Crystina Castiglione April 20, 2013 ARE 6933 Globalization and Me Research Brief

Stereotypes of Gender Roles and Ethnicity in Contemporary Culture My globalization theme is concentrated on the stereotypes of various ethnic and racial groups as well as the stereotypes of gender roles within those ethnicities and races that are perpetuated by the mass media in contemporary culture. Inspired by recent bombings at the Boston Marathon by two suspects of Russian ethnicity, I was prompted to further explore the issues of stereotyping ethnic groups based on media portrayals. Since 9/11, many ethnic groups, especially of Middle Eastern descent have been categorized into this perpetuation of mass stereotyping. Many Western perspectives automatically clump anyone who looks even remotely Middle Eastern into a stereotype of terrorism, oppressed women, or Islamic extremists. The Known and Unknown There are a large amount of contemporary artists currently fighting to break these stereotypes down by addressing them through their artwork and challenging the viewer to fight these prejudices. All of these artists, as well as artists who are trying to break the stereotypes of other ethnicities, races and gender roles, are seeking to portray the individuals of their cultures as simply being human beings, and not part of a collective force. They want to be understood as separate entities that are not defined by their gender, their ethnicity or nationality. I believe Western civilizations tend to try and control prejudices based on cultures they know very little about, and stamp a label on entire cultures because of the actions of one individual, or a few individuals actions within that culture. This is the same ideology that propagates stereotypes within schools; students assign themselves stereotypes based on the actions of one or two peers, clumping themselves into groups without even realizing it and then enforcing the stereotype by acting in a certain defining behavior. Exploration of Stereotypes

Kimbriel Dean posted a blog on the cultural site Ignite Me regarding the gender role stereotypes her daughter is defining through influence from peers and school, My daughter is four years old, and she has clearly defined ideas about gender roles. She loves telling me which colors, activities and jobs are for boys versus girls, (Dean, 2013). This prompted her to investigate the way in which gender stereotypes are embedded in our culture, most effectively because of influences from the mass media, such as toys, TV, radio, online games and popular culture. Artists Taking Action Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Lalla Essaydi and Zena el Khali are just a few contemporary artists whose ethnicities are native of Middle Eastern Arab countries, and who are using their artwork to campaign against stereotypes. Al-Ghoussein demonstrates through his art how partial, stereotypical representations of Palestinians, Arabs, and the Islamic world appear in the Western mass media, (Haupt &Binder, 2004). Essaydi takes a more feministic approach to her photography, addressing the stereotypical gender roles of Islamic and Arab woman by challenging the projection of the Islamic and Western cultures in her art. Even more actively fighting the stereotype is Zena el Khali, who started a nonprofit art gallery called Xanadu* in New York to exhibit Arab artists in response to the events of 9/11. All of these artists see themselves as bridges between the East and West and hope to help citizens understand their cultures, ethnicities and gender roles within them more deeply. Impact in Schools I believe everyone is impacted by ethnic and gender stereotypes. This concept can be applied to just about anyone, and it is most often heightened at the high school age of students, because they are trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in. A Huffington Post newsletter states, Stereotype threat is like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students will live up or down to perceived expectations, (Bernee, 2012). Importance to the World and Me On a global level, we see how easily ethnic, racial and gender stereotypes can continue to be reinforced because of global mass media, news network media and digital media propaganda. Ultimately, the reinforcement of these negative stereotypes hurts the entire culture and keeps citizens, especially in the Western hemisphere from forming judgments with any validity. We are instead presented with a number of prejudices that are hard to break down. Its important to me

that we learn as a nation, and as global citizens of the world to view people as individual human beings, and not define them by terrible events that individuals of their associated culture may have partaken in. It is our job as educators to teach our students that you are not guilty by association, and that it is an invaluable trait to understand the cultures and traditions of others, but not to let them define them.

Bibliography

1. Eng, K. (2012). Beirut, I love you: Fellows Friday with Zena el Khali. TED Ideas Worth Spreading [website]. Retrieved from: http://blog.ted.com/2012/10/12/beirut-i-love-youfellows-friday-with-zena-el-khalil/. 2. Dean, K. (2013). Gender Roles in the 21st Century. Ignite Me [Website]. Retrieved from: http://ignite.me/articles/culture/gender-roles-in-the-21st-century/. 3. Haupt & Binder. (2004). Tarek Al-Ghoussein. Retrieved from: http://universes-inuniverse.org/eng/nafas/articles/2004/al_ghoussein. 4. Cheers, Imani. (2012, May 9). Q&A: Lalla Essaydi Challenges Muslim, Gender Stereotypes at Museum of African Art [Web blog post to PBS News Hour]. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2012/05/revisions.html. 5. Bernee, R. (2012, December 10). Ethnic Stereotypes in School: We Are All Part of the Problem. Huffington Post [Online Newsletter]. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/ethnic-stereotypes-inschools_n_2272873.html.