Muslim Stereotypes Research Paper

Journal #3 In this day and age media is one of the main influences because every day we are exposed to whatever the media puts out. Media has the ability to sway decisions, create biases and create stereotypes. This can be good because it can inform people on social issues and bring light to the problems that are going on in the world and create awareness. Media can also create issues by creating negative stereotypes on a group of people that then creates a hostile environment for that group of people. What I mean is if we see a negative stereotype on a group of people we will act more defensive towards that group of people. An example that seems to be constantly brought up in recent media is the stereotype of Muslims.
As of late there have been an abundant amount of mass shootings and terror attacks by radical Muslims. The group taking responsibility for these attacks is the group ISIS which is the radical Islamic state that is the root of the stereotype we as Americans seem to have towards Muslims. Since ISIS has created a murderous image for Muslims we seem to assume that all Muslims are terrorists. This is a blatant stereotype and it makes life for a Muslim in America hostile and uncomfortable. The reason this stereotype was created is because the media reports on the terror attacks and emphasizes the fact that he people responsible are …show more content…
Some of the benefits are it can keep us safe. There are certain situations where someone can avoid a negative outcome by stereotyping a person, there is a fine line but this is a possibility for someone who stereotypes another. Also stereotyping someone can help you relate to them, this is most prevalent with age stereotyping. If you follow a stereotype of an age group you can possibly use that to relate to them. Another benefit is stereotyping puts people into groups. This can break down a society which can make transition into a culture