Breaking Stereotypes: Unveiling Gender Biases in America's Got Talent - Essay Sample

Introduction

America Got Talent often abbreviated as AGT is a reality television show that generally takes place within the United States of America (Harry, 2018). It primarily features a talent show competition across the US and is run as continuous production. The show is broadcasted on the NBC television network and individual seasons are predominantly run during the late spring plan of the network. This show has attracted a good number of talented hosts across its entire history, and the current host is Terry Crews.

America Got Talent is a comprehensive talent expedition that showcases artists, vocalists, entertainers, comedians, and various entertainers of any age competing for the top prize. This show first premiered in June 2006 and has continued to be in production over the subsequent years (Harry, 2018). The general genre for the America Got Talent is a reality television contest. Its central premise is providing an appropriate platform for individuals across the united states and abroad to partake in an activity aimed at exposing their Talent to the outside world.

Applied concepts

Gender generally refers to either of the two sexes that are male and female. This definition is mostly used when considered concerning social and cultural differences rather than the biological definition of gender (Ellemers, 2018). It is also used in other cases to designate a specific range of identities which do not necessarily correspond to the established perceptions of either being male or female.

The conceptualization of gender within the current social context mainly revolves around the issue of discrimination based on a particular set of predefined stereotypes. Agreeing to social brain research, a stereotype is respected as an over-generalized conviction around a specific category of individuals (Ellemers, 2018). These beliefs form the basic expectations that people often have about every individual belonging to a particular group. The aspect of stereotyping is a major social challenge, especially when coupled with one or another of the socially defined aspects such as gender. Stereotypes can also be comprehended as the primary cognitive structures entailing the beliefs, knowledge and expectations about certain human groups. These cognitive structures are often developed out of a pre-existing kernel of realities, but most often than not, they are distorted beyond reality. Another common category of stereotyping exists in the name of racial stereotypes. They entail the constructed beliefs that all members of a given race share a given set of characteristics. These characteristics have been the basis of discord in many societies because they are usually malicious and aimed at perceiving the other races in the wrong light. It can suffice to say that both racial and sex generalizations are a designated form of social evils that often results in the development of a mentality of second-class citizens.

Objectification refers to a particular notion that forms the basis of the fundamental part of the feminist theory (Bian, Leslie and Cimpian, 2017). It is commonly defined as the general attribute of perceiving an individual, especially women as objects. Generally, the primary focus in terms of objectification is channelled towards sexual objectification that mostly occurs in the sexual realm. Hegemonic masculinity commonly refers to a practice that focuses on the legitimization of male dominance in society—the subordination of the common male and women population as well as other marginalized perspectives about the male personality.

Critique of the Ideologies

Gender stereotypes abound in the reality TV show America Got Talent. They are mainly based on the fundamental contrast between men and ladies and are mostly translated into the stereotypical pictures of the female identity. The stereotypical differences between men and women are a clear reflection of the existing differences between the genders. Additionally, they are imperative on how members of each gender perceive themselves and consequently the treatment by the members of each society. According to Gerdeman (2019), gender stereotypes most often than not end up killing self-confidence among women. It is detrimental to the extent that it can cause ladies to address their capabilities. The individual’s beliefs about themselves are crucial pillars that help them to shape their decision-making capabilities. Consequently, the portrayal of specific attributes within a particular gender or individual is unnecessary and often affects people's decision-making capabilities.

The perpetration of gender-based stereotypes in this TV show seems to cut across all sides of the divide as certain male characters have been in the limelight for portraying somehow female characters. In the context of the present reality show a clear example of this negative type of stereotyping that occurred in 2019, where Benicio Bryant received immense attention based on his physical attributes (CHAWLA, 2019). Being a boy with a personality and looks of a girl is something uncommon in this world, and it will never fail to miss the eyes of the crowd. That is why a good chunk of the crowd often addressed him as a girl. This annoying incidence arises from the fact that people have a specific construct about how each gender should behave and appear in public. The damaging criticism cuts across all genders since there are also a significant number of females who take up male attributes, and society can never have enough of them. Thus, it ends up on the negative side of the concerned individuals since it mostly deconstructs their perceptions of themselves. This scenario raises a lot of concern and negative conclusion that America's Got Talent show is a stage for venerating gender-based stereotypes.

De/Reconstruction

The major transformation that I would implement in such a context is advocating for individuals to end their judgmental characters. The stereotypes mainly arise from the societal judgmental capabilities that focus on shaping people to behave similarly based on their distinct groups. Ending this aspect implies that the people will have to forego their narratives about the perceptions of each individual and allow people to be unique in their way. Thus, everyone will have to exist without worrying about either they're physical of behavioural attributes that make them unique and consequently subject to criticism.

Interpretation

The transformations will change the social alignments in terms of the individual’s perceptions of others and make the society a pleasant place. By adjusting the individual's perceptions of others based on specific identifiable characteristics, the gender-based stereotypes will gradually erode and eliminate the need to conform to certain unnecessary norms that often make the individuals doubt their personalities. The necessity of this intervention is based on the dire need to avoid overgeneralization of individuals since it is in the differences rather than similarities that allow for peaceful coexistence.

References

Bian, L., Leslie, S., & Cimpian, A. (2017). Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests. Science, 355(6323), 389-391. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah6524

Chawla, M. (2019). Is Benicio Bryant A Boy Or A Girl? Who Cares? | Talent Recap. Talent Recap. Retrieved 26 September 2020, from https://talentrecap.com/is-benicio-bryant-a-boy-or-a-girl-who-cares/.

Ellemers, N. (2018). Gender Stereotypes. Annual Review Of Psychology, 69(1), 275-298. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011719

Gerdeman, D. (2019). How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence. HBS Working Knowledge. Retrieved 26 September 2020, from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/how-gender-stereotypes-less-than-br-greater-than-kill-a-woman-s-less-than-br-greater-than-self-confidence.

Harry, A. G. (2018). America's Got Talent? Interrogating Students' Constructions of Musical Ability. The University of Wisconsin-Madison.