Media images, videos, and texts are re-presented, constantly circulating, making them seem natural or familiar. Circulating images impact public understanding. Furthermore, media is a powerful tool in the sense that it can frame, shape, or set limits on how an audience is invited to perceive groups, issues, and stories. In result, stereotypes, broadly circulating ideas or assumptions about a particular group, are enhanced through platforms in the media industry, creating a social disparity between gender, races, ethnic groups, and ages. Consequently, this exaggeration of the characteristics, traits, and mannerisms of people not only creates a divide between groups in society, but also causes many people to stress about feeling the need to be more conscious of their actions in order to stay away from their stereotype, whether it be race, gender, sexual preference, etc. Most stereotypes project negative impressions on groups of people and it insists upon absolute differences: "us" and "them", or "others". Stereotypes, including subjected gender roles, negatively affect the cardiovascular health of students, people in the workforce, and all of those who participate in the consumption of media.

Stereotypes, especially those based on gender, is not a new concept. Male-sanctioned norms of beauty have skewed the role of a woman for generations. Women have had to deal with unideal gender roles depicted in the media through forms of advertisements as early as the 1950’s. Often times many advertisements, articles and political comics show women with big breasts being approved by men opposed to women who are flat chested. Additionally, many TV shows, articles, and advertisements show women that play the role as “the perfect and obedient wife." They are forced to play fragile and dependent roles, which underlying promotes women to carry out these tendencies in their own life. The fashion industry during this time period also encouraged these anti-feminist views. Fashion advertisements with models that displayed an unrealistic standard of beauty created degrading cultural norms in the 1950’s and 60’s and have also carried on into today's society. Women’s clothes were more form-fitting and sexy, while men’s clothes had a more business outlook. This emphasized that a husband is the powerhouse of the family, while the wife only has domestic and motherly duties. As mentioned previously, these ideas were instilled in man-constructed platforms of visual communications. More often than not, these forms of media would portray marriage as the most important goal of American women, and would publically ridicule those who did not "fit in the box". The pressure to fit into this mold originally created anxiety and stress not only for our ancestors but also for the women and younger generations of the current age. 

Since the creation of the media industry and even more nowadays, many children grow old and become adults carrying out and playing a part in stereotypes, affecting how they present themselves and treat others. As children grow up, they bear these characteristics and project these ideas to younger generations, ultimately creating a cycle of false gender roles and stereotypes. Disney and Pixar movies, as well as other childhood films and shows, have instilled in young girls and boys false ideas in what roles they should perform in their lives and in society. In these movies, women and girls are generally portrayed as weak and in need of a man to fix her problems or save her from distress. Men and boys are generally portrayed as testosterone driven heroes who always save the day. These gender stereotypes promote girls and boys to look up to specific movie characters and emulate them simply because they are the same gender. When children watch these movies, the characters not only further create a divide between young males and females, but also in our society. Once a new Disney or Pixar movie comes out, companies spread the divide even more by creating merchandise due to girls' tendencies to go for the “girly” toy, while boys typically go for the “manly” toy. The way the characters in Disney and Pixar films look help create a "pink and blue world.” Since Disney and Pixar attract a big audience, it is crucial for their movies to portray gender roles as fair and equal in order to foster a new generation of unbiased thinkers, which in turn will create a "rainbow world." 

Sex-typing derives from parents who use gender influenced practices to raise their children, resulting in forced views thrust upon the youth. Parents that buy their children toys and other merchandise based on their child's gender make young boys and girls believe that the stereotypes these products generate are accurate. These types of parents generally buy their daughters frilly, pink, maternal toys such as Easy Bake Ovens, Barbies, American Girl Dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids, Baby Alive and princess' costumes. Likewise, they purchase violent, rough, and less visually pleasing toys such as Hotwheels, Call of Duty games, and Legos for their son. Furthermore, the toys aimed at a young female audience all center around domestic jobs: cooking, dressing up, taking care of babies, etc. Labor statistics suggest that childrearing toys, media, and TV shows use gender stereotyping to help improve companies’ profits (Kacerguis and Adams). Companies socially appropriate gender roles with their products by also making toys that are more pleasing to the eye for girls and tough, dark-colored toys for boys. When children request these toys from their parents, it subconsciously encourages them to live up to a pre-conceived gender role and certain stereotype. The stereotypes movies create alter society’s viewpoint for males, causing them to believe they should be tough and strong as well as hide their emotions. Likewise, females are forced to believe they should be very ladylike and dependent on a man. Statistics have shown that if business increased the number of females in management and decision-making positions instead of the “traditional female job”, i.e. a stay at home mother, then the gender stereotypes would decrease and help children grow to pursue a career they would want (Kacerguis and Adams). If more women had a part in the decision making, then the divide between males and females would decrease and help lessen the gender stereotypes in a society. 

Companies have found a major economic force in our society by using gender in advertising. Similarly, companies use race as a mechanism to appeal to a certain audience. In 1990, African Americans were the largest minority group in the US and spent over $170 billion that year (Brown and Bun). Statistics have shown that when African Americans are used in sports advertisements, they produce a favorable reaction the product being advertised. For example, Nike advertisements use famous African American basketball players and football players to attract more young urban males, rather than using a famous Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian athlete. Concurrently, alcohol and tobacco companies racial discriminate and aim their products at African Americans by using African American models in their advertisements. Using racial stereotypes, companies with harmful products aimed at African Americans emphasize the racial stereotype that African Americans are "hoodlums". Much like the youth and their gender roles, African Americans either embrace their stereotypes by living up to them in order to fit into what society thinks they should behave or acquire anxiety from constantly trying to dispel these stereotypes.  

Pop culture and the media are not the only platforms for circulating stereotypes. Stereotypical gender roles are exposed to children in schools too. Teachers use stereotypes to teach their students about a country’s culture and skew their ideas of the society’s culture. Language teachers exaggerate a society’s culture to try and help students grab a sense of norms norm in foreign countries. By exaggerating a country’s culture, teachers are expanding the cultural stereotype of a country and skewing their student’s ideas of a society. Not only in American, but teachers across the worlds are explaining culture to their students using stereotypes all over the world showing how common teachers use stereotypes to culture appropriate. Typically, foreign countries believe that all American Societies are all similar to New York or Hollywood and have a skewed perception of western norms. 

Not only do teachers use stereotypes to teach a foreign societies culture, but teachers also use gender stereotypes to know how to spend their time with their students depending on the subject they are learning. Teachers gender stereotype their students and expect more out of their male students regarding mathematics. Stereotypes affect performances of all racial and gender groups. Studies through the Implicit Associate Tests compared male and female second graders and how gender stereotypes influences their mathematical success (Cancer). In the United States, mathematics is a more male dominate subject causing teachers to help their male students more with math and making girls feel like courses dealing with math are not for them (V-neck). Teachers are combining cultural stereotypes with gender roles and influencing children to believe they can or cannot do something. 

If parents are stereotype consciousness it causes their children to be stereotype consciousness at a young age and their children carry out these ideas to their peers. There is a strong academic and social consequence of stereotyping in middle school children. When students learn their racial stereotype, it becomes an immediate stressor effecting their cardiovascular health. Once they become self-aware of who society wants them to be, students spend so time fixating on how their peers view them effecting their academic and social anxiety. Students over stress by either trying to fit in with their racial stereotype or try to impress their peers or by showing they are above their stereotype and have more to them. Studies have also shown among African American and Latino children who knew about their racial stereotypes negatively affected their working memory task (McKown). Even though racism and discrimination create negative stereotypes and stress for ethnic minorities, positive stereotypes also create stress for students. Asian students believe they must work harder because of their racial stereotype causing their stressors to increase. Even though an Asian student works hard to fit in their racial stereotype, the student becomes overly stressed about trying to become someone they do not have to be. When students see an Asian student, they immediately think they are not as smart as their peer and perform worse when the two are being compared (Faye). Students that believe they are supposed to follow a certain path and perform the way that people perceive them. 

Studies have shown psychological stressors can affect physical illness based on discrimination in the workforce (Faye). African American workers’ blood pressure rises among their Caucasian workers when there is an increase in racial discrimination (Faye). Stereotypes have a strong positive correlation with ethnicity related stressors. Everyone is vulnerable to physical and emotional threats if their group is associated with a negative stereotype. People’s performance becomes significantly impaired when they feel threatened because of their race or gender in the workforce. Minorities feel judged or ridiculed when a racial stereotype comes up causing them to affect their efforts.  

Media images, videos, and texts are constantly used and allowing them to have a huge impact about swaying the public to choose a certain path. Media is powerful and can virtually shape an audience’s opinion and issues and stories. Stereotypes create social disparity between race, gender, and ethnic groups by exaggerating or emphasizing qualities and characteristics of a certain group. Even though some stereotypes can be used to help a society, many cause a lot of stress and divide between groups. The media makes people more conscious of their stereotype influencing people to behave a certain way in schools and in the workforce. Most stereotypes leave negative impressions and societies do not need to use stereotypes in order to judge a characteristic.
