Media+Paper

//Single Ladies//: Over-Exaggerated Stereotypes Gone Awry



There are many socially constructed stereotypes about females. The television and media are the main enforcers of these stereotypes. In most television shows, women are stereotyped to look a certain way, act a certain way, and talk a certain way. With the continued use of these “ideal” women, people begin to want to look, act, and talk like the “ideal” women would do. The show I researched was VH1, and I decided to do one show in particular that has a primary focus on black female stereotypes. But instead of putting the black female stereotypes in a good light, the show exaggerates on the stereotypes of black women. Although on the show, //Single Ladies//, the women gossip, work hard, have high expectations for love, and have a lot of drama, the show cuts down black female stereotypes to make women in general look stupid and foolish.

//Single Ladies// is a show about women and their drama. There are three single friends, and the show is all about their problems with money, men, and work. Each woman depicts a certain socially constructed stereotype. The only white woman is portrayed as a promiscuous mistress for the mayor in the show. She is rich and feels that she can do whatever she wants. She knows that sleeping with the mayor is wrong, but the character is convinced that he loves her, even when he is still married. In movies or in shows, white women are often times perceived as wealthy, dumb, and careless. Not only does the show, //Single Ladies,// include this stereotypical white woman, but also the show presents her under such a bad light, that it is almost like an insult to white woman. However, the socially constructed stereotypes do not stop there, but instead continue with the two remaining main characters.

The other two characters are black women. One of them is a gold digger and has trust issues. The show subtly displays this character as a typical stereotype of a woman. This woman has to have the rich doctor or lawyer, and in the show, if the man is not good looking and has a lot of money, she out rightly shows her disgust and walks away. For this character, the show exaggerates how the stereotypical woman would only look for men that are wealthy and good looking. They show does not even try to have the character hide her disgust, but instead choose to have the character show her disapproval without any shame. For black woman, there are numerous stereotypes. They are portrayed as loud, having no shame, and feisty. //Single Ladies// has all these stereotypes and more. Another of the characters is a beautiful, very hard working black woman who has high expectations for love and wants to get married. As much as this seems like one of the positive sides of the show, it is not, because the show twists the perspective that the viewers see this character from. Instead of emphasizing that this character is successful and has a secure job, they focus on how she does not have the ability to maintain and keep a relationship for more than a couple of weeks because she expects too much. The show twists the view of each woman, despite their success and positive points, to make them look foolish.

The show has a lot of drama, because the show puts a lot of twist on the characters. //Single Ladies// focuses on women’s incapability to keep a man in their lives. To show the reasons why women are unsuccessful in keeping a man, they use socially constructed stereotypes. They show viewers the reason that woman are unsuccessful is because they are gold diggers, promiscuous, and have such high expectations that it scares men away. Unfortunately, the show puts woman under such a bad light by over exaggerating a woman’s flaws to show why woman are ultimately unsuccessful with men. It is sad that the show portrays woman in this way, especially since not all women are gold diggers or promiscuous women. //Single Ladies// can be entertaining because of all the drama and love stories, but ultimately the message that the show is trying to get across is twisted, untrue, and full of socially constructed stereotypes.