The Jock: a stereotype that is
present in virtually every teenage movie. He is a good-looking boy who usually
engages in a team sport such as football, basketball, lacrosse, etc. The jock
is the alpha male of a group of cool boys who follow him in his every move. Despite
his personality, he is one of the most popular guys in school.
Character traits include:
*Aggressive
*Arrogant
*Unintelligent
*Abusive use of alcohol and drugs
*Sexually
active (with many beautiful girls)
*Bullies those less popular (such as nerds)
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| Harvey |
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| T-Birds |
The stereotype has several variations. For example, Harvey from Sabrina: the Teenage Witch is athletic and dumb but a genuinely sweet guy. And the T-Birds from grease do not engage in sport but are within the jock-stereotype based on populairty and intelligence.
The term “jock” is believed to go all the way back
to 1963 and is derived from the word “jockstrap”, an undergarment worn to
protect the male genitals while playing sports. Nowadays, the term is widely
used in Western culture and has created the negative stereotype of the male
athlete.
It
is a general belief that intelligence and athletic success are mutually
exclusive. This has fueled the generalization that all athletes are dumb. The
female equivalent can partially be seen in the dumb blonde stereotype (where
pretty girls are considered stupid). However, studies have found that there is
no correlation between academic and athletic success. The stereotype is
therefore based on false assumptions and portrays athletes in a negative light.
Other examples
from film and TV:
 |
| Nathan from 'One Tree Hill' |
 |
| Andy from 'The Breakfast Club' |
 |
| Jackson from 'Teen Wolf |
I hate to break it to everyone out their, not every athlete is dumb. We may spend a lot of time on our sport but we have to find enough time to finish school work too. Most athletes wake up early and go to sleep late just to keep up and excel at school. Athletes put in just as much work as the next person and sometimes we even have to put in more work. Not every athlete is like the ones you see on Tv or Movies and people NEED to start seeing the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I can agree. I've never been to an american high school, but where I live, the vast majority of jocks aren't dumb. On the contrary, when they aren't doing sports, they're doing homework in the library or just studying at home. The ones who don't work much are the girls, who powder their face with lies and blush, and spend their afternoons going into town to buy more makeup. Not sure if it's just where I am, but this comment is surprisingly relatable.
DeleteIf they're not dumb, then they don't conform to the stereotype and therefore are NOT jocks. That's how stereotypes work, dumbass!
DeleteI wear make up and date an athlete and I am not a dumb liar..
ReplyDelete