When we think about the "pictures in our heads" that media create and perpetuate, what images are we truly referencing? Issues of media stereotypes and representation (both past and present) are crucial to advancing media literacy. Media Stereotypes: From Ageism to Xenophobia becomes one-stop shopping for synthesizing what we know within the composite of stereotyping research in the United States. Utilizing a cast of top American scholars with deep roots in asking stereotype-based questions, this book is essential reading for those wishing to understand what we know about past and present media representations as well as those wishing to take the baton and continue to advance media stereotyping research in the future.
Winner of the 2021 BEA Textbook Award!

Andrew C. Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University) is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. He has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters along with 20 book projects, the majority of which pertain to issues of media content and effects.
Scott Parrott (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is an associate professor and Phifer Fellow in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. His research examines media stereotypes, focusing on the stigmatization of mental illness.

Preface - Introduction The Practice of Studying Media Stereotypes - Theories of Media Stereotyping Research - Consumption Junction: Content Analytic Media Stereotyping Studies - Experiments & Outcomes-Based Study of Media Stereotyping - Gender-Based Media Stereotypes and Their Effects on Audiences: The More Gender Changes, the More Media Representation Stays the Same - Black Stereotypes in the Media: A Continuing Problem - Stereotypes of Latina/o Populations - Constructing Youth: Stereotyping Young People - Stereotypes Based on Looks/Appearance: "Beautiful Is Good" - Media Stereotypes of Class and Socioeconomic Status - Coming Out in Primetime: Stereotypes of LGBTQ Communities - Stereotypes of Religion: Tired Tropes and New Market Possibilities - Stereotypes of Immigrants and Refugees - Media Stereotypes of Mental Illness: Nurturing and Mitigating Stigma - Positive Stereotypes and Counter-Stereotypes: Examining Their Effects on Prejudice Reduction and Favorable Intergroup Relations - List of Contributors - Index.