Stereotypes and Representation

Stereotypes overlook the individual; place people in groups and their qualities are often "exaggerated" which leads to a caricature. In many instances stereotypes are used pejoratively by dominant groups to describe subordinate groups. For example, a french stereotype is that they wear stripey shirts, ride bikes, have moustaches, wear a beret and have a string of onions around their necks as shown in this picture:


Tessa Perkins said:

• Stereotypes are not always negative e.g. "African people are good at sport"
• They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful e.g. "politicians are money grabbers"
• They can be about one's own group e.g. "Because I'm English i drink tea"
• They are not rigid or unchanging e.g. goths turned into goths emo and greb
• They aren't always false e.g. lollipop ladies will wear a fluorescent jacket

Leon Festinger wrote "The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance". He argued that we resist adjusting our attitudes unless faced with overwhelming evidence against it. He also believed that we seek out confirmation of our thoughts/beliefs. This likes with pluralism audience theory.