How Media Stereotype Teens in British Media

¶ … media, British or otherwise, has been known to stereotype all groups of people, including men, women, the gay community, and racial minorities. Young people are no exception. In particular, racial stereotyping and body image form part of the media's agenda setting practices, mostly in terms of advertising products.

In the media then, women and girls are normally portrayed as flawlessly beautiful, white, and very thin. The impact on the body image of the youth is profound. Black girls for example are taught through this that it is better to be white and very thin than black and of a more normal, healthy size. Girls thus go through torturous practices such as continuous dieting to accomplish something as close as possible to the ideal image portrayed by the British media. Black girls and those of other races are also taught that they are somehow not as beautiful as white girls, which might lead to other issues such as hate crimes. White girls on the other hand are taught that they are only beautiful if they are as thin as models with faces as flawless.

In terms of agenda setting, the media uses this skewed body image forced upon the youth to sell overpriced products such as skin care, exercising equipment and clothing to make the youth believe that what they have is somehow related to what they are worth. The same holds true for the body image instilled upon boys.

The image of men usually portrayed by the British media is either that of an accomplished, confident businessman, or otherwise a strong, sweaty action hero. Seldom are the changing values of society reflected in this environment. Young men are for example seldom shown to display any emotion, and once again are shown to strive for the ideal of muscular body image. This is once again used by the media to gain profits in terms of products and services that cater for acquiring the body image so promoted.

In the British media, the ideal young person is portrayed as white and fairly privileged in terms of income. The young person's parents are portrayed as loving and caring, giving the child all he or she needs. This stereotype once again excludes many of the realities faced by British young people. The underprivileged classes for example do not receive any recognition by the media. Nor do the many ethnic minorities in the country receive the recognition they deserve.

This privilege is also related to the already mentioned stereotype of whiteness, privilege, authority and superiority. The agenda of the media thus is to promote the fact that white persons are somehow better or more "normal" than the rest of the inhabitants of the country. While enhancing the already existing superiority complex of many white people, this practice further reduces the self-worth of ethnic minorities. The impact of this on young people is profound, especially when violence and other crimes are considered. The privileges that whites take for granted in terms of being widely represented in the media could breed resentment, especially in the non-white youth. This may tempt them into practices such as gangsterism or other types of violent crimes that impact society negatively.