Advanced Composition Essay: Stereotypes.

A stereotype is a commonly held oversimplified, generic image assigned to a group of people related to their race, nationality, age, sexual orientation, interests, etc. - to name a few. Generally speaking, they are not based on objective / verifiable truth, but on prior assumptions and prejudices. We’ve all heard them; some famous ones, by way of example, are:

• All white people are racist.
• All black people love watermelon and only listen to hip-hop and rap.
• All blondes are stupid.
• All women with short hair are gay.
• All men who love the arts are gay.
• All women are complicated.
• All men are pigs.
• All teenagers are sex-crazed drug addicts.
• All Irishman are drunks.
• All Germans are Nazi-sympathizers.
• All Asians are bad drivers, but good at math.
• All Vietnamese paint nails.
• All Russians are Communists.
• All Hispanics are illegal.
• All Americans are fat, lazy and uneducated.
• All southerners in the U.S. have sex with their cousins.
• All Italians have mob connections.
• All Jamaicans smoke weed.
• All Cubans deal drugs.
• All Brazilians play soccer.
• All Muslims are terrorists.
• All Christians are anti-gay.
• All Jews are greedy.
• All Atheists and Agnostics hate religion and have no morals.
• All homeless people are homeless by choice.

ETC.

I chalk up the forming of stereotypes to ignorance and fear of the unknown. People fear what they do not understand, and when they feel threatened, they feel a need to become superior somehow; so certain one-dimensional characteristics are noted, and then turned into caricatures / labels that represent an entire group of people. As a result, most stereotypes are derogatory in nature, i.e., racist, sexist, ageist, etc.

These stereotypes can even lead to bullying in a very young age – for instance, in grade schools, there are famous cases of the jocks and the preps picking on the nerds and the geeks; the skaters picking on the Goths, and the Goths picking on the emos. Even sexual stereotypes are common in schools – the conservatives picking on the gay and bisexual; the feminine men are harassed for being gay, and the masculine women are harassed for being lesbian; supporters for gay rights are harassed for being gay – the list goes on and on.

Where do we break the chain?

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."

- Mark Twain

There is such a thing as a positive stereotype, though [i.e., all black people are good athletes], but since stereotypes generally tend to not be based on truth, I disagree with treating them as such. We are all guilty of using stereotypes at some point; often, this is due to never having more than second-hand knowledge of a group of people while growing up.

However, once you have added knowledge to the contrary – and you are more aware of the uniqueness and individuality of the group, and yet, you still choose to categorize people in stereotypical ways – you are suggesting that you cannot accept anything positive about that group of people, and you are participating in prejudice. This is when stereotypes especially become damaging and offensive.

The bottom line is, judging a person based solely on preconceived notions will not only discourage another person to succeed – these stereotypes cause the enforcers of them to lead lives driven by hate, and the victims of these stereotypes to lead lives driven by fear. For these reasons, it is not only hurtful to stereotype– it is unethical, and creates a lose-lose situation.