Free Essay

Stereotypes

In:

Submitted By Shyflutterby
Words 325
Pages 2
Stereotypes Paper

Growing up I did not have much exposure to African American males and to me they looked mean. My whole life, I have been uncomfortable if I am in the presence of an older African American male. In addition, when I was a teenager my family was friends with an African American couple. The wife was sweet as she could be but the husband would get drunk and tell me that he was going to kidnap me and take where no one could find me because I looked like Wonder Woman. I told my mom about this and he never did make any actions to make us think he was serious. Because of that one experience and lack of exposure with other races when I was young, I now look at older African American males with distrust. I know that not every African American male is going to be like that but that experience will stay with me forever. Another stereotype I have trouble with is with Arab Americans. My family had friends that were Arab Americans when I was teenager and young adult and they were the nicest family. After 9/11, I feel uncomfortable around Arab American males. Once again, I know that not all Arab Americans are the same or are terrorists, but I cannot help the small degree of anxiety I feel around Arab American males. If I am correct, the terrorists responsible for 9/11 were not even Arabs. I think some of this could be because THEY feel targeted as well and I have simply not had a tremendous amount of interaction With Arab Americans until the because a focal point because of 9/11. I try my best not to purposely avoid people of these two races and have had a few friends who were African and Arab American. My discomfort comes when I am alone in public and stems from simple lack of exposure.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Stereotype Stereotypes

...A stereotype can be deliberated upon in a variety of contexts in both negative and positive traits. However, this depends on the way we come to define a stereotype. One may form a prejudice to a specific race, group, culture or tradition, gender, religion, national origin, age group, or point of status, under a certain influence. Such an influence may derive from former experiences, social reference groups, reliance on popular media sources, or simply a fear of one being different from a significant other. The extent to which stereotypes contribute to our universal understanding is a crucial point of discussion. This is not to say that one may entirely agree that we are obliged to make use of stereotypes to gain an understanding of the world....

Words: 1421 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...lives, one that is both overt and inferential". (625). Omi discusses that racism still remains in media today such as music, popular culture, and American films through stereotypes. In your own words, what does Omni mean by "overt racism" and "inferential racism"? Discuss how a specific ethnicity is represented in our current popular culture (news, television shows, movies, advertising, etc.) and how it affects people's lives. Be sure to address whether or not, the ethnicity is seen as "overt" or "inferential" and whether they create and/or sustain ethnic stereotypes. In other words, is the ethnicity you choose depicted in a positive or negative way. Omi also explains that media not only exposes these stereotypes, but it also makes them more concrete. He discusses stereotypes still seen in films today such as "the inscrutable or sinister Oriental; the sly Mexican; and the submissive Negro" (629). In general, do you think certain groups are more prone to stereotyping than others and if so, why? Even with our country growing to be so diverse, do you think the media, movies, music, and news today are still stereotyping? Do you think there are some stereotypes that suppress people and instead of trying to move away from and break the stereotypes they choose to make them true? Do those same stereotypes influence Americans to act or think a certain way towards another race? If yes, how or...

Words: 253 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...English Composition 101.0816 October 31, 2013     Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment  The author’s essay “Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgments” by Robert Heilbroner discusses about the many faces of stereotyping. Heilbroner reminds us that stereotyping affects many areas of our lives from how we view the world as a whole to how we view each individually. According to Heilbroner there is nothing positive/good about stereotyping. The author states that it makes people lazy thinkers and that it harms both the people we are stereotyping and ourselves. The author gives us three ways we can stop stereotyping people.        My grandmother believed that all hispanic people are illiterate, dark colored and dangerous. I didn’t understand why she believed this; she didn’t even meet many hispanic people.  I have never heard my grandmother say anything positive about hispanic people until my mother was part of the family.  She must have seen or heard something negative said about hispanic people and now judges all hispanic people the same way.  The judgment on my grandmother’s part is very unfair.  She has not met every hispanic person in the world, so she can’t say that all hispanic people are illerterate and dangerous.  She could say that a group of hispanic people was beating on a single person or wasn’t able to read, but as the author suggests we should not judge everyone by one man or just one specific incident. Which the first way the author gives to stop stereotyping...

Words: 772 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Stereotypes

...British stereotypes How do different British stereotypes influence the way we see Britons? If you think of a stereotype, you instantly focus on what it describes. The images you create are then used to recognize both populations and countries, and the stereotype is used as a basic layer to gather information. So, the stereotypes often make the first impression of (for instance) a country. The knowledge is important as it also can give you the will to find out more about the country. This is both positive and negative, because the population is also exposed, which brings us to the question: How do different stereotypes influence the way we see Britons? The British stereotypes influence our vision upon the Britons, by giving us an idea of how they act or behave as human beings. However, some of the allegations are true, but the majority of stereotypes are created as a product of our own imagination. This is why we have to consider whether to believe in the stories or not, and also figure out where these stereotypes origin and why they were made. Stereotypes in general presents a population in a “typical” point of view, as the statements are based on what we know about their society, or what the rest of the world believes. A mental picture A stereotype is a mental picture of a population, where the population is stereotyped because of a common quality. In this context the mental picture doesn’t only affect us, the creators of the stereotypes, but also...

Words: 1703 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Stereotypes

...RUNNING HEADER: Stereotypes 1 Stereotypes Throughout My Life John Doe PHI Dr. Dolittle 6-6-2013 Stereotypes 2 Stereotypes Throughout My Life Stereotyping has always been a part of human nature. Stereotyping is preconceived opinion of a person or group of people based on an oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. The reasons for this belief are numerous ranging from self preservation to prejudice. For instance, if someone encounters an individual wearing gang colors and gang related attire the perspective of that person might be that they are dangerous, involved in illegal activity, or an outcast from main stream society. In reality, this person may only be wearing matching colored sports team clothing to show support of their favorite team. Regardless of the reason for stereotyping, the fact remains that it “has a lasting negative impact on those who experience it.” (Kemick, 2011). This paper will prove that military service, level of education, and race can have negative impacts on those who experience it. People who serve in the military are often stereotyped by those who have not served in the military with certain characteristics. The characteristics range from being rigid, non-conformist, conservative, obsessive compulsive, controlling, aggressive, stern, domineering, and even having the propensity to use force to solve a problem. This belief is often held because of the stringent training that all military...

Words: 1019 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...We live in a society that is riddled with stereotypes. They come in many forms. Some examples include: gender-based, racial, sexual orientation, or stereotypes based on certain behaviors or personality traits. Stereotypes are damaging and can detract from one’s quality of life. We all tend to form these misconceptions about others at one time or another and have more than likely felt the lingering negative impact stereotypes can leave with a person. There are several stereotypes that I have experienced and felt the effects of in my life. The first one being something that I first noticed years ago when I was a teenager and I still experience it from time to time in my life. I am an introvert and have been confronted with the belief that if one is introverted it means they are “snobby” or “rude”. I have always had difficulties making conversation with others, especially when it comes to small talk with people I do not know very well. One could make an argument that if someone does not appear social or contribute to conversation that they must be rude. This is not a valid argument and is based on the fallacy referred to as hasty generalization. “The fallacy of hasty generalization is committed when one has inadequate support for the conclusion, but one still jumps to a conclusion.” (Mosser, 2011, section 4.2). One may encounter someone who seems a bit more reserved and not as extroverted and conclude that maybe the person does not want to be bothered. Conversation comes easily...

Words: 1113 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...Introduction In today’s society we encounter many differences in the people around us. Whether based on culture, gender, ethnicity, or age these factors all have some stereotypes attached to them. In our paper, we will discuss stereotyping, both thoughtful and non-thoughtful. We will also address stereotyping in an organization. Our society can be split up into many various groups by gender, race, or even by traits. The world consists of both men and women, blacks and whites, Democrats and Republicans, all who live their own distinct way of life. “Stereotypes are qualities perceived to be associated with particular groups or categories of people (Schneider, 2005).” We stereotype other people all the time because of gender, race, color, and we usually do not even realize it. Stereotypes are so widespread and used so often that they seem to be a natural behavior for human beings. The purpose of this paper is to give a clear explanation on stereotyping. We will evaluate the cognitive (thoughtful/non-thoughtful) approach that suggest putting people into categories is necessary in the thought process that surely sets the presidents of stereotyping. In the last 20 years our society has experienced in explosion of research and theories in stereotyping. Most information has been learned from using the difference between relatively non-thoughtful and relatively thoughtful thinking processes (Weegner, Clark, & Petty). The present research shows both thoughtful and non-thoughtful thinking...

Words: 2054 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...TTW: Gender Stereotypes – Cheating Jen Garcia October 17, 2011 Human Relations In today’s society, men and women are still not viewed equally. There are still many stereotypes for men and women in the dating arena. One would think there are many stereotypes when it comes to cheating. It would be assumed that men cheat more than women. Are the stereotypes correct? Are they way off base? Let’s find out. Let’s talk about cheating. When it is said a couple is breaking up due to cheating, it is sometimes assumed the male of the relationship was the cheater. According to a stereotype, males are larger cheaters than women. (Elizabeth, 2010) The stereotype also says that women are less liking to cheat because once they are in a committed relationship, they focus on one person. However, women do cheat, just for different reasons. Men cheat because they look at it as a challenge. Women begin to cheat when they begin the need to feel more attractive. Cheating is a bad idea no matter what the reasoning. There is never a good outcome when cheating is done. Especially if the couple has children, the outcome gets very complicated. As I am doing more research online, I found some new statistics. According to a website, a recent study showed forty-five to fifty-five percent of married women engage in a relationship outside of their marriage. The study also showed that fifty to sixty percent of men engage in relationships outside of their marriage. (Alexander, 2010) This study proved...

Words: 365 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stereotypes

...Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in Propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary stereotyping is defined as a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, heldby a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes. Stereotypes have existed since the beginning of time in our everyday life through religion, politics and the media. Humans have the tendency to "use stereotypes in their humour, their descriptions of others, and even in their beliefs." One may believe it is possible to rid oneself of such habits; however if one looked at the regular promotions of propaganda, it would make this objective impossible. Stereotypes, however, aren't always negative; hence, this essay will discuss the negative and positive aspects of stereotypes used by propaganda. Propaganda is a force which can influence and affect everyone; bringing changes in behavior, attitudes and ones beliefs. It is also known that media impacts its viewersmodifying their judgments based on the information which they receive. Substantial amounts of stereotypes broadcasted through propaganda have similar effects. This essay will illustrate how stereotypes are generally portrayed and their...

Words: 481 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Stereotypes

...STEREOTYPES 1. Introduction People are living within societies in which having different cultural background. Cross-cultural literacy is difficult to undertake due to the stumbling block such as generalization that people make and stereotypes that people have. Stereotyping is the way to use the fixed images of people belonging to a group, which have a tendency to categorize people based on a group they belong to rather than processing the information individually. Generalization usually comes before stereotyping, in order to generalize certain group of people. For example, all Italian loves spaghetti, and Maria is Italian, hence in conclusion Maria loves spaghetti. In that case, people are stereotyping Maria, which in fact Maria might or might not love spaghetti as she comes from North Eastern part of Italy whose has Germanic Austrian background. In fact, stereotyping leads to arrange some conception map in a way of thinking in which aimed to facilitate the progress of information. Stereotyping can be considered normal when faced with a new situation. Stereotyping triggers the mindset that has been collectively programming to set up that each group has the same pattern, which in fact it may be different with the perception to certain things. In the worst case, stereotyping may lead to possibility of racism, exclusion and personal discrimination towards ethnic identity, culture, occupation, age, sex, education grounds and some more. However, this essay later will just...

Words: 3719 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...Stereotypes   Stereotypes To generalize a group of people in a way that falsely groups them as behaving or describes them without any certain proof is considered a stereotype. Such stereotypes are placed upon young unwed parents, the Dutch, and as another example the aggression in Pit-bull Terriers. The fallacies within these stereotypes are topics that stand without reason but are commonly thought to be true, like life beyond our planet, it’s possible but there is no proof. Stereotyping people can have lasting negative effects. Studies have been done that have proven that those who are faced with a stereotype tend to perform poorly, have trouble controlling their aggression and making rational decisions, and can even lead to over eating (Kemick, 2010). To stereotype a person is to classify them as part of a group of people. This often leads to people feeling a “sense of being depersonalized” (Siy & Cheryan, 2013). When someone stereotypes another person they are judging them based on their group affiliation instead of their individual traits and attributes (Siy & Cheryan, 2013). This can lead to angry, hurt, or upset feelings. People generally want to be seen as the individual person they are and be judged according to that, rather than for who they are associated with. In my life I encounter many different stereotypes. I have been stereotyped myself, have stereotyped others, and have witnessed others stereotype others. After learning about stereotypes I can see...

Words: 1245 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...http://www.prejuges-stereotypes.net/main.htm Social status or group position determines stereotype content, not the actual personal characteristics of group members. {Groups which enjoy fewer social and economic advantages will be stereotyped in a way which helps explain disparities, such as lower employment rates. Although disadvantaged group members may have greater difficulty finding a job due to in-group favoritism, racism, and related social forces, the disadvantaged group member is unjustifiably characterized as 'unmotivated' (he could find a job if he looked hard enough), 'unintelligent' (he's not smart enough to have that job), and 'lazy' (he would rather take hand-outs than work).} Stereotypes focus upon and thereby exaggerate differences between groups. Competition between groups minimizes similarities and magnifies differences. Psychology Categorization and AssociationCategorization and Association are two fundamental concepts involved in stereotyping.Categorization- we tend to group people on the basis of easily identifiable characteristics such as age, race, and gender. This can happen outside of our awareness (Devine, 1989).Association- When we stereotype, we usually have sets of traits that go together, that is, are associated with groups of people. We attempt to bring to mind examples of behaviors of people, and the easier we can imagine such examples, the more likely we will think those behaviors will occur. Example: If the only African American...

Words: 626 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Stereotypes

...Common Stereotypes Lori Woodard PHI 103 Aaron Novinger May 7, 2012 Running Head: Common Stereotypes Stereotyping in generally is characterized as a way of discrimination through prejudicial preconceived perceptions. It mainly consists of hasty generalizations about an individual based on these prejudices. Some examples of common misconceptional prejudices are women are the weaker sex, Jewish people are obsessed with money, and Blacks are more likely to be anti-social, violent, and more likely to commit a crime. (Rivers, 2011)In my lifetime, I have faced many stereotypes. Of the many that are out there, the three main stereotypes I still face today are gender stereotyping, social and economic status stereotyping, and ethnical stereotyping. Gender stereotyping has been one of the most common stereotypes I have had to face. This is because I had been born a female. The most common stereotypes about woman are they are the weaker sex, they are better barefoot and pregnant, and their place is to raise the children and to stay in the kitchen. This perception...

Words: 1092 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Stereotypes

...still hold some preconceptions about people, things or ideas, something that doesn’t change. We become victims of stereotypes, both by projecting them onto others and by being stereotyped by others. Whether we believe them or not, we have got certain images in our minds that we firmly hold on to and unconsciously refuse to let go. Stereotypical image is a composite made of different sources and forms. Therefore, a strong distinction needs to be made between an image and a picture, the former hasn’t got a material form, it is intangible. Accordingly, a stereotypical image would be made of physical pictures, drawings, paintings, but also a mental or acoustic image, so it essentially becomes a combination of different types of images. If we were to call upon an image of ‘a housewife’ or ‘an alcoholic’ it would elicit certain images and pictures in our minds, that we have acquired throughout our lives. Stereotypes are developed through various apparatuses of newspapers, movies etc. We live with them whether we believe them or not, they construct a significant part of popular culture. Etymologically stereotype was a certain kind of plate or a mould, which was being used to reproduce a newspaper or a magazine. Over a period of time it acquired a meaning of a fixed image and this is essentially what an idea of a stereotype is today. In today’s society the word stereotype is almost always a term of abuse. However, when Walter Lippmann formulated the term, he did not want it to be a pejorative...

Words: 635 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Stereotype

...small. A recent survey in Fortune (Fisher 1992) reported that only 4.8 percent of top managerial positions were held by women, compared to 2.9 percent in 1986. One widely accepted explanation for this small number of female executives is the persistence of negative stereotypes about women as managers. Attitudes about the role of women in society may have changed dramatically, but women are still perceived as being less suited than men for managerial positions. Such preconceptions about female managers may cause firms to underutilize a significant part of the work force. By the year 2000 women will represent nearly half of the total labor force, yet discrimination based on sex continues to occur in such areas as performance appraisal, mentoring opportunities, pay, and available career paths. Given the low birth rate in the early and middle 1970s and the current shortage of skilled, motivated workers, organizations simply cannot afford the effects of discrimination based on stereotypes of about 50 percent of their work force. THE STEREOTYPE OF FEMALE MANAGERS The existence of actual differences between male and female managers has been challenged for some time in the research literature, but strongly held stereotypes are resistant to change. Just how are female managers regarded differently than their male counterparts? In a study by Heilman et al. 0989), researchers asked male managers to characterize both male and female managers. The results indicated a tendency to describe...

Words: 2634 - Pages: 11