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Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized

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People around the world are suspicious about the information that reaches them. For example, the 32% of Americans who say they trust the mass media "a great deal" or "a fair amount" to cover the news fully and accurately ties Gallup's lowest historical reading, previously recorded in 2016.

Another 29% of American adults have "not very much" trust, while a record-high 39% register "none at all." The latest figure is the highest in Gallup's five-decade history of tracking these metrics by one percentage point and 12 points higher than the 2016 number, which came amid sharp criticism of the media from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, making the current assessment the grimmest we've seen.

Image credits: stefan_reevezsky

However, many believe the situation isn't that much better even if we take a step away from reporting. Last week, Reddit user Stefan_Reevezsky asked others on the platform "What things are claimed to be 'stigmatized' in [the] media, but actually aren't in society?" and folks have thought of plenty.

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#1

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Boomers, hands down

The vast majority of boomers are sweet elderly people who are nice to talk to. Not racist caricatures that spout nonsense all the time.

Turnbob73 , T Leish / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

198points

Aspiring Canuck 8 months ago

In America, the boomers gave us civil rights. A lot of them were shipped off to war in Vietnam against their will. Every generation faces its own challenges. The boomers had their share.

142points

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#2

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Doing stuff by yourself. Some people here get almost hysterical when they describe eating at a restaurant or seeing a movie by yourself. I guarantee you that if you’re behaving normally, no one else gives the tiniest of s**ts if you went out by yourself.

doublethink_21 , Oleksandr P / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

194points

Elio 8 months ago

I've met people like that and I don't get it. I do lots of things by myself.

72points

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We got in touch with the author of the post, and they were kind enough to tell us more about it. "I had this question come to mind while I was developing the storyline for a detective novel I'm planning to write," Stefan_Reevezsky explained to Bored Panda. "The protagonist in my story faces trial based on allegations concocted by a third-party journalist investigator."

The Redditor elaborated on their thought process, saying, "As I was brainstorming, the word 'stigma' popped up frequently, leading me to realize that many things portrayed as 'unacceptable' in popular media are actually mundane in real society."

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#3

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Blue-collared jobs sometimes are looked down upon in media, but in reality, skilled trades are often in high demand and well-respected.

Minute_Chemist7325 , Life Of Pix / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

184points

Lew k 8 months ago

I worked in IT for 16 years of struggle. It was bad for my body (ten hours a day in a chair hunched over a keyboard isn’t great on you) it was bad for my mental health mostly because the industry is always in flux. Layoffs are common, policy changes daily and when the company loses 10% stock value it’s do more with no resources and no days off. In 16 years I was with 6 different companies. I was only fired once (quite quit type of thing, I didn’t care anymore and was just calling out sick to interview other places because they wouldn’t approve pto anymore without a month of notice) the rest I was laid off, restructured. I work a pretty blue collar job now and I make more. Get to be outside all day and I could honestly make it through months never seeing my boss if I don’t want to ( my boss is cool tho too.) it took a few years to advance to the money I made in it but now I’m doing better and I’m on track for a good retirement because now I have not just a 401k but a pension too.

38points

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#4

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Men who are nurses. Nobody cares irl.

legoclover , Jonathan Borba / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

165points

Lyone Fein 8 months ago

All we want are knowledgeable and caring nurses.

74points

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"Take tattoos or piercings, for example. Despite articles claiming they're stigmatized, there's a mainstream culture around them, and most people outside of it simply don't care, except for certain workplace norms," the Reddit user said.

"The same goes for being gay, short, a single mother, a blue-collar worker, or dealing with depression or other mental health issues."

#5

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Maybe wanting to stay single. Media portrays it as a desperate cry for love, but in reality, it's pretty liberating!

Marvin2212 , Darina Belonogova / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

152points

Lew k 8 months ago

This one for sure. I was constantly seeking a relationship. It wasn’t until I spent a few years singing and being introspective about why my relationships failed that I was actually ready to be in a relationship. I’ve been married for 15 years now. I couldn’t make a relationship last 15 weeks prior. Do you and you might actually find someone who fits you.

23points

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#6

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Slightly niche perhaps, but my kids always had trouble buying Fathers Day cards for me because I didn't spend my evenings down the pub, fish or play golf.

hazps , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

150points

Jennik 8 months ago

The greetings card industry is determined to hold onto gender stereotypes for another century or so! That's why I always buy blank art cards (and I managed the card category for a major retail chain in my country for a while).

49points

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Stefan_Reevezsky tried to find similar threads on Reddit but they couldn't, so they decided to just post the question themselves and see what everyone thinks.

The responses were diverse, but from that the author of the post has gathered, "Western media tends to portray many things as stigmatized because people, especially young ones, seek reassurance by finding 'dragons to slay.'"

#7

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized I have to say wearing glasses and having braces. No one called me four eyes. No one called me tinsel teeth. Believe me, I was made fun of as a kid, but those weren’t the reasons.

tiny_book_worm , Samuel Figueroa / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

132points

Penny Hernandez 8 months ago

I was in 6th grade (11-12 years old) when I got my first pair of glasses. I go to school the next day, fully expecting to be called 'four eyes' but the boy who sat in front of me told me the glasses made me look very sophisticated. Made my day. Made the whole year.

101points

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#8

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Not wearing makeup. The media and Internet are full of all the pressure to wear makeup but I work with HUNDREDS of women and maybe a third of us sometimes wear lipstick or eyeliner? I can count on one hand the ones who wear foundation. Nobody says anything. Even the college president was barefaced giving a plenary speech and at commencement. There's no stigma for me wearing some color when I feel like it either. It's just not relevant to anyone's interests.

manycoloredshiny , tomateoignons / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

124points

Blue Bunny of Happiness 8 months ago

I have better things to do with my time and money than waste it on make up. If you enjoy it, then fabulous, keep on with it. Do whatever makes you happy.

49points

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"What better dragon than a stigma surrounding something you identify with or enjoy? It fits into our heavily labeled culture, where fighting for a label becomes a narrative akin to classic Hollywood underdog stories. People who lack substantial identity often cling to these labels, supporting media that reinforces their perceived battles," the Redditor added.

"It struck me as odd that no one had posed this question before, considering the multitude of responses I received. Perhaps it's because admitting that some stigmas don't exist is itself stigmatized."

#9

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Karens. Hear me out!! It went from being a thing of recording and judging actually rude and often racist women who complain just to complain. But as more videos popped up, people are recording and sensationalizing situations where if you were in her shoes, you'd be mad too! Karen isn't synonymous with "old lady you find annoying".

theaterwahintofgay , Tirachard Kumtanom / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

103points

Multa Nocte 8 months ago

I have several friends named Karen who are lovely and this trope irritates me.

57points

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#10

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Being Average looking, it seems like social media loves to see *supermodel like people* and forget that most of the public is average and or unattractive sometimes, and that's alright. I like that there are more people on social media that are vocalizing this issue and letting us know that normal is ok, Flawed is ok. ( No shade to attractive people, they're beautiful and everyone loves to look at them but my point is they are not the only ones that exist).

Wanttodate1995 , Adrienn / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

101points

BoredPossum 8 months ago

I have problems telling faces apart so I love people with unusual features.

44points

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There was a study where researchers analyzed 41 movies that had been released between 1990 and 2010 for depictions of schizophrenia. Based on the findings of the analysis, they drew several conclusions, including:

Most of the characters displayed "positive" symptoms of schizophrenia, with delusions being featured most frequently, followed by auditory and visual hallucinations;
The majority of characters displayed violent behavior toward themselves or others;
Nearly one-third of violent characters engaged in homicidal behavior;
About one-fourth of the characters committed suicide;
The cause of schizophrenia was infrequently noted. However, in about one-fourth of the movies it was implied that a traumatic life event for the character had been a significant factor;
Of the movies that alluded to or showed mental illness treatment, psychotropic medications were most commonly portrayed.

Other studies have also discovered that 75% of depictions of mental illness in popular video games are negative or stereotyped.

#11

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Enjoying pineapple on pizza. It's the secret handshake of the culinary brave.

NotThatTypeFruit , Augustinus Martinus Noppé / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

98points

Michal Pifko 8 months ago

I never understood this one. It's not like someone is forcing people to eat Hawaiian pizza, so what's the deal if someone likes it?

62points

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#12

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Couples with very different attractiveness. Happens all the time irl and nobody actually says stuff.

Redqueenhypo , Tan Danh / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

93points

axle f 8 months ago

....that's not stigmatized, it's criticized as unrealistic in tv & movies because it's an over used trope.

24points

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These portrayals are not only incorrect but damaging because they spread myths about mental Illness. Schizophrenia is often painted with symptoms such as visual hallucinations, bizarre delusions, and disorganized speech, and they're presented as if they're commonplace. In reality, however, symptoms like decreased motivation, poverty of speech, and flat affect are more common. And this is just one example of how media portrayals can threaten to (re)shape societal perceptions and contribute to harmful stereotypes.

#13

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Going to college when you're older..theres tins of adults over 35 trying to reinvent themselves..theres even an old guy who made school a lifelong career.

Professional-Truth39 , Mikhail Nilov / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

92points

mandy the capibara 8 months ago

My oldest classmate in uni was 88. She was lovely and just wanted to get a bachelor in Philosophy.

32points

Eroe Infinito 8 months ago

Mine was 68. She was also a lovely young lady. She was going to college for her son and to achieve a lifelong dream.

4points

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Jackson 8 months ago

I taught at university for 5 years. The big difference I saw in older students, people who had been working for a few years, is that many of them were more efficient than younger students. Many would see faster, easier ways to do assignments rather than reinventing the wheel, and most would do assignments as soon as they had the information and time they needed to do the work rather than waiting until the last minute and hoping that nothing comes up that will make them late. I assume this difference is a result of experience with life.

4points

Amy Smith 8 months ago

When I was at uni one of the most popular people on our course was a 70 year old retired doctor called Stephen, what that man didn't know about the Romans wasn't worth asking. He was just taking another degree as a hobby in his retirement, still goes on digs and does some consulting today. Awesome guy!

4points

Idgafwyt AllDat'N'ABagOfChips 8 months ago

This is my current life, I'm back in school at 38 years old and working towards my Bachelors degree. In 2018 I was finishing up my nursing degree, even took my final final, when we learned that the school I was attending, had lost its accreditation with the state board of nursing. So we were all pretty much screwed, all the time, money and stress, was all for not. So now I'm back in school at a University, that I commute to, 2.5 hours away and I refer to myself as the dinosaur. 🦕🦖😂 Imo you're never too old to learn. For the most part my classmates have been great.

3points

MP 8 months ago

As your fellow 38 year old, I felt so much love and support for you hearing about your continued education! But calling yourself a dinosaur at only 38 is so cringe and unnecessarily self deprecating when you’re simply just oldER than your classmates. Not dinosaur old. Ew.

0points

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Powerful Katrinka 8 months ago

I was 63 when I started graduate school in clinical mental health counseling. It was a huge advantage.

3points

censorshipsucks 8 months ago

I only finished university at like 45 or something.

2points

Corvus 8 months ago

We've had some older student around here and they are doing fine. In fact, we can usually expect them to be more responsible and reasonable than the youngsters :P

2points

Rayne OfSalt 8 months ago

Why are you keeping adults over 35 in tins? That's not right. Let them out!

1point

Aspiring Canuck 8 months ago

So much to learn.

1point

Becca not Becky 8 months ago

I was 22 when I started nursing school. About half my classmates were older than me, some even had kids around my age. I've heard of people going to med school in their 50s. Don't let your age ruin your ambitions

0points

Lena Flising 8 months ago

A bit of a side-note; learning to drive when you're older. I got my driver's licence earlier this year, at 54.

0points

Kristal 8 months ago

"Old guy who made school a lifelong career" aka, professors

0points

Elizabeth 8 months ago

I was once in a class with both a man and his daughter

0points

BarkingSpider 8 months ago

I'm 40 and in school. I'm so grateful for online classes though.

0points

Julius Zuke 8 months ago

I did well in college because I was around older, mature students a lot. Colleges need to recruit older people as role models for the younger students.

0points

Dainty72 8 months ago

I must admit at 52 I enjoy learning. I got bullied badly throughout my school life and it's affected me all my life. I didn't learn a thing at school, because all I worried about was what might happen in between lessons. Awful. I love learning things about our universe, history and all general knowledge. I'm quite clever but I wished I knew then, what I know now. I raised 3 daughters alone and I'm so proud of them! I should give myself a break because It's hard and had my youngest go through the same as me, but she's a beautiful soul and doing fantastic and successful like my first two girls. I did really great with them and I should take this in more. Someone told me today that I've done amazing with those girls, I just need to let that sink in. It really made my day!

0points

Steve Hall 8 months ago

Some people just like to learn.

0points

BookFanatic 8 months ago

I went to community college and the best thing about it was having classmates of different ages. Learned as much from them as I did from the professors!

0points

Kira Okah 8 months ago (edited)

Had a classmate who was in his early 70s. He was lovely, looking for something to do in retirement, we helped each other study.

0points

Captain McSmoot 8 months ago

I just feel bad for all those adults who were once stuck in tins. I'm glad they were set free and are roaming the world whilst seeking a degree.

0points

Auntriarch 8 months ago

My goddaughter had three years working before going to university, was not amused that she counted as a mature student. Obviously I wound her up about it at every opportunity...

0points

Pamelot 8 months ago

My cousin was a "career student". She had multiple impressive degrees!

0points

Stardust she/her 8 months ago

In my country it’s actually very stigmatised except in cases where they were from rural areas. It’s considered shameful here if you don’t go to college and get a job

0points

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#14

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Being short (as a man). Especially online, people have made such a mountain out of this particular molehill over the last few years. I've never met a woman who strictly dates men 6' and up, and my short mates get plenty of action.

DifficultMath7391 , Filip Rankovic Grobgaard / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

88points

Polterbean 8 months ago

The most important thing to me is to be just a cool person, I don't care about the height!

28points

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#15

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Recent trend seems to be the “blue bubble/green bubble” debate with iPhones and Androids. People apparently HATE green bubbles and refuse to communicate with anyone if they have to send green bubble text messages.

Have not met a single soul in person or even online who gives a s**t.

swanny246 , Cup of Couple / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

83points

Lyone Fein 8 months ago

What is this even about?

54points

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#16

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Inlaws, most people I know get on pretty well with their inlaws.

anon , Ivan Samkov / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

81points

Leila 8 months ago

My mother in-law was a wonderful woman. She treated me like one of her own even after her son and I separated.

31points

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#17

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Everything.

The media likes to blow things well out of proportion to get a good story for people to follow and talk about.

Most of the time, it's because of the media that many big problems are as "big" as they are.

closetmangafan , Mizuno K / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

80points

Green Tree 8 months ago (edited)

I've gotten completly off of TV news for this reason. I check the print headlines each day and read a couple articles on the main actual news events of the day and then move on with my life. I'm done mentally participating in the constant generated outrage.

24points

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#18

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Dads going to parks alone with their children.

Lefaid , Anete Lusina / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

80points

Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 8 months ago

Since when has this been stigmatised? I used to do this all the time with my daughter, and there were often other dads with their kids. No one ever took the slightest bit of notice.

30points

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#19

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Avocado toast.

motivatedsinger , Lisa Fotios / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

68points

James016 8 months ago

If you give up this and the lattes you can afford to buy a home in about 400 years time

45points

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#20

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized High school stereotypes, they scared the s**t out of me until I got to high school.

Free_Ad3119 Report

Final score:

66points

Marianne 8 months ago

I'm German, but I participated in a school exchange with a school in Texas. I knew all the stereotypes from the movies, but the real thing was nothing like it. My pal had a diverse friend group that included "popular" types and nerds alike, just like peole with different ethnicities and backgrounds.

22points

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#21

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized There are a lot of posts here saying "Normalize eating out/getting coffee/seeing a movie alone."
Seriously, no one cares. Do those things, they are normal.

rsm2000 , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

64points

Amy Smith 8 months ago

Best way to see a film is alone sometimes

13points

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#22

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Being a nerd. Yeah nerdiness might get you bullied in school depending, but a lot of nerd culture has just become part of...well, culture. I find this most annoying with elder millennials who still act like they're some sort of oppressed elite because the dare to like Mario.

phillillillip , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

56points

Multa Nocte 8 months ago

"Elder millennials"?

13points

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#23

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Having freckles. When the fake freckles makeup trend was taking off, tons of people came out of the woodwork to complain about how “unfair” it was that they got teased for having freckles and now it’s a trend. I’m sorry, but unless you were physically and socially perfect in the eyes of your peers in elementary school, you probably got bullied for something arbitrary. For me, it was my big ears. I’m not going to sit here and whine about people stretching their ears and making them bigger. It’s such a fake problem.

IrwinLinker1942 , Mehmet Altıntaş / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

56points

BoredPossum 8 months ago

Freckles are awesome.

22points

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#24

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Nuclear power has been stigmatized by the environmentalists and now guess what… it appears to be reliable, very cost effective and to date the safest form of energy.

Phoroptor22 , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

55points

Lyone Fein 8 months ago

Anything that produces tons of radioactive waste that won't deteriorate for centuries is not safe.

25points

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#25

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized (Celebs) being gay (in western europe)

Most of us don't give a s**t.

SpidermanBread , Alexander Grey / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

54points

Mark 8 months ago

Most of us just don’t care at all

28points

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#26

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Not wanting to have kids. Besides direct family members(which I mean, kinda makes sense why your parents and grandparents might want you to have kids of your own), it seems like the stigma of not wanting kids is extremely overblown. I tend to see WAY more posts and media about people feeling special/rebellious for not wanting kids than I ever see for others demanding that people have children outside of fringe alt-right types, and they tend to only want "certain people" to have more kids.

The "no kids forever" crowd seem to be like inverted vegans, they actually do bring it up all the time and act as if they are hated for their choice when in reality the vast majority of people don't care or see the benefits of said choice.

GiggaGMikeE , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

52points

Jason 8 months ago

I have kids, don't care if other people do or don't. It's their business not mine

24points

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#27

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Discussing mental illness. "X illness is taboo to talk about. We need to talk more about X." It isn't taboo and in fact it's now trendy to wear your particular flair of mental illness with pride.

DukeAsriel , Becca Correia / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

49points

Thor Haugen 8 months ago

It's obviously OK to talk about mental illness in an appropriate context, but there should be the same boundaries as talking about physical illness. You don't go up to someone and say, "Hi, I have diabetes."

63points

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#28

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Voting for the other party.

I blame the news for the political divide.

Animegx43 , Edmond Dantès / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

48points

Lyone Fein 8 months ago

The US needs more than 2 major political parties.

71points

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#29

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Wearing socks with sandals—media might mock it, but let's be real, comfort is always in style, even if it's not runway-ready!

Exciting-Border-9920 , John Tekeridis / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

44points

Corvus 8 months ago

I think the "problematic" combo is white socks + sandals.

36points

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#30

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Media acts like the internet is just cyberbullying, predators, scams, and dangerous/illegal Tik Tok trends.

They also act like a 12yo playing GTA is suddenly gonna want to actually steal cars and shoot people.

Avicii_DrWho , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

40points

Nadine Debard 8 months ago

Internet is a tool. Every tool has its inherent dangers. You wouldn't let a kid play alone with a drill or a power saw.

32points

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#31

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Saying Merry Christmas.

Brickwater , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

21points

Corvus 8 months ago

Some of the crazier conservatives came up with an imaginary "war on Christmas" and have been grasping at this long-debunked narrative for years. The truth is that other seasonal holidays are celebrated too, and that's what "triggers" them so much. They are basically angry that they cannot force Christmas as being the *only* holiday that's allowed to be celebrated.

10points

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#32

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized I'm a dude. Grew up rather sheltered and had to follow all the rules.

Recently I questioned my entire existence and long story short my self esteem is getting fixed and I have purple hair, piercings and painted nails, usually with a cute little pattern like lightning or something.

My parents are old world Indian, they aren't able to process that I can get high level corporate jobs looking slightly punk. I have a tattoo full sleeve but apart from classy earrings and nail polish and purple hair you don't see anything even remotely non corporate. Except maybe backpack instead of briefcase. Because duh.

ss0889 , RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

21points

Jennik 8 months ago

" I have a tattoo full sleeve but apart from classy earrings and nail polish and purple hair you don't see anything even remotely non corporate." Hmm - I'm not sure the nail polish and purple hair are giving off corporate vibes either! I'm not judging - I'm an older female with a scarlet and blue mullet (the colour changes every few months) and have had corporate(ish) jobs until just recently.

15points

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#33

Being from Ireland, use of the word "c**t" in everyday parlance.

It's like kryptonite to Americans...

DeathJester24 Report

Final score:

17points

Fora Nakit 8 months ago

LOL. I can see a bunch of people turning like a meerkats to the OP in disbelief of what did they just hear

9points

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#34

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized The "bad guy" in a lot of relationship movies is often the one everyone goes for in real life whereas the protagonist is often who people avoid

the villain is often the stiff, responsible, high power job guy

the hero is often some free spirit, quirky type, no life plan, extremely expressive, etc.

f_ranz1224 , KoolShooters / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

16points

axle f 8 months ago

....maybe someone shud have explained the meaning of the word stigmatized? this is ridiculous...

9points

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#35

Older women dating younger men.

figgleswag Report

Final score:

16points

The Doom Song 8 months ago

I think it depends on the age difference. There is 7 years between me and my partner (he's younger) I think it's weird if the other person is old enough to be your kid or grandkid but hey that's just me.

16points

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#36

Periods.

Final score:

16points

axle f 8 months ago

Commas? Semi colons? Question marks?

30points

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#37

It’s a mixed bag. Everything has varying levels of stigma. For example, mental health, we are now at a place in society where we can talk about it and some people will call you a fruit loop, as I was called once, and some people will shower you in empathy and support, as I once received.

So is mental illness stigmatized? Eye of the beholder.

XChrisUnknownX Report

Final score:

15points

Corvus 8 months ago

Imagine being asked what illness you have, and you grimly reply "Eye of the Beholder."

5points

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#38

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized The use of the word "f**k".

Karash770 , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

13points

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 8 months ago

I refuse to get behind this one.

15points

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#39

Speaking 2 languages. Maybe it was 50 years ago but now bilingual speakers just adopt that oppression. I’ve never heard it not been praised.

back_to_the_homeland Report

Final score:

12points

Corvus 8 months ago

Learning foreign languages is always a useful thing, especially in today's connected world... and yes, actually knowing a language always trumps using machine translation, no matter how good (or AI-powered) it may be.

4points

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#40

“Plain” girls.

debtopramenschultz Report

Final score:

11points

axle f 8 months ago

...*mountainous* girls. *seaside* girls. *forest* girls. *desert* girls. Hm.

16points

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#41

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized I would say it's having tattoos, piercings, etc. If people around are split 50/50 - those who just glance and those who don't care - it doesn't mean that there is a stigma.

stefan_reevezsky , Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

10points

SadieCat17 (she/her) 8 months ago

This comment was definitely made by someone who doesn't have bold tattoos/piercings lmao

10points

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#42

Bullying, unfortunately. Despite all the negative coverage, anti-bullying campaigns, and other efforts to tamp it down, bullying will always occur in some form with the perpetrators tending to be among the more popular persons within social groups.

Specialist_Heron_986 Report

Final score:

10points

Rachel Pelz 8 months ago

Wait a minute, are saying that bullying is stigmatized by the media but is OK irl?

1point

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#43

Nudity.

nathan__1409 Report

Final score:

9points

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 8 months ago

*grabs bandaids for all the nipples*

16points

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#44

Owning a firearm

Everyone with a gun isn’t a racist militia redneck or a black inner city gangbanger.

sardoodledom_autism Report

Final score:

7points

Nadine Debard 8 months ago

And being a 'good person' doesn't prevent you from being shot because you pulled out a gun, and it doesn't prevent your kids to accidently kill someone, including themselves, if not correctly secured.

20points

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#45

Being conservative or voting Republican.

Turn on any streaming tv show or movie and you'd think nobody in America is right of center.

Lurko1antern Report

Final score:

5points

BoredPossum 8 months ago

Watching from Europe, you have no middle. Your two major parties are far right or right.

19points

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#46

Christians.

sadferrarifan Report

Final score:

3points

BoredPossum 8 months ago

I know a guy named Christian. He's all right.

13points

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#47

Diversity in general (sexuality, ethnicity, gender). When I see some articles and videos about this it sometimes feels like a parody. I've never seen discrimination in real life being that much of a problem on a scale that media shows. Of course, there are some cases when it's a problem and I don't try to marginalize it, but society nowadays isn't really that racist/homophobic/sexist like the media portrays it (I'm not talking about countries where it's a big issue still, but USA or Europe for example where this problem is really not that common).

LuxelleG Report

Final score:

3points

Poppy 8 months ago

Just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. LGBTQIA+ people are still at higher risk of physical harm than straight people. Racism is still a huge deal especially in the US and in the UK.

13points

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#48

Media Myths: 30 Things People Believe Are Incorrectly Portrayed As Stigmatized Being a traditional nuclear family.

skywalker777 , Анастасия Триббиани / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

1point

axle f 8 months ago

...is stigmatized? GTFOoudda here..

11points

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#49

African American representation in media. .

Remarkable_Tank6615 Report

Final score:

0points

axle f 8 months ago

....is stigmatized "how" exactly?

9points

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#50

I do not think promiscuous women are judged that much.

At a certain age, people start thinking you are odd if you never smoked pot, been drunk, or had sex with more than one person.

People talk down to you like a child if you are sexually inexperienced.

American culture is not prudish at all.

I do not even think people are all that judgmental of people's sexual behavior.

Then again, I live in a liberal part of the country.

IglesiaCatholica Report

Final score:

0points

CK 8 months ago

In some places women are stigmatized both ways. Haven't had sex with more than two people? Prude. Had sex with anyone? S**t. Had sex with one or two people? Prudish s**t.

10points

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Gabija Saveiskyte

Hi there! I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. My job is to ensure that all the articles are aesthetically pleasing. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from all the relationship drama to lots and lots of memes and, my personal favorites, funny cute cats. When I am not perfecting the images, you can find me reading with a cup of matcha latte and a cat in my lap, taking photos (of my cat), getting lost in the forest, or simply cuddling with my cat... Did I mention that I love cats?

Hi there! I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. My job is to ensure that all the articles are aesthetically pleasing. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from all the relationship drama to lots and lots of memes and, my personal favorites, funny cute cats. When I am not perfecting the images, you can find me reading with a cup of matcha latte and a cat in my lap, taking photos (of my cat), getting lost in the forest, or simply cuddling with my cat... Did I mention that I love cats?

What do you think ?

SadieCat17 (she/her) 8 months ago

I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I feel like a lot of these are just written by people who are privileged enough to not have to deal with judgement for xyz on a daily basis. Saying that the united states isn't racist, that s**t shaming doesn't exist. There are some insane takes in this thread.

24points

Strawberry Pizza 8 months ago

Some of them toe the line between "this genuinely almost never happens, the media exaggerates it" and "this has never happened to ME and therefore the media is wrong about it ever happening".

10points

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Anna Ekberg 8 months ago

I stopped reading after the "i do not think promiscuous women are judged that much". Wtf!?

5points

Krystal Hart 8 months ago

Agreed

2points

Multa Nocte 8 months ago

Agreed.

2points

Ken Beattie 8 months ago

No one is saying they don't exist. They're saying the issues are overblown by the media. That's a different thing. if you believe the media practically everyone is a racist and thinks women having sex are sluts. But lets be real, that is just not the case. Sure SOME are and do, but most people don't really care.

1point

Mike Crow 8 months ago

Just because it wasn’t stigmatized in one area/culture doesn’t mean it’s not being done in others.

6points

The Original Bruno 8 months ago (edited)

Dermatologists are fighting like crazy to stigmatize freckles, or as they call them, "melanized epidermal lesions" or something crazy like that. They're balanced out by advertisers who practically fetishize them.

2points

Mike F 8 months ago

And people have been blessed with them for THOUSANDS of years and (to my knowledge) never had their heads fall off due to them.

1point

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Strawberry Pizza 8 months ago

I've been on a plane many, many times (maybe even around a hundred), and I have NEVER seen anyone acting entitled or Karen-ish the way we hear about in the BP AITAs. That's not to say it never happens, but it certainly isn't as common as the posters make it out to be. Most common thing is maybe kids kicking the back of your seat every now and then, but nobody is as outright mean as the stories say.

2points

VOTE if you live in the USA 8 months ago

Breastfeeding. IRL no cares. Feed your baby wherever. It's fine.

1point

tater.gonna.tot 8 months ago

But actually

0points

SadieCat17 (she/her) 8 months ago

I don't want to sound presumptuous, but I feel like a lot of these are just written by people who are privileged enough to not have to deal with judgement for xyz on a daily basis. Saying that the united states isn't racist, that s**t shaming doesn't exist. There are some insane takes in this thread.

24points

Strawberry Pizza 8 months ago

Some of them toe the line between "this genuinely almost never happens, the media exaggerates it" and "this has never happened to ME and therefore the media is wrong about it ever happening".

10points

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Anna Ekberg 8 months ago

I stopped reading after the "i do not think promiscuous women are judged that much". Wtf!?

5points

Krystal Hart 8 months ago

Agreed

2points

Multa Nocte 8 months ago

Agreed.

2points

Ken Beattie 8 months ago

No one is saying they don't exist. They're saying the issues are overblown by the media. That's a different thing. if you believe the media practically everyone is a racist and thinks women having sex are sluts. But lets be real, that is just not the case. Sure SOME are and do, but most people don't really care.

1point

Mike Crow 8 months ago

Just because it wasn’t stigmatized in one area/culture doesn’t mean it’s not being done in others.

6points

The Original Bruno 8 months ago (edited)

Dermatologists are fighting like crazy to stigmatize freckles, or as they call them, "melanized epidermal lesions" or something crazy like that. They're balanced out by advertisers who practically fetishize them.

2points

Mike F 8 months ago

And people have been blessed with them for THOUSANDS of years and (to my knowledge) never had their heads fall off due to them.

1point

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Strawberry Pizza 8 months ago

I've been on a plane many, many times (maybe even around a hundred), and I have NEVER seen anyone acting entitled or Karen-ish the way we hear about in the BP AITAs. That's not to say it never happens, but it certainly isn't as common as the posters make it out to be. Most common thing is maybe kids kicking the back of your seat every now and then, but nobody is as outright mean as the stories say.

2points

VOTE if you live in the USA 8 months ago

Breastfeeding. IRL no cares. Feed your baby wherever. It's fine.

1point

tater.gonna.tot 8 months ago

But actually

0points

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