriented that the author chooses to see only the negative on the opposite sex. One has to remember that each person will treat as they find. Therefore, if a woman wishes to command the respect of the male species, she must act in a manner that will make him respect her without the need for her to demand such.

The article wants us to believe that males are untrainable creatures who are only a step above the dog species. After all, women are viewed as cats, and males are viewed as dogs in some parts of the social world. Men in reality are really creatures who take their cue as to how to act around women themselves. Such a conclusion can be gleaned from the way the author unfairly projects the male to be socially inept creatures who need to always be drunk in order to function properly in life. Men, just like women, act the way their social circle dictates that they act. Nothing we ever see is reality. Everything is adjustable and changeable. Although the changes may not be permanent, the reality is that men are creatures of change as well. They just have to be told how they are expected to act.

I do not agree with the article insinuating that men spend most of their time thinking about sex and social activities alone. But then again the writer does admit that she is a feminist and she herself does not have any idea about the kind of man she would consider to be ideal. So, how can we say that she wrote an objective male-bashing stereotype paper?

Male bashing, just like female bashing, is not something that should be taken lightly and written about in such a light-hearted manner. Even though she tries to depict her views in a comedic way, the sharpness and intent of her words remain clear. In order to have written an objective article dealing with the male shortcomings, she must also have taken the time to balance it out by depicting the positive aspects of the male gender. After all, not all men are bad eggs and not all women are bad apples, right? It would not have hurt if she had mentioned that there were some exceptions to the rule. After all, there are some pretty good male catches out there that women can attest to.

This article explores racial and gender stereotypes from an educational point of view. The authors of the article are two prolific psychology scholars. Carry Smith is a Ph.D. candidate at the Mississippi State University while Li-Chung Hung is an assistant professor at a university in Taiwan.

The article focuses on the prevailing stereotype that females are not as capable as males in math and sciences. The article engages in literature review to highlight instances of negative stereotyping and offer helpful solutions on how to eliminate such stereotypes.

The article unravels how math scores of women and minorities are affected by negative stereotypes. This article offers helpful insights into how racial and gender stereotypes affect math and science performances although it has some deficiencies in quality.

The article begins by conducting a literature review with the aim of tracing the history of ‘stereotype threat’. The authors note that the number of women who attain higher education is low compared to their population.

For instance, the authors claim that even though women constitute fifty percent of the population, only about twenty-one percent of women end up getting a Bachelor of Science degree. The authors then continue by offering more statistics on the connection between stereotypes and math abilities.

Some of the listed causes of ‘stereotype threat’ include the affirmative action, discrimination within the society, and socioeconomic issues. At this point, the article delves into the stereotype theory and its connection to science and math performances.

The authors note that in the past several interventions have been aimed at overturning the impacts of the stereotype threat. While some of these efforts have been successful, others have failed to yield the desired results.

The authors classify the stereotype threat into two cases; the one addressing the academic performance of minorities and another one focusing on how the female gender performs in a male dominated world (Smith and Hung 245). The article then concludes by listing some of the expected implications of the research.

The article’s authors have done a commendable job when it comes to the article’s structure. The article’s literature review and its accompanying detailed research are very helpful to the readers. The article’s abstract provides a precise overview of the addressed topics and the authors’ intentions.

Moreover, the research question of the article is adequately explored in the paper. The authors manage to provide a satisfying response to their research question. Some of the literature that is used to support the research question covers almost all the aspects of the stereotype threat.

In addition, most aspects of math and science performances among females and minorities are adequately explored. The article’s structure reflects on the professionalism of the authors and their expansive knowledge on this subject.

One of the most noticeable deficiencies in this article is the number of sources that have been used. Although this is a research paper, it is still possible to include too many sources on it. This paper uses too many sources for its research, therefore making it hard for the readers to synthesize the provided information.

In addition, using too many sources could be confusing to the readers. The number of sources used in a research paper should not compromise the paper’s coherency or confuse the readers. The authors should have edited out some of their sources according to each sources’ relevance.

Using too many sources does not add to the credibility of the topic. In some instances, using too many sources for the paper could imply that the authors are overcompensating for other shortcomings in their work. Moreover, some of the sources that are used by the authors do not relate to the paper on an advanced scholarly level.

In some cases, only the topic of these sources is similar to that of the article and not their subject matter. For example, the study by Levy and Dweck (1163) is quite relevant to the stereotype threat theory. However, the study by Liben and Signorella (11) is quite trivial and it does not have an important connection to stereotype threat.

Therefore, the latter should not be categorized in the same level as the former study. The authors should have left out the sources that are not relevant to the core subject matter of the article. This would have given the paper a smooth flow and made it easier to synthesize.

One of the most important aspects of this article is the fact that the authors were able to list both past and future interventions of stereotype threats. These interventions are important to most of the article’s intended readers.

Stakeholders in gender and education matters would find these interventions helpful (Thomas and Stevenson 165). The future interventions against stereotype threats are sound and most stakeholders would be interested in trying them.

The article’s authors worked hard to gather as many research materials as possible for their article. However, this action ended up putting too much baggage on the paper. The authors could have tried to manage their sources better by leaving out the less relevant sources.

Nevertheless, the authors are able to provide an adequate answer to their research question. Overall, the article is a good read and it has a wide audience base.

Works Cited

Levy, Sheri R., and Carol S. Dweck. “The Impact of Children’s Static versus Dynamic Conceptions of People on Stereotype Formation.” Child Development 70.5 (1999): 1163-1180. Print.

Liben, Lynn S., and Margaret L. Signorella. “Gender-related Schemata and Constructive Memory in Children.” Child Development 9 (1980): 11-18. Print.

Smith, Cary Stacy, and Li-Ching Hung. “Stereotype Threat: Effects on Education.” Social Psychology of Education 11.3 (2008): 243-257. Print.

Thomas, Duane E., and Howard Stevenson. “Gender Risks and Education: The particular Classroom Challenges for Urban low-income African American Boys.” Review of Research in Education 33.1 (2009): 160-180. Print.

Abstract

Gender stereotypes exist across all cultures and all societies. If an individual abides by stereotype threat, they are likely to perform poorly in any subsequently associated challenge. Various studies have been conducted mainly focusing on examining effects of stereotypes activation on performance.

Past studies have revealed that performance can be depressed when individuals feel that the group to which they belong is negatively stereotyped with respect to that area; in our case, women are poor performers in mathematics. This study sought to investigate whether activating implicit gander stereotypes in female can influence performance in mathematics.

As a result, it was hypothesized that increasing the salience of female identity stereotypes decreases performance in mathematics. The study used two groups of 50 randomly selected 2^nd year female students each. The participants were subjected to two different prime conditions.

One was a gender based prime where they watched a two minute You tube clip from “Part of Your World” while the other was nature based where the participants watched dolphins playing near the shore from BBC’s Planet Earth. Participants later took a two minutes 10 questions mathematics test.

The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and particularly the mean. The results revealed that the participants who were subjected to the gender based prime performed relatively poorly compared to their counterparts on the nature prime. This thus indicated that actually activating implicit gender stereotypes in females influences performance in mathematics. The study therefore illustrates the negative impact of gender stereotyping and media representation of females.

Influence of Activating Implicit Gender Stereotypes in Females on Performance in Mathematics

The aspect of sex differences in education is one of the most researched areas concerning gender and education. Particularly, a male-female characteristic versus performance comparison takes centre stage. In their book “The psychology of sex differences,” Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) reviewed 1400 research articles on sex differences.

According to the authors, it is hard to underpin the role of stereotyping on individuals’ development of behavior or cognitive sex differences. Nonetheless, they concluded that some observable patterns of behavior thrive in areas of verbal and mathematical skills where girls are better in the former and boys are good at the latter.

Gender patterns in performance on various subjects vary from country to country. For instance an assessment by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in Iceland revealed that , girls have proven to be superior to boys in three major areas namely mathematics, science and reading.

In Ireland however, the Irish PISA revealed that boys outperformed girls in proficiency in mathematics. Similar results were revealed in multiple choices questions and there was reduced anxiety about mathematics among boys as opposed to girls (OECD, 2004).

The International Assessment of Education Progress (IAEP) comparative study in 1991 showed that the differences in male and female socialization patterns in various societies, communities and cultures; as well as variations across time and space are the most significant factors influencing the development of gender differences in capabilities and attainment (Eurydice, 2010).

PISA 2003 pointed out that there were significantly small differences in performance among students in relation to gender. That is to say, males performed slightly better than girls (OECD, 2001) did. Basing on the above literature, the effects of stereotypes on performance and specifically on females clearly exists.

However, studies on priming have revealed that in the view of commencement of stereotypes and their forthcoming self-fulfillment, unconstructive self-related stereotypes are actually hazardous (Wheeler and Petty, 2001). Thus, unexpected fulfillment of the stereotype by the involved subject strengthens it, putting into play a fatal cycle of self-continuation (Ambady, Paik, Steele, Owen-Smith and Mitchell, 2003).

There exists a gap in literature on whether effects of negative stereotyping can be counteracted once introduced to participants. A study by Stangor, Carr and Kiang (1998), reported that after stereotype activation on participants who were made to believe that they were good in word finding puzzle, the participants did not perform significantly better.

Thus, this indicates that stereotype activation may not have necessarily influenced their performance. To this effect, a study was carried out to find out if gender stereotype priming could actually influence performance in a mathematics test among female students. To achieve the study objective, the study hypothesized that increasing the salience of female identity stereotypes decreases mathematics performance by females.

Methods

The study used a cross sectional survey research design. This design allows researchers to collect data from a large sample, to use hypotheses and to get respondents’ opinions and feelings on issues relevant to the study (Kothari, 2008). More so, this design is cost effective, provides for generalization of the data collected and further allows for hypothesis testing while at the same time allowing the researcher to report respondents’ opinions, feelings, attitudes and propositions.

The population was represented in the study by a randomly selected sample of 100 students whose selection was based on Balian’s (1988) recommendations for determining an appropriate sample size. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), describe a population as an entire group of individuals, events, or objects having a common observable characteristic. The population of study in this case was second year female students.

Balian recommends a sample size of 60 to 300 or at most an average of 200 respondents in a survey study with an alteration of 10%. To this effect, the researcher decided to use 100 cases for the study. They were split into two groups each containing 50 members. By flipping a coin, all female participants were randomly assigned to specific conditions. The first conditions were the gender prime condition where participants watched a two minutes clip on YouTube of “Part of Your World.”

The second prime condition was a nature prime in which participants watched a narration by David Attenborough, which was a clip of dolphins playing near the shore from the BBC’s Planet Earth. This film does not present any gender stereotyping nor is there any mention of gender aspects.

The respondents were then given ten simple mathematics questions to answer within two minutes. The questions were developed with consultation with peers so as to ensure the validity of the data collection instrument. The data collected was analyzed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 (Eurydice, 2010).

After the data had been collected, it was cleaned up, coded, and then entered into the computer program. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize and present the data in narrative, graphical and tabular form. Using descriptive statistics specifically the mean, frequencies and percentages, the study objectives were summarized, analyzed and reported.

Results and Discussion

Figure 1: Comparison of performance between the gender stereotype prime and nature prime.

The study revealed that on average, mathematics performance was depressed for participants in the gender stereotype prime condition. That is to say that the females who watched disney’s Marmaid were likely to perform poorly in this subject (Refer to figure 1 above).

This could be interpreted to mean that female gender stereotypes may have been made salient and thus might have affected the participants’ self-concept and increased their anxiety. Past research results have revealed that girls more than boys have high anxiety with regard to mathematics. These results supported the observation by OECD, (2004) who noted that girls had higher anxiety regarding mathematics.

Similarly, the results supported the stereotype held about girls that they have low self-concept and self-efficacy. Thus, by priming them with stereotypes regarding them, they got anxious and could not see themselves as capable to deal with simple mathematical problems. Rather, they got anxious and thus could not perform to the expectation.

On the contrary, those that watched the BBC’s nature clip performed averagely well. This can be attributable to the fact that, their self-efficacy was not affected and could handle the problem without any anxieties. OECD (2004) also reported such results that lack anxiety, high self-efficacy, and self-concept in Poland and Italy.

This study results have also differed with that conducted by Ambady et al. (2003). Their study revealed that as soon as it is initiated, the path of maladaptive, stereotype-congruent conduct as a result of stereotyping can be averted. On the contrary, this study has revealed that stereotype primed individuals performed worse off than their nature primed counterparts.

Most possibly, this occurred because the gender stereotype primed individuals were unable to disassociate themselves with the female category and thus there was a possibility of stereotype approval being more intimidating (Balian, 1988).

However, it is expected that the participants would have developed mechanisms to cope with the negative stereotype activation. As past research points out, there is more than one way to do this. This would include the following. First, as suggested by Steele (1997), making the stereotype irrelevant by misidentifying with it can help.

Secondly, indulging other salient identities the can alter the self-importance of a stereotype as well as individual’s response to it as revealed by Stapel, Koomen and Spears, (1999). Thirdly, disregarding group based identity and bearing in mind a more individualistic perspective (Turner and Onorato, 1999).

Considering these researches in mind, if the salience of group identity in this case “females” is substituted with the salience of personal identity, the risks affiliated with negative stereotype priming could be reduced and performance changed to be illustrative of an individual’s capacity and not the group to which they belong.

Thus, this study has demonstrated that such abilities of individuals distancing themselves with stereotypes associated with groups to which they belong are utterly impossible. Furthermore, the media representation of females in a gender stereotype actually affects their performance. This may be because most of the 2^nd year females might have grown watching such Disney movies as the little Mermaid.

Conclusion

From the above research findings, it can be concluded that actually activating implicit gender stereotypes in female had a negative effect on their performance in mathematics. Furthermore, the females in this study were unable to employ the mechanisms as have been pointed out by other scholars that can be useful in reducing the negative effects of implicit stereotyping.

This also illustrates that actually media representation of females could have negative effects on their performance. In addition, females primed with gender stereotypes can perform poorly in mathematics.

Reference List

Ambady, N., Paik, S. K., Steele, J., Owen-Smith, A., & Mitchell, J. (2003). Deflecting negative self-relevant stereotype activation: The effects of individuation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40 (2004), 401-408.

Balian, E. S. (1988). How to design, analyze, and write doctoral or master’s research. New York: University Press of America.

Kiang, L., Carr, C., & Stangor, C. (1998). Activating Stereotypes undermines task performance expectations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (1)75, 1191-1197.

Eurydice, K. (2010). Gender difference in educational outcomes: study on the measure taken and the current situation in Europe. Brussels: Education, Audiovisual, and Culture Executive Agency.

Kothari, C. (2008). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers.

Jacklin, C., & Maccoby, E. (1974). The psychology of sex differences. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Mugenda, A. B. & Mugenda, O. M. (2003). Research Methods. Quantitative And Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi: African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS).

OECD. (2004). Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First Results from PISA 2003. Paris: OECD.

Stapel, D., Koomen, W. & Spears, R. (1999). Framed and Misfortuned: Identity salience and the whiff of scandal. European Journal of Social Psychology, 2(29), 397-402.

Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: how stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 1(52), 613-629.

Turner, J., & Onorato, R. S. (1999). Social identity, personality, and self-concept: A self-categorization perspective. (2 ed.). The psychology of social self, 1(9), 11-46.

Wheeler, S. C., & Petty, R. (2001). The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 127(6), 797-826.

Introduction

Stereotypes greatly influence the lives of people. From the moment of birth, a human gets into the classification system. Society tends to evaluate a person as a living collection of stereotypes. It is much easier to use various labels like “black”, “middle-aged”, or “man” than to go into deep analysis of the individual traits. Disability stereotypes are a very serious issue in modern society, as they have a long-lasting negative effect on disabled people. The purpose of this paper is to examine, how the stereotype is reinforced in the world, and how disabled people experience it.

The Image of Disabled People in the World

People judge others by their looks and manners. A fine complexion, fluent speech, and smooth movements are generally considered attractive. Therefore, the slightest incongruence in behavior or appearance is seen as an insult to the social norms. Extravagantly looking individuals always become the center of attention in any group of people. Schools present the most vivid examples. Children cast out or mock anyone who speaks funny, walks clumsily, or acts slowly. Adults tend to be more tolerant, but they also treat people with disabilities in a peculiar way.

Even insignificant physical disabilities brand people as different. The slightest limp warns others that the person is not right. A lost limb indicates that the worker is less able to do his job than others are. It is no coincidence that a wheelchair symbolizes disability. Physical impairments are hard to be ignored, and it is difficult to hide them.

Before the actual communication with a disabled person, other people can label him or her according to their attitude towards particular disabilities. Individuals with physical impairments are generally considered weak, dependent, and slow at work. In some cases, other members of society suspect physically disabled people in psychological instability. All these factors lead to fewer job opportunities and a lack of social relations for disabled people. Due to the stereotype, they live primarily in their families and communicate freely only with their relatives, close friends, and people with the same issues.

Behavioral or emotional disorders are also a great resource for stereotypes and can lead to even more serious consequences than physical disabilities. People without medical education can hardly understand the reasons for strange behavior. Furthermore, such disorders are often unseen from first sight. When a person starts to act unpredictably, it comes as a shock to the people around. Hence, mentally disabled individuals can be stereotyped as “crazy”. Their position in society is unstable. People do not know what to expect of them, how to evaluate their possibilities. Therefore, individuals with behavioral or emotional disorders feel constant suspicion from everyone surrounding them. According to Coleman et al., “As a consequence of feeling fearful or uncomfortable, individuals may desire physical or social distance from people with disabilities” (178).

Society Reinforces the Disability Stereotype

Mass media contributes a lot to the development of the disability stereotype. Horror films often feature maniacs who act almost like ordinary people but walk or talk with difficulty because of some trauma or mutation. Producers like to name a mental disorder as a reason for gruesome murders. Villains that act funny and strange receive more attention from viewers. Nevertheless, it contributes to the stereotype of disabled people as unstable and potentially dangerous individuals.

Even social support for people with disabilities often underlines their difference from the rest of society. They do not receive the same job and study opportunities as others because they are considered weak and unable to perform at the needed level. This stereotype bothered me personally. My 7th-grade teacher Ms. Clark gave me only easy work to do and expected little from me in comparison with other students. Although I would try my best to prove her wrong, it would still bring down my self-esteem.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Stereotype

ADHD is a frequently diagnosed neuropsychiatric disorder that affects mainly children and youth during their development. Although the symptoms may vary, people with ADHD are considered to have a short attention span. According to Melago, “children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, may be extremely fidgety, talk excessively, have difficulty completing quiet activities, and generally act like they have too much energy” (37). Such behavioral and mental characteristics turn a learning process into an ordeal for a student and a teacher as well. Therefore, in many cases, people try to make their tasks as easier as they can.

Teachers generally do not ask much from their students with ADHD. They fear overloading disabled children with heavy tasks. This situation leads to the development of a stereotype. Teachers and classmates see ADHD students as unable to take part in difficult activities. From an early age, children with this neuropsychiatric disorder feel underestimated. No matter, how hard they try to show their real abilities, teachers continue to regard them as weak. According to Wei et al., “learning and behavior problems often go hand-in-hand, and educators should be cognizant of interventions and services that can support both academic and behavioral needs of students” (215).

Nevertheless, it is widely acknowledged that children with ADHD can pay enough attention to the tasks they find interesting. Camilleri claims that “school presents these students and their parents with negative experiences which could be eliminated through understanding and collaboration between school staff, students and parents” (3). Students with ADHD can perform at a higher level than they are generally supposed to, but the stereotype about them hinders all possibilities for their further development. Many research projects explore the effective use of accommodations as a means to help ADHD students learn better and easier but with no credible results (Harrison et al. 595). This situation only supports the existing stereotype about ADHD students.

Conclusion

Stereotypes play a major role in society. When it comes to interpersonal communication, they create the first impression about interlocutors involved. People build their attitudes according to various stereotypes. This is especially important in the case of various disabilities. Individuals with physical or mental disabilities always have negative stereotypes surrounding them. Even when they try to achieve higher results and respect in society, they are bound by common attitudes towards them. All this supports the need for change in modern society.

Works Cited

Camilleri, Maria. Must I Sit Down?: A Study of the Experiences of Secondary School Male ADHD Students with Regards to Their Inclusion within the Inclusive Education System in Malta. MS Thesis. University of Malta, 2015.

Coleman, Jill M., et al. “Multiple Forms of Prejudice: How Gender and Disability Stereotypes Influence Judgments of Disabled Women and Men.” Current Psychology, vol. 34, no. 1, 2015, pp. 177-189.

Harrison, Judith R., et al. “Educational Accommodations for Students with Behavioral Challenges: A Systematic Review of the Literature.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 83, no. 4, 2013, pp. 551-597.

Melago, Kathleen A. “Strategies for Successfully Teaching Students with ADD or ADHD in Instrumental Lessons.” Music Educators Journal, vol. 101, no. 2, 2014, pp. 37-43.

Wei, Xin, et al. “Longitudinal Effects of ADHD in Children With Learning Disabilities or Emotional Disturbances.” Exceptional Children, vol. 80, no. 2, 2014, pp. 205-219.

Unfortunately, stereotyping and the bias based on it are serious problems that many people face on a daily basis. Among the categories of people who are subjected to stereotyping more than other ones are black females. There exist a number of stereotypes concerning them including the stereotypes of “mammy”, “matriarch”, “Jezebel”, “gold diggers”, and many more. Generally, all of these stereotypes play a negative role as they prevent people from sound and logical reasoning regarding the group of people subjected to unjust ways of thinking. In the following paper, three stereotypes that I have faced in my life will be addressed in terms of the reasons for their formation and the mistakes that lie at the heart of these stereotypes.

First, people believe that black women are very aggressive (Cunningham & Macrae, 2011). Those who think so support their beliefs by the examples from modern-day movies showing black females as leaders of gangs, esurient to get as much material values as a result of their activity as possible, and to establish their authority over as many people as possible. The image of an angry black woman is also supported by some of the examples from history that show some black women as aggressive warriors and ruthless killers. Evaluating the grounds for this stereotype, I should say that they are insufficient. Of course, some black women are truly aggressive, but white women can be aggressive as well. The color of skin is not a key point that predicts someone’s character; the same can be said about gender. Rather, if someone is aggressive or not is determined by upbringing and personal inclinations. In addition, human history is full of examples of the violent conduct of white women, and it is simply overfilled with the examples of cruel behavior of white men. Thus, the grounds of the stereotype that black women are violent are far away from reality. However, such a way of thinking has a negative impact on the lives of affected people because they are poorly treated on the reason of bias (Kemick, 2012).

Secondly, it is believed that black females are a lot like a harlot Jezebel, described in the Hebrew Scriptures. The biblical account of Jezebel shows this woman as a disgusting prostitute only concerned with sexual interests and material rewards that she may have as a result of her encounters with males. In parallel to Jezebel, black females are often seen as sexually concerned and desire to have as much sexual relations as possible. For this reason, they are not taken seriously at work and in relationships. Addressing the grounds for this stereotype, I must confess that I do not have a clear idea of why such misconceptions about black women exist. It is true that some black women try to show themselves as sexual and passionate lovers on TV, in the press, on a music stage, and so on, but white and Asiatic women do it even more active because of the culture of immorality is popular today. In addition, I do not think it is possible to find more or less convincing examples from history that would show any parallels between black females and Queen Jezebel. Therefore, I should say that I consider this stereotype absolutely inexcusable. Black females do suffer a lot from the problems related to the “Jezebel” stereotype; this is especially so due to the sexual harassment by white men at work or in other public places. Besides, because of this stereotype it happens that black females happen to face prejudiced attitudes with regards to their intellectual abilities and professionalism (Mosser, 2011). Reflecting on such examples as the example of Condoleezza Rice, it is easy to see that the stereotype of “Jezebel” has no common sense behind it.

Finally, I will address the stereotype of “gold diggers” that I have seen in the attitudes of some of my relatives and family friends. According to the stereotype that black females are “gold diggers”, it is believed that they are looking for ways to ‘despoil’ the males who are in relationships with them. People view black females in this light because they consider that there are no many opportunities for black women to provide for themselves, but to be dependent on men who are more secure financially. Again, I cannot agree with this stereotype because first of all, not only do black women look for the sources of material welfare in their men’s pockets, and secondly, nowadays, there are many better opportunities for black women to provide for themselves. Of course, there have always existed women who wanted an easier life, and these are not only black women; however, it is not a reason to see black females as “gold diggers”. Besides, feminists managed to attain incredible success in the area of employment and payment for all women; thus, today many women have a chance to have a good life by means of their own achievements.

In conclusion, despite the fact that there exist many negative stereotypes about black females, a closer look at the situation shows that they are mistaken. However, these stereotypes are the reason of serious harm that the affected category of people has to face. They are also of great harm for those who believe in them as they are robbed of an opportunity to have a reasonable and sober way of thinking.

References

Cunningham, S., & Macrae, C. (2011). The colour of gender stereotyping. British Journal Of Psychology, 102(3), 598-614.

Kemick, A. (2012). Stereotyping Has Lasting Negative Impact: Prejudice Has Lingering Effects. University of Toronto, 1-3.

Mosser, K. (2011). An introduction to logic. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

How anthropology helps us to evaluate stereotypes

The recent study on leadership shows that women have been enlightened and they are up to take their positions in leadership.

Anthropology refers to the study of human kind, his society and all that pertain them. Stereotype is where a person seems to conform to a widely accepted behavior type or attitude. According to the study carried recently on gender equality, it was found that differences between men and women occur naturally.

These are biological differences between the two sexes and each gender has its own unique characteristics. Other anthropologists view equality as the imagery where men seem to be strong and domineering. This is usually not the case because not all men are as strong as stereotypes argue.

In the study on roles of males, men are seen to be typically aggressive, less emotional and more logic oriented. Men are expected to behave in a manner such that everyone recognizes and expect the best from them as argued by (kottak 67). Being the head of the family, a man is committed to the family responsibility of providing and taking care of the homestead.

Women have been noted to be emotional, submissive, neat and children keepers. These gender stereotypes for women are less agreed as more women tend to defy their perceptions. Property ownership is no longer men’s achievement as women have been noted to own large business firms, as well. Proper management of large premises and organizations by women is another role that has been decentralized.

The study carried on an educational basis shows that there has been a considerable change where education has been centralized for both genders (MacLaury, Paramei and Dedrick 98). Women nowadays have equal chances of being educated unlike in the past where only men were supposed to be learned.

Human rights have been fighting for the girl child education. This has ensured that girls are given a chance to go to school. This has led to a tremendous increase in the number of females in higher levels of learning and in some courses they exceed the number of men.

Evaluation of our own western culture

Cultural studies of different people have noted different activities carried by given tribes depending with the level of interaction they have with other cultures. The mode of living distinguishes each community from others and makes it unique in one way or the other.

Culture has considerably been reserved by some tribes and communities although it is fading away in some others (kottak 67). Different occasions in each community are seen to be conducted in different manners and such occasions include marriage, circumcision and among others.

Languages spoken by different communities widely vary as each community has its own accent. This has conformed people to accept each other and relate widely to one another in order to enhance communication. Community activities have been noted to increase and high rate of interaction at community level has moved to the peak.

Make relevant changes

The recent study on leadership shows that women have been enlightened and they are up to take their positions in leadership. Initially leadership was seen as men’s task, but nowadays women have shown their capabilities by challenging men. This has been taken positively in most communities, and more women are being encouraged to show their interest in higher positions in leadership as argued by (MacLaury, Paramei and Dedrick 88).

These enormous changes have been facilitated by high number of non- governmental organizations operating in the world. Their main task is to ensure that there is the uniform distribution of resources and to ensure that individual rights are not violated. They monitor governments’ allocation of funds to various projects mainly in remote areas. These projects include rural electrification, irrigation schemes and construction of bore holes.

Works Cited

Kottak, Conrad P. Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

MacLaury, Robert E., Paramei Galina V, and Dedrick Don. Anthropology of Color: Interdisciplinary Multilevel Modeling. New York: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2007. Print.