The Importance Of Diversity In The Media

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Who we see, hear, and read on television, radio, newspapers, and in movies has a great deal of influence on shaping the attitudes of all individuals. The media construct the perception of the world in which individuals live. Unfortunately, when media representations omit or distort certain kind of groups it emphasizes even more all kind of stereotypes. How African, Hispanic, Arabs and Asian are portrayed in these mediums often stereotypes and reinforces negative images of each ethnic group. And the lack of diversity in the media has impacts on how stories are covered and limits opportunities for ethnic minorities in these professions. Privilege is the relative benefit that a group enjoys as a result of the discrimination or oppression of…show more content…
Rather than being obvious entitlements, privilege often takes the form of opportunities that are not available to those who are not members of the privileged group. As a result, the benefits of privilege may seem small, but missing out on them can cause serious setbacks and significantly narrow one’s horizons. Silence and denial are the primary ways that privilege goes unchecked in our society. One thing to keep in mind when looking at how privilege operates is that privilege, discrimination, and social groups all operate within interrelated hierarchies of power, dominance, and exclusion. Just because someone is privileged in one way doesn’t mean they may not be underprivileged in another (and vice-versa). It is therefore important to be aware of the various groups to which one belongs in order to be able to question our own participation in a system of discrimination and…show more content…
Consider some of the following kinds of privilege. Being able-bodied and without mental disability. Actors with disabilities frequently find themselves passed up for roles even if those roles are for characters with the same disability. Moreover, while fully enabled actors are often cast in roles as disabled characters, actors with a disability are almost never asked to play enabled characters. Individuals who are mentally enabled never find their status used as a justification for criminal behaviour in film and television, but we often see mental illness portrayed in exactly such a light. Male-identified, masculine individuals still hold a level of privilege over people of other genders. Another word for the systemic operation of male privilege is “patriarchy”. In the media, we still see male authority superseding others. Men continue to be overrepresented in leadership roles and as news commentators. Men, their stories, and their perspectives continue to be vastly overrepresented in video games, film, and television programs, both onscreen and behind the scenes. While often linked to sexual orientation and gender privilege, this is the privilege that comes with having a gender identity (how one identifies and express oneself in

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