Class and Stereotypes

Class and stereotypes are as much of an issue in today society as they were decades ago. These stereotypes include the white nuclear family being the norm, a working class husband, and a stay at home wife. These stereotypes have changed- there are more minorities in the media and woman are starting to have their own jobs and steering away from always being the stay at home moms. In many TV shows, we see minorities being stereotyped- for example in the show Glee there is a gay teen who is harassed and made fun of at his high school. He cares about how he looks and dresses and has no trouble admitting that he is gay. This upsets many students so they make fun of him and call him rude names. This is very different than my own high school because students didn't make fun of minorities or people who were homosexual. This is just one way the media uses stereotypes to portray their ideals. An example of aspiration TV is the show Gossip Girl. I know that every time I watch that show I aspire to be in their shoes- they have very wealthy families and are able to do almost anything they want including taking spontaneous trips to Europe and being able to afford any University they desire. An example shows with a lack of aspiration is Jerry Springer, Maury, 16 and pregnant. People watch these shows for the entertainment factor, not because they aspire to be like the people they see on TV. I do think the media portrays shows clearly defining social and economic classes but I also think that these shows/movies and becoming more of a norm than just entertainment. They portray reality of how people actually live, not just how people want to see people live.