Exposure to Stereotypes Essay Example for Free

Exposure to Stereotypes Essay Exposures to Stereotypes The following paper will be an informative paper about stereotyping and exposure. Children are exposed to racism, cultural and gender stereotypes every day. This paper will explain why it is believed that movies, television series, children products smears children’s understanding of race, culture and gender and the messages that are being transpired. Examples will be given on the stereotypes. Strategies will also be given. Included in this paper will also include my thoughts and objectives. Stereotyping people has been happening for many centuries now. Early as in preschool is when most people begin being stereotyped. The saying, â€Å"Don’t judge a book by its cover,† never seems to work because people take one look at someone else and judge. They judge them by how they walk, what they wear, how they present themselves, and then they have already stereotyped the person before getting to know them. When turning on the television many children are being introduced to many different stereotypes. The Cosby Show comes to mind when I think about coming up as a child. I somehow thought that this was the typical African American family. I learn a lot from this series however. This show was still on at a time when African American shows were unheard of to stay on a television station. It showed a wealthy family a dad that was a lawyer and a mom who was a doctor dealt with 5 children that kept them busy with school and other common youth issues. When I realize that my family was not the same I was devastated because I thought that all African Americans should be somewhat like the Huxtables Family. Moving along, when I became a little older my teacher showed my class a viewing of the movie collection of â€Å"Roots†. I was horrified but what I had seen. I thought that all Caucasians were mean because of me being exposed to racism in such a horrific way. Time made me so much wiser; it showed me that you cannot assume that all people of a certain race in bad just because a few people of a certain race made a very bad choice in life. Crying and yelling at night for about a week is what this movie did for me at that time. I had dreams of me being wrongfully mistreated and whipped. My mom came into my room one particular night and we talked about the situation. She told me that what I had seen in that movie was wrong but that it happened in a time were people were dealing with hatred. Furthermore, it was then that I realized that the media, music, books, toys, peers, adults, and many more all have either a negative or a positive effect on children. I also object to children being exposed or introduced to certain racial aspects of life. It is understood that we cannot protect them from everything but we can make a great effort a point to intercept the negativity. References: York, S. (2003) Roots and wings: Affirming culture in early childhood programs [Revised Ed]. Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ 120528-002549 Ticket#.