It's difficult, actually impossible, to look at any form of media and not see a stereotype being portrayed. Whether it's the feminine gay best friend like in the movie Mean Girls, or the mexican gangbanger that is part of the drug trade like in the show Weeds, these stereotypes are not hard to miss. However, as argued in the article, stereotypes are usually negative and only reestablish the idea of hegemony. With this said, the question is posed if stereotyping can ever truly disappear. As amazing as that may be, I don't believe so. Simply because hegemony is part of every society.
There will always be someone who has more power and stereotyping is used as a defense mechanism to suppress those not meeting the societal "norm." In our society we can say that our norm is the white heterosexual male. Anyone who doesn't meet these characteristics are stereotyped to demote their social standing. After all, if we portray every race, sexual orientation and sex in the same light, hegemony will disappear and that means that someone has to lose power.
As a society then I think our goal should be to bring to light the way in which we see "the norm" and to redefine that. Although stereotyping will always be prevent, we should take initiative and portray others in a better light. Especially with all the current issues this generation is facing like same-sex marriage and the changing gender roles, now is the time to educate and promote equality.
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