The Influence Of Stereotypes In Media

There are numerous stereotypes associated with scientists that come from media that children are exposed to. A study done by Mead and Metraux (1957) had 35,000 U.S. students draw scientists. Most of these drawings were of a white male who wore glasses, a lab coat, and had tons of facial hair. The men were also running their experiments alone. Studies that are more recent also showed similar stereotypes. One of the most prevalent stereotypes is that STEM careers are predominately male (Beyer et al. 2003; Cheryan and Plaut 2013). A study done by Nosek et. al (2009) that had over five hundred thousand people from various countries around the world, found that 70% of subjects surveyed associated science with men. One study had students (specifically middle schoolers) draw and describe computer scientists. They found that not only was there a physical stereotype – males wearing glasses, having pale skin, being unattractive, and having abnormal skinny body weight –but also a personality stereotype. Majority of the scientists were described as “lacking social skill”, not
Studies have found that when women are exposed to sexualized material and media it can increase the risk of depressive symptoms (Durkin and Paxton 2002), lower self-esteem (Grabe et al. 2007) and cause body dissatisfaction (Davison et al. 2000). It also leads to women internalizing the objectifying and sexualized messages in the media. This causes women to feel valued only if they maintains a physical appearance that is sexually desirable for men. This is known as self-objectification (Fredickson & Roberts 1997). According to Fredickson and Roberts (1997), Self-objectification may increase a woman’s anxiety about her physical appearance, increase body shaming (comparing her body to someone on the media that is culturally accepted), and increase chances of eating disorders and