Back a few years ago the website commercialsihate.com tackled this issue with a chart that documented the world according to TV. Some universal rules they came up with are:
Minority Children > White Children > Minority Women > White Women > Minority Men > White Men
1. Children of any race are ALWAYS more intelligent and useful than their parents or any other authority figure. If both minority and white kids are included they minority kids will be portrayed as more intelligent and useful than the white kids.
2. Women of any race are ALWAYS more intelligent and useful than men of any race. Again, if the commercial includes both a minority and white women, the minority women will be portrayed as the more intelligent and useful than the white.
3. Men (both minority and white) are universally portrayed as being dumb and useless as dirt IF the commercial also includes women and/or children. However, if it is just men, the minority man will be portrayed as far more intelligent and useful than the white.
EXCEPTION: Gay Men. The automatically get bumped up in intelligence and usefulness to same level as a women of the respective race.
Spot on.