Stereotyping Leads to Many Other Social Problems

Stereotypes are simplified and standardized conceptions or images invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group. Stereotypes are often voiced by people who do not understand a particular culture. They are best remembered as negative assumptions about a group of people. I have never heard of a positive stereotype. There is a saying that goes “Never assume anything because when you do you make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’.” Most people are guilty of making a stereotype at least once in there life. I know that I have made many stereotypes about people or cultures that I didn’t understand.

A very common stereotype used among many northerners is that all southerners talk very Kountry and that many of them have a lot of animals just hanging around there houses. During Christmas break I had the opportunity to visit some of my family in Philadelphia, Pa. On one of the days during my visit, I mentioned to my cousin’s husband that I had three house dogs and one house cat. His immediate response was “Why do all country people keep so many animals in and around there house”. At first, I was confused by the statement but then quickly realized what he was assuming. I kindly told him that “not all country people have animals in and around there houses” and that we all don’t live on farms. After that he went on to question me about why my family had so many live-in animals. I explained to him that we loved all of our animals very much and that’s why we chose to have them. Recently, I realized that I have even stereotyped people in what I thought was a good light but in reality it was seen in a negative light.

Many Americans including myself have stereotyped all Asians as being smart. I believe that stereotype comes from the fact that we have been told that Asians are so much smarter than we are. And just like with any other general statement many people add their own views to it and that’s how we as Americans arrive at certain stereotypes. I have a friend who is mixed Asian and African-American and I learned from her that Asians do not appreciate it when everyone assumes that they are all smart. It is because in reality they are not all equally intelligent just like any other race or culture. I feel that people worldwide should get into the habit of not making so many assumptions and that would help eliminate some of the stereotyping problems we have as a collective culture. If everyone in the world worked towards a good cause then the world would be a better place. Eliminating stereotypes could help eliminate other world related problems such as terrorism and racism.