To me, a stereotype is essentially an overgeneralization about characteristics of a group of people or collective things. Obviously, stereotypes are solely a social construct, resulting from initial prejudice and discrimination against specific groups of people. I think Javier Bardem said it best:
http://www.justjared.com/2016/02/08/penelope-cruz-joins-javier-bardem-at-goya-cinema-awards-2016/
“I don't believe in stereotypes. Most of the time, stereotypes are just that.”
Here is a short list of some stereotypes that have directly impacted my life:
African-American women are loud.
A lot of movies portray African-American women as loud, rude, obnoxious, and “extra” when it comes to drama, associating them with fighting and arguing. I know African-American women who act like this and some who don’t, so I personally wouldn’t say this is true all the time. I have noticed that if I yell or am loud about something, I am the one picked out and seen to be the “bully” or “offender.” One time, during cheerleading practice, a girl was yelling at me because I made a mistake with the stunt. In response, I yelled at her back; however, everyone thought I was wrong. There’s more of a fear associated with a black person yelling at someone, which could be a main reason why a lot of people think we start problems or are overreacting.
African-Americans are unintelligent.
Blacks are seen to be less intelligent than whites, asians, and indians so much so that Ivy Leagues expect a lower score from blacks and would make a 2100 on SAT from an asian equivalent to a 1800 from an African-American. A family friend on the executive board for admission to Dartmouth shared this information with me. Blacks are around two thousand years behind whites when it comes to learning and being able to earn an education. Obviously this is due to the fact that blacks were slaves while whites became intelligent over time because of longer experience within the education system. I went through a phase in middle school where I was pretty discouraged about trying hard in school because I would ask myself, “what’s the point?” As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have had teachers assume that I was going to fail in the advanced classes and assumed that I wouldn’t be as smart as the white students.
African-Americans are “ghetto.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto (first picture to come up for “ghetto” in google)
Many people assume that African-Americans come from a lower-class or middle-class family. For the past few years, I lived in a gated community called Maple Lawn, where the majority of the residents were white, upper-middle class or upper class. A lot of my friends would say things like “wow, you must be rich if you live in Maple Lawn,” yet if another white or asian student said they lived there he or she wouldn’t get any attention because they would be considered the norm. People are generally more surprised if they find out that an African-American is living in a nice home and has a nice car. One night me and my boyfriend’s family went out to dinner in Baltimore and his dad drove us in his Tesla. As soon as we stepped outside of the car, a white family looked at the car and shockingly said, “how were you able to afford that?” Offensive as this was, it serves as a perfect example of the stereotype.
Have any of you heard of these stereotypes before? Have you actively discriminated someone because of it, even non-intentionally? What are some stereotypes you think others have of you?
I think this was a very accurate description of black stereotypes. As a straight, white male, I don't experience much stereotyping; however, I do observe it happenning in my friends who are minorities. The Harvard Implicit Association test shows that we all mostly have bias still. Great post!
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