Friday, February 19, 2010
Stereotyping
Stereotyping is part of our nature and I truly believe that there is no person in the world who has never been stereotyped. As the book states, stereotypes are useful so we can categorize information, aid in making fast decisions, and deter overloading our brain. It is difficult to say that stereotypes are all bad because in reality they are helpful. The negative aspects of them are that people rely heavily on them and do not learn more about other group, so therefore people from those said groups become “token” members. I, like everyone else in the world, have been a member of many different groups who have been stereotyped. While in high school, I was a member of the soccer team. People who did not know me and only knew that I was part of the team would assume a lot of things. I once had a person surprised that I spoke English as well as I did. I guess it was a myth among certain people in my school that all the soccer players were immigrants or non-English speaking. It was a very odd experience which I did not understand at all at the time. Some sterotypes though did fit. That is the beauty of sterotypes, they are a jumping off point for understanding groups but not to be relied on.
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Hi Mia,
ReplyDeleteI never stopped to think about the positive side of stereotypes. I can see both sides now, how stereotypes can be good or bad. I think a lot of the time people only associate stereotypes with the negative aspects. I guess if our experiences shape who we are, then it can be understandable why we treat certain people the way we do. A good example is when I see someone with dirty clothes on, with holes in their shoes. I use to think that these people were homeless, but I later found out that they just like to wear those types of clothes. I tried to give them money, but they refused.
I like your example of linking stereotypes with your soccer team. That can be frustrating when people think you don't speak English, when you actually speak it fluently. But on the flip side, it could be stereotyping to assume you are good at soccer because you are an immigrant. It's true that everyone has had some sort of experience when they were stereotyped.
Henry
Hello Mia,
ReplyDeleteYou made some great points in your post and I agree with you that stereotyping is only natural, as it is our way of having our mind organize the information we take in about different people. To be honest, I don't see anything really wrong with stereotyping; but the problem arises when we act on our stereotypes and pass judgment or discriminate people based on our assumptions of a stereotype. For example, one positive stereotype that comes to my mind is about how Asians are known to be really smart or how African Americans are known to be really athletic. I don't think either of these stereotypes are negative, unless someone acts upon the assumption of the stereotype and then gives someone who may not fit into these "molds" per say, a hard time.
Mia-
ReplyDeleteOk, so I have two points to make. First, I can agree that not all stereotypes are bad. I say this because you will never see me voluntarily walk down a dark alley in Hunter's Point San Francisco. It would be a very unwise decision on my part that could cost me my life. The second point is that I disagree with our text when it claims that stereotypes aid us in making quick decisions, and help us not overload our brains. I have a hard time beliving that stereotypes help us make fast decisions. In fact, there is an entire process that our brain goes through in sending a message to our "gut" detering us from making a decision, even if it is the right decision. I remember when I asked a white man passing by me on the street for the time. Although I was right in front of him, he didn't even acknowledge me and he continued to walk. Thus, he stereotyped me and he wouldn't even help me by giving me the time. Nevertheless, great blog!