Media and Stereotypes- Good, Bad or Ugly?

This month’s Madison Magazine has a picture of an Indian doctor on the cover. I don’t know how I feel about it exactly. There are some great things I can think of that are associated with it; amazing things in fact. But to be honest, I also can’t help but feel some negative association with it.

For starters, what I really like about the cover is that there’s an Indian on it (I am a little biased), she’s successful, she’s one of the best doctors in town and she’s a female. Madison is growing in diversity, and having someone of color on the cover of the magazine shows the changing cultural landscape in the city. Madison is changing on many fronts and to be at the forefront of those changes is really unbelievable. When I saw the cover I have to say that not only was I very proud, but also very happy to be a part of it.

But then I got thinking. I started thinking about stereotypes and generalizations. I guess I was thinking about it on a more personal level. Growing up I had basically two career choices: doctor or engineer. For many Indian kids, these are seen as the only career options, and basically the only thing that will make their parents happy. Many of my college friends chose one of these two career paths. It’s become a running joke for most of us that we either end up as doctors or engineers. Some others might add gas station owners and cab drivers to that list of stereotyping Indians.

Our generation, more than any other, are trying to break those stereotypes. To live beyond the pressures of our families and try careers that we want to do ourselves. That’s what I have struggled with the most. I’m not going to be a doctor; I had no interest in biology in college and I still don’t. I like numbers but engineering doesn’t interest me. So to convince my parents that I didn’t want to do those things was the one of the hardest things in the world. I still get the feeling from my parents that that’s what they wanted me to do—my dad especially.

Whenever he hears of my friends going to med school, or something similar, I know he feels that’s the path I should’ve followed. But after many, many years I finally convinced him to understand and come to terms with the fact that I have no interest in science. Finally … some progress! And then my parents see the cover of the September issue. Those feelings come back and the “what if” questions start again. Yes it’s a little selfish as to why I wasn’t completely happy about the cover of the magazine, but then I started to think about other covers of magazines.

How often is it that when there’s a person of color on the cover of a magazine they are represented within their stereotypes? April’s Vogue cover with LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen generated some controversy. LeBron had an almost gorilla-like presence, basketball in one hand and Gisele on the other. Some likened it to King Kong and also thought it conveyed an aggressive black man—a stereotype with negative connotations. This was also the first time that a black man had graced the cover of Vogue.

It’s hard with the media sometimes, especially when it comes to showing diversity. If you show a person of color doing stereotypical things are you perpetuating the stereotype negatively, or are you encouraging the public to look beyond those negative aspects? I personally don’t think all stereotypes are bad. We use stereotypes all of the time. It becomes problematic when those stereotypes turn into prejudice. Am I going to think that black men are aggressive after looking at the cover? No. But why was he shown aggressively? Was it really the only way to show him? And to think about it, when I look at the cover of Madison Magazine, do I first look at the white coat or the person behind it?

The Big Apple, Not So Big

Recently I went to New York City for the first time. Growing up, I had always thought of the city as perfect: It’s big, there are always things to do, people always around; the feeling that you can always keep going without stopping to take a breather. Growing up, I thought that was exactly what I wanted. To me, it symbolized endless opportunity and hope.

Wow, was I wrong! I went to NYC and although I had a wonderful time, I don’t think I could spend more than five days there at a time. Not because it’s too overwhelming (because really, it’s not), it’s just not what I want from a city. It was dirty, crowded, the people were aggressive, prices were unnecessarily expensive, and it really wasn’t that impressive. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a wonderful place to visit. It’s definitely got positive factors and the cultural diversity there is amazing. I loved seeing such diversity everywhere I went; not just with ethnicity, but in culture as well. There were things there that literally amazed me.

The highlight? Hands down, it was The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was so incredibly awe-inspiring. I mean, they have a temple from ancient Egypt in the middle of the Met. To me, that’s insane! I can’t even imagine having something like that in Madison. I’ve been obsessed with ancient Egyptian history for ages and to actually see a temple that is over a thousand years old without having to leave the country is incredible. For the purpose of enhancing my cultural knowledge, I’d make a trip out to NYC every year. I don’t think there’s anything else like it.

While there though, all I could think about was coming back home to Madison. Maybe I’ve become too much of a Midwesterner. I like my big open spaces. I like walking down the street and people taking the time to stop and smile. I like it when I hear random stories from strangers. I like being able to walk fast if I need to. I like being able to drive anywhere I need to go. I like seeing clean streets and not black garbage bags everywhere (other than that dumpster diving day in August). I like having a big apartment and not paying twice as much for a space that’s half the size.

And that really surprised me. I’m not sure when, but somewhere in my many years of living in the Midwest, the lifestyle somehow rubbed off on me. And I like it. The only thing I’d like to see? Having somewhere that was open at three in the morning on a weeknight for satiating my late-night cravings besides Denny’s or Perkins!