Ethnicity

Ethnicity definition- ethnic traits, background, allegiance or association

Ethnic groups- Representatives of several ethnicities were present  

Ethnic stereotypes

·        Asian people- Rich, business people, religious, have been portrayed as terrorists, good at making curry. Own corner shops. They have big families and they all live in one house with all their relatives.

v  Examples- the Masoods in Eastenders have their own business which is typical of a Muslim family. They own a curry place and are good at making it which is a typical representation of an Asian family. They speak in a typical Indian accent.

v  Indeed the Masoods have recently been praised as one of the most realistic "ethnic" families to ever have inhabited soap land, and certainly one of the few not to be subjected to the usual stereotypical storylines such as owning a corner shop, being subjected to racially motivated attacks, etc.

v  We have also seen Syed realise he is gay, this bends the stereotypical view of Muslim’s as they believe that being homosexual is wrong and it is forbidden in Islam

·        Gypsies-  usually Irish/foreign (Bulgarian/Romanian). We associate them with fun fairs, live in caravans, they take over peoples land sometimes destroy it. They make a mess and steal. Lacking in education. Wear vests and jeans and slobber everywhere. Women wear big dresses and hooped gold earrings. British/Irish travellers prefer to be called ‘Travellers.

v  Example- in waterloo road they moved there caravans onto the school grounds, many people were unhappy and they confronted them with conflict. It caused many problems and the police got involved.

·        Polish people: cheap labour, Poor, Have young families, Own kebab, chicken, pizza shops. Take all of our jobs. e.g. builders

v  Example- in Coronation Street there was two polish girls who Carla employed. They were both illegal immigrants and one of them died so Carla had to cover it up by hiding her body. The other one, called Vicki carried on working and no one liked her. She was a good worker and she tried to make friends. People began to like her after a while and she was then treated like everyone else. This shows that stereotypical views can be changed.

The Brown race- often the general term used to describe the category of South Asian races

Tessa Perkins- all stereotypes have a bit of truth about them which makes them plausible. For example, she said that most terrorists are Muslim but, not all Muslims are terrorists

Black people

·        Usually linked to black men

·        Crime

·        Living in slums

·        On welfare

·        Need help from community

·        Less intelligent 

·        Over sexual

White people

• Dumb blondes
• Greedy
• Materialistic
• Businessmen
• Middle/upper class
• Posh/ well spoken

Asian people

• Doctors
• Engineers
• Mathematicians
• Newsagents- small businesses – entrepreneur
• Ignorant
• Extremely smart people
• Men are threats to white women
• Insensitive
• Disrespectful towards women