Stereotypes
There are two different stereotypes of the preacher's kid: In one, they are perfectly angelic role models, in the other they are rebels at the opposite extreme. The existence of these stereotypes is a source of pressure on children of clergy.
Examples of the negative stereotype include the preacher's son from Maine in the film Gettysburg, described as the "best darn cusser I've ever heard", and Jessica Lovejoy in the "Bart's Girlfriend" episode of The Simpsons.
Sitcom Three's Company character Chrissy Snow played by Suzanne Somers played off a variety of stereotypes including the "dumb blonde", but also as daughter of Reverend Luther Snow (Peter Mark Richman), the character - as well as much of the show's humor - was developed around aspects of Chrissy's innocence and naïvety based on a stereotype of her religious upbringing in small town America.
The TV series 7th Heaven is also a good example of the pastor's kid stereotype. The Camden family was large. The father, Eric Steven Collins was a minister. He and his wife Annie Catherine Hicks had seven children. Sometimes they were perfect angels, but most of the time the show displayed the trials that the family went through as the children were growing up. Often the children were criticized because of who their father was.
Read more about this topic: Preacher's Kid
Famous quotes containing the word stereotypes:
“All stereotypes turn out to be true. This is a horrifying thing about life. All those things you fought against as a youth: you begin to realize they’re stereotypes because they’re true.”
—David Cronenberg (b. 1943)
“There are certain stereotypes that are offensive. Some of them don’t worry me, though. For instance, I have always thought that Mammy character in Gone with the Wind was mighty funny. And I just loved “Amos ‘n’ Andy” on the radio. So you see, I have enough confidence in myself that those things did not bother me. I could laugh.”
—Annie Elizabeth Delany (b. 1891)
“There is a striking dichotomy between the behavior of many women in their lives at work and in their lives as mothers. Many of the same women who are battling stereotypes on the job, who are up against unspoken assumptions about the roles of men and women, seem to accept—and in their acceptance seem to reinforce—these roles at home with both their sons and their daughters.”
—Ellen Lewis (20th century)