Name:

Written responses should be at least 1 full page, single-spaced, with care being taken to address all parts of questions.  Write your responses directly into this document, save, and submit via Blackboard by the deadline.

Complete In the following order:

1. Complete Baseline Survey: http://www.understandingprejudice.org/baseline/

a. Class: SocialPsyc

b. Class ID: 86019 or 86021 (depending on section)

2. Go to http://www.understandingprejudice.org/slidtour/show/ and look at the ads

3. Consider additional information:

a. This 1920 Aunt Jemima ad is an easy opening item due to its reliance on racial stereotypes. It also sets up the next item.

b. If a product logo has a racist past, can the logo be “rehabilitated” so that it no longer involves prejudice?

c. This ad clearly relies on racial stereotypes, but it also raises the question of whether it is prejudiced to show racial minorities in subservient roles if such roles are prevalent in society

d. This ad for “Prolong” motor lubricant uses a bikini-clad woman to reinforce its sexual word play. These elements can be used to discuss the relationship between sexualization and sexism.

e. Does the image depict a racial stereotype? Does it matter that the ad ran in a Black magazine (Essence)? And is the product name “Cherokee” prejudiced toward Cherokee people?

f. This cognac ad raises questions not only about Black stereotypes but about whether the product itself involves prejudice. Roughly half of all cognac in the U.S. is consumed by Black Americans, who die from chronic liver disease at twice the rate of Whites

g. This ad raises the question of whether using an exotic Asian female to promote Hong Kong travel is prejudiced if the ad is produced by the Hong Kong Tourist Association.

h. This beef ad says, “Enjoy centuries of Asian culture in 25 minutes,” leading many students to designate it as racially prejudiced. Fewer students mention prejudice toward animals (cows).

i. This ad for Animale perfume portrays a nude woman of color as a tigress. The stereotype of women as sexual predators

j. This ad for Diesel jeans shows two young men standing amidst women who are dressed in fur and confined in cages. Many students classify the ad as sexist; fewer notice the speciesism involved in fur coats.

k. This Perry Ellis ad is for men’s clothes, yet it features a topless woman with the caption “FOR MEN.” The sexism in this ad is easy to see, but the heterosexism is less often recognized

l. This ad is sometimes seen as sexist, racist, or ageist, but the stereotypic caricatures of dwarfs are often overlooked, as if dwarfs are not human. 

m. This ad presents fat people as undesirable and raises the question of whether weight loss products necessarily involve antifat prejudice

n. This Kraft cheese ad says: “Feel young. Eat a burger.” Students sometimes view this ad as ageist but rarely connect cheese and meat with speciesism

o. his Kmart ad for hunting equipment uses a macho-looking man holding a gun in a phallic position, which leads many students to see the ad as sexist. The ad might also be classified as speciesist for selling recreational hunting products

4. Read Chapter 7

In your paper consider and address the following questions:

a. What are your reactions to the ads?

b. How do you know when something is prejudiced?

c. Does humorous intent make a difference?

d. What if the targets of prejudice don’t see an ad as biased?

e. What if the ad is produced by the targeted group itself?