Twitter has been buzzing this week with reactions to the winner of the Miss America beauty pageant being an Indian-American woman. Some shocking tweets calling her a terrorist and linking her with the 9/11 attacks have horrified people across the globe. However, the sad truth is that stereotypes continue to exist and even seem to be strengthening in it’s presence.
Women are often the victims of media stereotyping. Underrepresented, women face the challenge of having their voices heard as much as their male counterparts, and when they are represented, they are often portrayed as vulnerable and weak. Muslims are another group that are often misrepresented in the media, with all of them often being portrayed as being terrorists and extremists.
Now, Muslim women face the majority of the burden from media stereotyping, having to tackle the stereotypes of women, as well as Muslims. You’d think that the world is creating closer ties between different cultures through globalisation. People today are now more traveled and educated than ever before, and one would expect the gaps between different races and religions to become narrower. However, the infographic below shows just how bad things have gotten.
About the Author
