1. Who Does it Affect?
1.1. People who don't fit the sterotypes
1.2. Kids
1.2.1. Lack of relatable heroes
1.2.1.1. Hero doesn't have to look like you to be relatable . . .
1.2.1.2. But it's easier if they do
1.2.2. Take their cues for who they should be from media
1.2.3. Often pressured to grow up faster
1.2.3.1. Teens/adults have all the fun
1.2.3.2. Pubescent characters rarely portrayed by actors of their actual age.
1.2.4. Often portrayed as troublemakers/brats
1.3. Ethnic minorities
1.3.1. Asians
1.3.1.1. "Exotic" women actually statistically average
1.3.2. Pasifika
1.3.3. Blacks
1.3.3.1. Issues sometimes ignored or "taken over" by whites
1.4. Women
1.4.1. "Exotic" (statistically average) women
1.4.2. Married
1.4.2.1. Told they've given up all their freedom
1.4.3. Unmarried
1.4.3.1. Told they need to settle down and find a man
1.4.4. Receiving mixed signals about what a woman should be
1.4.4.1. "Strong independent woman who don't need no man"?
1.4.4.2. Damsel in distress?
1.4.4.3. Tsundere?
1.4.4.4. Warrior?
1.4.4.5. Healer?
1.4.4.6. Ok to like girly things (skirts, makeup, tea, baking, handcrafts)?
1.4.4.7. Ok to like guy-ish things (sports, practical clothes, cars)?
1.4.5. Taught their worth is defined by a man
1.4.5.1. Romantic subplot overtaking main plot
1.4.5.2. Love triangles
1.4.5.3. Every girl has to have a guy
1.4.6. Alternately told that they should be sexually active and then shamed for it
1.4.6.1. The Breakfast Club: “If you don’t do it, you’re a prude. If you do, you’re a slut.”
1.5. Men
1.5.1. Told the stereotypes and sexualization are ok.
1.5.2. Taught to treat others with disdain rather than respect
1.5.3. Distorted ideas of who they're meant to be
1.6. Society
1.6.1. Vicious cycle
1.6.2. Culture feeds on itself
1.7. People with Disabilities
1.7.1. Ableism
1.7.2. In spec fic, people w/ prosthetics/missing limbs/physical disabilities are almost always villains or else sidelined
1.7.2.1. Exceptions: Bucky Barns, Professor X, that dude from Rogue One, pirates
1.8. Neurodivergent people
1.8.1. Rarely portrayed well in media, if they're even present
1.8.2. Often fit into one of a few stereotypes
1.9. Older people
1.9.1. Implied to be worth less because they're no longer in their prime
1.9.2. Can apply to middle-aged people or to actually old people
1.9.3. Sometimes replaced with younger people for no evident reason
1.9.3.1. Age discrimination in the media: Strictly unlawful?
1.10. LGBTQ+ Community
1.10.1. Much less present in media than in reality
1.10.2. Often represented inaccurately
1.10.3. Often implied that the only reason they aren't straight is that they haven't found the right guy or girl yet
2. Who Causes It?
2.1. Men
2.1.1. Straight White Men
2.1.1.1. "Benefit" from the discrimination
2.1.1.2. Tend to be in positions of power
2.2. Society
2.2.1. Created the discrimination in other areas
2.2.2. Spills over into media
2.2.3. Buys the lies
2.3. Authors & Writers
2.3.1. Historical/Classic authors and books
2.3.1.1. Racism:
2.3.1.1.1. Gone With the Wind
2.3.1.1.2. Lord of the Rings
2.3.1.1.3. Mark Twain
2.3.1.1.4. The Great Gatsby
2.3.1.1.5. Surprisingly present in children's books
2.3.1.2. Sexism:
2.3.1.2.1. Dickens
2.3.1.2.2. Hemingway
2.3.1.2.3. Tolstoy
2.3.1.2.4. Homer & most mythology
2.3.1.2.5. J.R.R. Tolkien
2.3.1.2.6. Robinson Crusoe
2.3.1.2.7. The Wind in the Willows
2.3.1.2.8. The Canterbury Tales
2.3.2. Modern authors/books
2.3.2.1. Media attention:
2.3.2.1.1. More on males than females
2.3.2.1.2. More on whites than POCs
2.3.2.2. Sexism:
2.3.2.2.1. Gender imbalance in children's literature
2.3.2.2.2. Glorification of abusive relationships
2.3.2.2.3. V.S. Naipul: “I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. I think it is unequal to me.”
2.3.2.2.4. Books by women, especially involving romance often dismissed as "chick lit" even when they cover serious topics
2.3.2.2.5. Assumption that women write to work out their feelings, not for intellectual reasons or for joy of writing
2.3.2.3. Racism
2.3.2.3.1. Especially present in TV/Movies
2.3.3. Me
2.4. Publishers
2.5. Movie Industry
2.5.1. Hollywood
2.5.2. Directors
3. What are the Effects?
3.1. People Told They're Not Enough
3.1.1. Lack of heroes
3.1.1.1. Self-confidence/self-image strengthened when a person sees or reads about a hero of his or her same race or gender
3.1.2. Appearance matters
3.1.3. People want to know that people LIKE THEM can make a difference; don't get that.
3.1.4. People want to know that people LIKE THEM are important; don't get that either.
3.2. Voices Silenced
3.2.1. Certain groups lose individuality
3.2.1.1. Portrayed as helpless/unable to think for themselves
3.2.1.1.1. Victims of war/disaster
3.2.1.1.2. Children/people in poverty
3.2.1.1.3. People in developing countries
3.2.2. Media dominated by white men and male characters
3.2.2.1. Declining ownership of major media companies by non-whites
3.2.2.2. White authors:
3.2.2.2.1. 82% of authors/writers are white
3.2.2.2.2. 88% of books reviewed by NY Times in 2012 were by white authors
3.2.2.3. Male authors:
3.2.2.3.1. More books by men published than books by women
3.2.2.3.2. London Review of Books: 74% of books reviewed were written by men
3.2.2.3.3. Granta Magazine: 65% of published original stories were by men
3.2.2.3.4. Male authors tend to receive more literary awards
3.2.2.3.5. Results in character imbalance as well as author-voice imbalance
3.2.2.4. In journalism:
3.2.2.4.1. 12% of journalists identify as an ethnic minority
3.2.2.4.2. 1/3 of journalists are female
3.2.2.5. Results in females & minorities being unable to tell their stories
3.3. Poor Storytelling
3.3.1. Discrimination feeds stereotypes and cliches
3.3.2. Diversity creates richer stories
3.3.3. Storytelling should broaden the reader/viewer's view of the world, not limit it!
3.4. Encourages Sexualization & Enforces Unrealistic Beauty Standards
3.4.1. Both genders & all races, but especially women & minorities
3.4.2. Body image issues
3.4.2.1. Girls have to be skinny
3.4.2.1.1. Leads to eating disorders
3.4.2.1.2. Can't enjoy life because they're too focused on how they look
3.4.2.1.3. Fat shaming
3.4.2.2. Girls can be fit, but shouldn't be bulky
3.4.2.2.1. Pushed towards aerobics over strength
3.4.2.2.2. Perpetuates the idea that women are weak & need "big strong men" to help them
3.4.2.3. Men supposed to be super fit
3.4.3. Locker room talk
3.4.3.1. Women treated as objects & prizes
3.4.3.1.1. Super Bowl Commercials
3.5. Perpetuates Stereotypes
3.5.1. In storytelling
3.5.2. In life
3.5.3. Not all stereotyping is bad, but too even ok stereotypes can be bad if used overwhelmingly
3.5.3.1. Generalizes individuals; ignores variety
3.5.3.2. Creates one-sided, superficial, exaggerated depictions
3.5.3.3. Makes it easier to just write people off
3.5.3.3.1. Assumption that because they're in X group, they must be like everyone else in X group.
3.5.3.3.2. Reduces empathy
3.5.3.3.3. People less likely to try to get to know others.
3.5.3.4. Example:
3.5.3.4.1. One particular female character likes pink, dressing nicely, and baking; others like other things = good
3.5.3.4.2. ALL female characters like pink, dressing nicely, and baking = bad
3.6. Robs females of agency
3.6.1. Creates Wickhams and Collinses
3.6.1.1. Wickham= playboys & predators
3.6.1.1.1. Women are to be used
3.6.1.1.2. Flirting becomes lying, leading on
3.6.1.1.3. Only after one thing (maybe two)
3.6.1.2. Collins
3.6.1.2.1. Might think they're God's gift to women, might not
3.6.1.2.2. Overly convinced of own desirablity
3.6.1.2.3. Think women are fickle/easily swayed; don't know the meaning of no
3.6.1.2.4. Complain about friendzoning a lot
3.6.1.2.5. Decent guys . . . until you reject them.
3.7. Kids pressured to grow up faster
3.7.1. Teens/adults seem to have all the fun
3.7.2. Early teen characters often portrayed by older actors
3.7.2.1. Affects body image
3.8. Focus on sensational issues
3.8.1. Especially true of children's issues
3.8.2. Everyday struggles ignored
3.8.3. Can de-legitimize problems
3.8.3.1. People think "Oh, I'm not dealing with anything as bad as that, so I must not actually have this problem"
4. What Does It Look Like?
4.1. Females without Agency or Power
4.1.1. "Male gaze"
4.1.1.1. Especially present in comic books and anime
4.1.1.2. Women portrayed in an overly "sexy" way
4.1.1.3. Immodest, impractical costumes (even for warrior-type women)
4.1.1.3.1. Impractical armor
4.1.2. Females can train the hero, but can't take down the bad guy themselves?????
4.1.3. Love interests without other purpose or characterization
4.1.4. "Girl" is a personality type
4.2. Perpetuation of Stereotypes
4.2.1. White Saviors
4.2.2. Token Characters
4.2.3. Overabundance of White Male Heroes
4.2.3.1. Minorities relegated to side roles
4.2.3.2. Latinos are largest racial/ethnic minority in US, but are rarely seen in media
4.2.3.3. More guy characters than girl ones
4.2.3.3.1. Power Trio: commonly 2 guys and 1 girl
4.2.3.3.2. 5 Man Band: commonly 4 guys, 1 girl; sometimes 3 guys, 2 girls
4.2.4. Racial stereotypes
4.2.4.1. Black
4.2.4.1.1. "Mammies"
4.2.4.1.2. Buffoons
4.2.4.1.3. "Angry Black Man"
4.2.4.1.4. "Lazy, poor, and/or jobless"
4.2.4.1.5. Lower prestige and authority than whites
4.2.4.2. Hispanic/Latin
4.2.4.2.1. "Domestic"
4.2.4.2.2. "Latino lover"
4.2.4.2.3. Criminal or cop
4.2.4.2.4. Heavily accented and/or inarticulate
4.2.4.3. Asian
4.2.4.3.1. "Model minority"
4.2.4.3.2. Dragon Lady
4.2.4.4. Native Americans
4.2.4.4.1. Least represented in television
4.2.4.4.2. Tribes seen as interchangeable
4.2.4.5. Middle-Eastern
4.2.4.5.1. Commonly villainous
4.2.4.5.2. Not always villainous
4.2.4.6. Lower-class POC characters (in general)
4.3. Language
4.3.1. "Normal"
4.3.1.1. Non-white, non-straight, or non-male often treated as abnormal
4.3.1.1.1. "About a couple" vs. "about a gay couple"
4.3.1.1.2. In books: if no skin color stated, everyone assumes it's white
4.3.2. Offensive racial or gendered slurs
4.3.3. Harsher language for POCs than whites
4.3.3.1. After Hurrican Katrina: POCs "looted"; whites "found"
4.3.4. Humor
4.3.4.1. Blond jokes
4.3.4.2. Jokes based on stereotypes
4.3.5. Everyday language reflecting racist or sexist attitudes
4.3.5.1. "Like a girl"
4.3.5.2. "Man up!"
4.4. Issue Coverage
4.4.1. Minority's side of an issue often not well-covered
4.4.2. Some issues/events not covered by the media at all unless it supports the public bias.
4.4.3. Minorities around the world say that the media either doesn't cover their perspective/issues or, when the media does mention them, does so in a negative way.
4.5. Sitcom vs. Drama
4.5.1. POCs often more present in sitcoms than dramas
4.5.1.1. Sitcoms allow less character development
4.5.1.1.1. Often rely more on stereotypes
4.5.1.2. Dramas allow more character development
4.5.1.2.1. More multi-faceted portrayals
4.5.1.3. Results in one-dimensional view of POCs and a clearer view of whites
5. Why Does It Happen?
5.1. Past
5.1.1. POC presented in villainous or comic-only roles by Western literature and media for long time
5.1.1.1. Even non-villainous, serious roles tended to fall into stereotypes
5.1.2. Civil Rights movement didn't totally stop societal discrimination
5.1.3. Motion Picture Production Code
5.1.3.1. Films not allowed to portray homosexuals
5.1.3.2. No mixed-race romances
5.2. Present
5.2.1. Discrimination is present in society/culture
5.2.1.1. Media reflects our culture
5.2.1.2. Media feeds our culture
5.2.2. Modern authors take their cues from the classics
5.2.2.1. Includes POC roles
5.2.2.2. But not everything that the classics did should be imitated
5.2.3. Media gives people what they expect
5.2.3.1. Includes POC stereotypes
5.2.3.2. What people expect is what sells
5.2.4. People love scandals
5.2.4.1. Minorities are easy to blame
5.2.4.1.1. E.g., Muslims/Middle Eastern people as a whole blamed for extremist/terrorist attacks in the US
6. Definitions
6.1. Discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
6.2. Media: the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet), regarded collectively.
6.2.1. Especially focused on movies, television, and literature