Race, Representations of

Stereotypes

Discussion of humorous constructions of race necessarily calls for attention to the concept of stereotype. The set of beliefs comprising an ideology forms the basis for a stereotype that develops within a group with regard to an outside group. The ideology promotes a perception that all members of the outside group are alike in sharing a non-normative characteristic or set of characteristics that sets them apart as different from the group making the assessment. The targeted characteristics of a stereotyped group may be related to a range of human domains, such as physical features, behavior, or attitudes. Humorous representations exaggerate in foregrounding those characteristics.

Stereotypes in humor can be useful as a shorthand method of helping to convey complex issues and ideas, particularly in relation to social identity. For example, stereotyping is a useful tool for quick delineation of character types in stand-up comedy, where performers have limited time in which to construct characters necessary for the progression of a joke or narrative. A stereotype can not only help establish an instantly recognizable type but also influence audience expectations surrounding the attitudes and behavior of a character. The incongruity that is an outcome of exaggerating a stereotype may itself be a source of humor.

Stereotyping may be innocuous, amounting to good-natured teasing. The danger of stereotyping is that it often combines with prejudice, where ideological thinking allows individuals to take their own group as a normative, positive point of reference and form a negative image of another group based on comparison of the two groups. In forming a negative stereotype, the group making the assessment casts the outside group as either possessing characteristics that the assessing group spurns, or lacking characteristics that the assessing group possesses and considers natural and desirable. Negative stereotyping may serve the function of castigating and demeaning a social group as inferior and undesirable.

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