Gender stereotypes of Native Americans are also prominent. The male noble savage is often shown hunting buffalo or displaying expert equestrian skill. The female noble savage combines elements of innocent natural beauty with forbidden, exotic sexuality. Merskin (2010) examined the term squaw and its presentation in popular culture; she concluded media depict them as sexual punching bags and drudges.
In spite of the decline of ‘western’ movies (Larson, 2006), Native Americans continue to be presented in a historical context such as during the times of settlers. These depictions emphasize the ‘otherness’ of the native people, either by eroticizing them or dismissing them as a failed social group. Consequently, this discourse places NAs on the margins of modern society. Popular culture portrayals of Native Americans have not redressed historical wrongs (Pierson, 2000). For instance, from Seinfeld, a classic television situation comedy of the 1990’s, came the episode wherein the hero continually finds himself insulting the Native-American woman he wishes to date, using idioms such as “reservations” and “Indian-giver (Pierson, 2000).” In 2000, The Simpsons featured an episode in its eleventh season largely set in an Indian casino, which parodied modern stereotypes of Native-American insight and spirituality. Native-American women are still exotic and often the prize for the lead character that is usually white or black. Rarely are they in a starring role next to a male counterpart of the same race.
More recently, Lacroix (2011) examined examples from several popular television shows, concluding representations have not changed much. Native Americans on shows such as The Sopranos, Saturday Night Live, Chappelle’s Show, Family Guy, Drawn Together, and South Park include depictions of NAs that reference age-old racist stereotypes of the Ignoble Savage while simultaneously working to construct a new trope -- the Casino Indian. Lacroix charted the themes of this stereotype and concluded that while the Ignoble Savage of the past posed a threat of violence, the contemporary Casino Indian image poses economic and political threats. Findings demonstrate both racist and classist discourses. Similarly, LeValdo-Gayton (2011) discovered stereotypes of Native Americans in “Twilight” films. For instance, one of the lead characters, Jacob Black, is powerful, aggressive and loving.
For a new media perspective, Kopacz & Lawton (2011) examined a sample of YouTube videos relating to Native Americans. Findings reveal a number of promising patterns, suggesting that messages broadcast by viral video sites may depart from the rigid stereotypical depictions of NAs in traditional media and provide diversified and counter-stereotypical portrayals than those documented in traditional media (Kopacz, & Lee, 2011). Additionally, in contrast to mainstream media, NAs appeared to be central figures in the videos, the majority of the videos contained speaking NA characters, and far more speaking characters were native than non-native. Contextually, NAs were mostly portrayed post-1945, which moves away from the conventional focus on settlers’ times. In addition, media depicted Native people outdoors, just as in other media, but when architecture was present, it was mostly mainstream and the depictions occurred outside reservations.
Kopacz, & Lawton (2011) concluded native portrayals on YouTube are less contextually confining than they are on TV or in movies. The two most common stereotypes (the warrior and the princess) may be reflective of the lingering fascination with the exotic and romanticized view of native cultures still harbored by mainstream society. The findings of this study suggest that UGC sites provide updated, diverse, respectful depictions of Native Americans. As such, audiences can use User Generated Content strategically to promote native cultures and influence vitality perceptions in society. Given these findings, it appears that Native tribes can use UGC to alter vitality perceptions and empower their members to maintain group integrity, strengthening their place in the social hierarchy.
Suggested citation: Moody, M. (2011). Gender Stereotypes of Native Americans. Media Studies Overview. Accessed via http://miamedia1.blogspot.com/
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