How Advertising Perpetuates Stereotypes

Goals

Use critical reading skills to analyze advertisements ;

Critique the ways in which advertisements perpetuate stereotypes around race and gender ;

Construct strategies for dismantling the harmful stereotypes advertisers sometimes try to perpetuate.

Brief description of the issue

A strong endorsement of gender stereotypes is associated with higher school dropout rates, for boys as well as for girls. These stereotypes are widely shared through advertisements, which children see basically every day. It is therefore important to put specific activities on this topic in place (like this one!) to break down gender stereotypes with children.

The Teaching Tolerance website has put together a variety of classroom resources in many social justice domains and on multiple topics. The mission of this organization is “to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy” by providing them free resources.

This lesson plan, How Advertising Perpetuates Stereotypes, according to the website, looks at how “advertisements do more than just sell products; they play a role in creating and perpetuating stereotypes as well. We can reduce the power advertisements have to reinforce stereotypes by teaching children to identify and analyze stereotypical messages.”

Click on this link to access the whole lesson plan.