STEREOTYPES: ​HISTORY, ​SIGNIFICANCE, ​AND ACTION

Stereotypes remain a constant presence in ​our community, despite efforts to diminish ​the unconventional bias’s of others. In ​order to reduce this prejudiced view of ​others, it is essential to educate ourselves ​on the history and significance of certain ​phrases and actions that can ultimately be ​detrimental to another’s overall well being. ​The aim of this article is to provide insight ​on the repercussions of microaggressions, ​stigmas and stereotypes, and reduce their ​prevalence in our daily lives. ​

Stereotypes about african ​americans:

Stereotypes about African Americans have been prevalent for hundreds of ​years, and date back to colonial times and early American history. The different ​forms of enforced enslavement have only reinforced the negative perceptions ​surrounding the culture and background of African Americans. Due to the ​immense and extensive history of African Americans enslavement, we will ​focus on one aspect of derogatory stereotypes curated by Americans throughout ​history, namely through marketing.


Racist depictions of African Americans have been a major part of America’s ​entertainment and marketing history. Images of the Sambo, Aunt Jemimah, the ​Sapphire, Jezebelle, and the Savage continue to pervade our community and our ​views on African Americans. It’s important to analyze and debunk these myths ​because of their harmful and degrading nature. Please note that this does not ​adequately embody the overall nature and abuse African Americans have ​endured.

Racial depictions

The Sambo was an image of a simple-minded, subservient, and docile black man who was content with remaining enslaved. By appearing like a 'happy slave,' who was ​naturally inferior to their white counterparts, this image was continually used as a justification for slavery. The stereotype that African Americans were naturally lazy and ​had to be reliant on their enslaver is most associated with this depiction. This stereotype is still prevalent throughout our culture, most notably through music, movies, ​artifacts, literature, etc.


Aunt Jemimah was an image of a black woman who was always shown doing domestic work, typically cooking or baking. Aunt Jemimah evolved from the Mammy image and ​symbolized the traditional roles a black woman must abide by. This image reinforced the stereotype that African women should only be confined to the kitchen and that the ​only work they were good for was domestic duties. The image of Aunt Jemimah was on all sorts of kitchenware items throughout many American households. This stereotype ​is still prevalent today and can even be seen in grocery stores, where the image of Aunt Jemimah remains on pancake boxes.


The Mammy was an image of an obese, independent black woman who was always seen tending to housework, further solidifying the notion that African American women ​should be confined to the kitchen. Often, the Mammy was described as someone who was happy to be in slavery and essentially had her life revolve around the well-being of ​her enslaver's family, most notably his children. The extent of racist depictions did not end with women, however. The Mammy was also always depicted as someone with a ​powerful personality and was portrayed as extremely strict with her children and even her husband. This ultimately reinforced the idea that black men are inferior and unable ​to exercise a sense of control around any aspect of their lives due to other’s strong, more authoritative demeanor. The Mammy was also portrayed as having only masculine ​features and was not seen as competition to her white female counterparts. Ultimately, the Mammy understood and was sympathetic to her role in serving her enslaved ​master’s family.


The Jezebel differed from other depictions of African American women at the time: a Jezebel was seen as fulfilling the white man's fantasy as a proactive and sexual ideal of ​what African American women should look like. The Jezebel often resembled a close likeliness to a Eurocentric standard of beauty, and the look of a Jezebel provided a ​justification and more of an incentive for white men to take advantage of African American women—the typical stereotypes of white women, who were portrayed as modest, ​compliant, and quiet. The image of a Jezebel contradicts that stereotype of how a proper, more "civilized" woman should behave and emphasizes a sense of inferiority of ​African American women.


Stereotypes against ​East asians:

While Asian Americans have reported less ​discrimination in housing and criminal ​injustice compared to other minority groups ​(Discrimination in America, Harvard ​Opinion Research Program, 2018), racist ​stereotypes and ideals about East Asian ​groups continue to pervade the mindsets of ​others. Asian Americans have always been ​the target of derogatory media depictions, ​especially through the film industry. In this ​section, we will delve into the different ​ways that East Asian groups have been ​portrayed and why it is important to ​debunk these degrading myths.

Stereotypes and Depictions:

Model Minority Stereotype:

Stereotypes and Portrayals:

The model minority stereotype is the most ​common stereotype for Asians in general. ​This stereotype states that Asians thrive ​better than others in the workplace due to ​their natural abilities in STEM fields and ​are seen as self-sufficient. While this may ​seem like a positive stereotype at first ​glance, the underlying meaning is much ​more severe: it undermines the talent and ​competency of those who have worked ​hard to achieve the goals and aspirations ​they may have. Overall, this stereotype is ​prevalent amongst Asian Americans and ​only fuels the negative perceptions about ​East Asian groups.

Many of the ideas that surrounding Asian ​Americans come from the media depictions. Asian ​men have, throughout history, been portrayed as ​sexually incompetent and unattractive, although ​this has begun to change over the past couple of ​years. Especially before the age of social media, ​male film characters are often seen as comedy ​relief and had an aura of inferiority and inadequate ​masculinity when compared with their white ​counterparts. Females are the opposite: Asian ​women are seen as sexually attractive and very ​feminine. This is partially due to the idea that ​Asian women are naturally submissive and ​subservient, which affects not only the overall ​individuality of East Asian women but also their ​performance in the workplace. Women are already ​at a disadvantage in the workplace because of the ​stereotype that women are “naturally subservient”, ​which disregards the skills and talent they have to ​offer.


Depictions in Film:

The films vary the different portrayals of ​Asian Americans that have taken place, but ​movies such as ‘16 Candles’ and ‘Full Metal ​Jacket’ reinforce these stereotypes and ​emphasize a sense of inferiority through ​conventional speech errors, provocative ​behavior, and incompetent actions. Asian ​women tend to have two common portrayals ​in the film: submissive and docile, or a role ​known as a ‘Dragon Lady Character,’ in ​which an Asian woman is described as having ​a physically and sexually aggressive demeanor ​and overall a mysterious and deceptive allure. ​This was commonly seen in the James Bond ​movies and Kill Bill franchise. There remained ​no personality or deeper character growth ​behind these stereotypical traits, which were ​often hypersexualizing and often aggressive.


portrayals of ​latinas:

The portrayals of Latinas in film and through ​other sources of media have been stereotypically ​different from other depictions of minority ​groups. These unrealistic ideals continue to ​pervade the Latin community in a way that leads ​to derogatory perceptions of the innate ​personality of all Latina women. Throughout this ​section, we will analyze these stereotypes and ​their impact through film, media and other ​sources that continue to shape our mindset of ​Latina women today.

Representation in Film:

Unlike other underrepresented groups throughout different forms of media, people of the Latinx community ​are portrayed as seemingly bold, suave, and hypersexualized. However, this is in no way better than other ​typical stereotypes that dehumanize the identities of minorities.


Latina women are known for their depiction of being loud and obnoxious, and are typically seen as sexually ​attractive. This is most obvious through the character of Gloria (played by Sofía Vergara) in Modern Family. ​The character of Gloria is the epitome of what is deemed “exotic”, especially surrounding her looks. ​According to the article, ‘Brain, Brow and Booty: Latina Iconicity in Popular Culture’, Gloria holds all desired ​physical traits of what is associated with Latin beauty. These traits include “red-colored lips, bright seductive ​clothing, curvaceous hips and breasts, long brunette hair, and extravagant jewelry” (Guzman & Valdivia, ​311). Furthermore, Gloria’s character exemplified some violent tendencies that were depicted in a light ​hearted manner, which only normalizes the idea that aggression from all members of the Latin community is ​common.


These ideas are not just associated with looks, however. These concepts also play into the stereotypical trope ​of a “Spicy Latina”, who is described as a Latina who is very easily worked up and has a confrontational ​personality. Overall, the idealization of this character in film tends to have some typically associated ​masculine-type characteristics, but generally the character has a large sex appeal and is clad in something ​revealing throughout films. This only further hypersexalizes the character and solidifies these common ​stigmatizations about Latin women.