Rhetoric & Stereotypes - Research Paper Example

Rhetoric & Stereotypes Stereotype is a broad term which is generally used to depict a certain of people according to the general attributes which belong to this class of people. Because of this stereotyping many cases have arose which relate to discrimination. It does not take into consideration the individual’s personal attributes but rather the attributes of the group as a whole. In our society almost all the classes are stereotyped in accordance to their nature. And this can lead to negative thoughts about this certain class in the society. Efforts are being done in many countries to remove the stereotyping of different groups in this society. Stereotyping varies to every class in the society but here in this essay the four types of groups which would be emphasized are Politicians, tattooed persons, feminists and senior citizens. The tattooed individuals in this world are one set of groups which is stereotyped as per a single notion. These individuals usually have tattoos signed up on their body which can either be huge or small. But these individuals are stereotyped as per these tattoos. Usually it is thought that these individuals relate to people who are rockers, punks, brats, criminal or a person who has loose morals. The feminists on the other hand are women who consider themselves equal or superior to men. This set of individual argues for the rights of women in this world. These women are stereotyped on the basis of their behavior i.e. their hatred for the opposite sex. Because of this hatred these women are usually labeled as lesbians and chauvinists. Thirdly the politicians are one group of people which can be said to be stereotyped the most. The politicians are one group of people which is thought to be a con group which makes false promises to make up their way to the leading position. Moreover these politicians are known to be a group which excels in cheating and corruption. And lastly senior citizens are a group of individuals who are old and knowledgeable. This group of people is known to be stubborn and inefficient when it comes to completing tasks. These individuals are considered to be weak and not worthy enough to do some work. All these groups mentioned above do not tend to pose the same picture in the society as different stereotypes are developed according to different way of thoughts. The tattooed individuals tend to pose a negative stereotype usually. The feminists can pose both a negative and a positive stereotype. The positive stereotype created by them is related to equality which is long deserved by women. Politicians can also pose a negative and positive stereotype. It is dependent on the individual attributes that the politician possesses to make up the stereotype. Politicians are mostly considered as corrupt because of the views of the general population. The honest politicians are being stereotyped because of their corrupt counterparts. This creates a stereotyping image of the politicians in the minds of the general population which is true to a certain extent. And senior citizens can also show both stereotypes. Negative in the sense that these citizens are usually hot headed and do not tend to listen to others. Whereas positive in the sense in which these citizens can provide knowledge in areas of which they know better than the younger individuals of the society. Both the negatives and positive stereotyping of the senior citizens are also true as some of the senior citizens are found to be getting irritated very soon. Some senior citizens on the other hand are cool minded and tend to inform the audience about their past and history. The historic stereotyping of women was based on portraying this gender as weak, shy, beautiful, caring, sensitive and quiet individuals. They were shown as beauty objects with high respect. Most of the pictures used for advertisements were of plain, expressionless faces with graceful but least exposing dressing. Those advertisements were based on the idea that women are objects that must be looked at but not listened to. However, in recent years, such depiction of women is inexistent. Women are now portrayed as bold, sexy, stylish and strong. Most of the advertisements capture them facing the camera with no expression of shyness or confusion on their faces. Sexual stereotyping of women in advertisement is a great threat to their status in the society. Advertisements are more and more inclined towards using women as restricted to their home or if they cross this boundary, they are portrayed as always interested in a male companion and cut off from the female counterparts. This portrayal of women is disgracing and put forward a wrong image as a desperate group (Plakoyiannaki et all 2008) Many studies are conducted to evaluate the truth behind the claim of sexual stereotyping of women and revealed that sexual stereotyping has not only increased but has also developed strongly shameful at present. Moreover, researches also reveal that continuous portrayal of women in media showing a particular behavior, choosing a specific type of dressing or performing a particular kind of act influences the attitude of people towards women (Soley & Reid, 1988). It can be seen generally that the older citizens should not be stereotyped according to their nature. Same is the case with politicians as the general stereotypes about them are creating a confusion amongst the general population. The honest politicians face difficulties in dealing with their audience because of the stereotypes that have been created in the society. Women are being stereotyped in accordance to the wide advertisements that are being done to expose them. Most of the men now consider women as sexual material which can be used when needed. This negative stereotyping is creating differences between the feminists and chauvinists. Similarly tattooed individuals are being considered to be lost in their own world. Tattooed individuals in some societies are considered to be prisoners which may harm the integrity of a normal person who has never been to jail. People who like getting tattoos on their skin have to think before getting them as these individuals are being largely stereotyped in the society. Senior citizens also have to face a problem of being neglected in the society because they are considered to be irritated easily. Some senior citizens do not have such a nature and may prove to be helpful in guiding the younger generation. Different groups in the societies are being stereotyped on the basis of their gender, age, aspirations, and actions. But these stereotypes in many cases are not right and harm the integrity of the groups living in the society. There are many rhetoric statements which are known for the above mentioned groups. It is usually said that ‘senior citizens are bad at hearing and bad drivers’. However this is always not true for all the individuals. For tattooed individuals these rhetoric statements relate to them being ‘gang bangers and criminals’. And yet again such a statement is not a generalized statement. For politicians it is said that they are ‘cleverly dangerous’. By dangerous here it is meant that these politicians tend to lie from the people. And lastly the feminists are described as ‘unwomanly and guy hatters’. However these two statements are not generalized. The stereotyping which prevails against the above mentioned groups is somewhat justified too but it does not give a right to an individual to consider all the people of the same group to be of the same nature. The stereotyping which is done against all the other groups is also justified to a limit because a major sect of these groups tends to be involved in such actions which are mentioned while stereotyping. After reading and analyzing the concept of rhetoric and stereotyping, I have observed that no matter what you are, you have been included in groups and classes of the society. The stereotyping at times harms a person’s reputation just because other people of the same group or having same attributes have negative activities or perform negative roles for the society. The definition and concept of stereotyping is not limited to the social groups but this stereotyping prevails around us in many different forms, for instance, stereotyping in advertisements and media portrayal of women as sex objects and men as strong, determined and distinct parts of the society. Hence stereotyping, on one hand, privileges one group at the cost of the other group’s reputation. Bibliography: Ninvalle, C. (2004). Stereotypes. Toronto: Toucan Pub. Anderson, V. N. (June 01, 2009). Whats in a Label? Judgments of Feminist Men and Feminist Women.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33, 2, 206-215. Breazier, B. J. B. J. (1993). The relationship between stereotypes of aging: Self-efficacy expectations and health promoting behaviors of senior citizens. Stangor, C., Hewstone, M., & Macrae, C. N. (1996).Stereotypes and stereotyping. New York: Guilford Press. Plakoyiannaki et al (2008), ‘Images of women in online advertisements of global products: does sexism exist?’ Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 101-112 Soley, L., & Reid, L. (1988). Taking it off: Are models in magazine ads wearing less? Journalism Quarterly, 65(Winter), 960-66. Read More