Minds On
Understanding stereotypes
What is a stereotype?
A stereotype is an idea or image of a particular type of person or thing that is oversimplified and believed by many people.
What does this mean? Take some time to analyze this definition and put it into your own words.
Independently or with a partner, discuss the following questions:
- Where might we encounter stereotypes in our lives?
- Why can stereotypes be harmful?
What is gender?
Gender refers to a spectrum of identities that includes female, male, a combination of both, and neither. There are different aspects to a person’s gender such as gender identity and gender expression.
Gender identity is a person’s inner experience of their gender, how they feel on the inside.
Gender expression is a person’s outer expression of their gender, how they choose to appear on the outside.
Gender stereotypes in media texts
Many different stereotypes can be found in the media. We are going to focus our attention on how gender stereotypes exist in a variety of media texts and the harm they can do.
Test Your Skills
Brainstorm
Independently or with a partner, review the table of media texts below and think of different ways that gender stereotypes might exist in some of these texts. You can record your ideas in an audio recording, on paper, on a computer, in a mind map of your choice, or through discussion with your partner.
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Examples of Media Texts |
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Movies |
Billboards |
Television commercials |
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Internet videos |
Flyers |
Radio advertisements |
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Social media posts |
Books |
Song lyrics |
Action
Stereotypes in advertisements
Stereotypes can be found within every type of media text, including advertisements.
Independently or with a partner, spend some time exploring a variety of advertisements and analyze the different gender stereotypes that are portrayed. Record the stereotypes that you find using the graphic organizer below or an organizational tool of your choice. Consider the following questions:
- What is the message of the advertisement?
- Who is the target audience?
- How does this media text portray a gender stereotype?
Note the advertisements that you are analyzing and why you believe they portray gender stereotypes.
Complete Analyzing Gender Stereotypes in Advertisements in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document.
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Stereotype |
Advertisement |
Why is this a gender stereotype? |
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1. |
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2. |
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3. |
Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Analyzing Gender Stereotypes in Advertisements.
Highlight one of the stereotypes that you analyzed to use later in our Consolidation activity.
Discussing gender stereotypes
After you finish analyzing different advertisements for examples of gender stereotypes, reflect on your observations by answering the following questions:
- Was it easy or difficult to find examples of gender stereotypes?
- Did certain types of advertisements have more examples of stereotypes than others? If so, why do you think this is?
- What impact do gender stereotypes have on people?
- Were there any advertisements portraying people with gender expressions that aren’t female or male?
Consolidation
Gender Stereotype Presentations
Create a presentation to share with others the advertisement that included harmful gender stereotypes that you highlighted earlier during our Action activity. Think of a creative way to present your ideas. You can give an oral presentation, play a recorded presentation, create a visual presentation, or use the format of your choice.
Creating detailed presentations
Use the checklist below to ensure that your presentation contains enough detail.
Presentation Checklist
Have I included:
Be ready to share your presentation with the class.
Reflection
As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.
I feel...
Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.
When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.