Fighting Stereotypes Essay

A stereotype is a group of attributes given to a group of people, most often hurtful and negative and not true.

Stereotypes are a form of prejudice everyone will once experience in their lifetime. Stereotypes are centered around an individual's race, gender, social class, religion, and age. They have been known to be elements people use to make judgments and subjectify people to one key feature. As Gordon Allport states, “ To state the matter technically, a noun abstracts from a concrete reality some one features and assembles different concrete realities only with respect to this one feature”(364). Mr.Allport’s words can be summed up to say stereotypes have been used as key fundamentals to associate one feature or aspect of a person with a group that represents it, typically in an unfavorable way.

“A stereotype is a rigid, oversimplified, often exaggerated belief that is applied both to an entire social category of people and to each individual within it. Stereotypes form the basis for prejudice, which in turn is used to justify discrimination and attitudes. They can be positive as well as negative.” Stereotypes exist within any social group, and social group or cliques which are groups of people who share similar characteristics and interests such as the ones priorly said.

A "stereotype" is a social perception of an individual in terms of group membership or physical attributes. Stereotypes are generalizations made about a group and then attributed to all members of that group.

What is a stereotype? In my definition it can be a term used to classify an object or thing, maybe even a person. A stereotype can be a person who has little knowledge of something or none at all. There are a lot of different stereotypes out there. For example, “White men can’t jump” is one used in sports such as basketball. This can be a stereotype to people who have never witnessed a white man dunk a basketball. Larry Bird was arguably one of the best basketball players in the history of the NBA with many awards and achievements to prove it. He was indeed a white man therefore, counterpointing the stereotypical phrase, “white men can't jump.” Just like this one, there are many stereotypes out there with a broad range of phrases or

In life, there is a common ground on which most every person can relate. At one time or another, we have all been promoters of or victims of the unremitting nature of stereotypes. According to the Webster’s dictionary, a stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Most stereotypes take on a negative form and are based on characteristics such as age, gender, race, status, and personal beliefs. Generally speaking, the greatest problem that arises with stereotypes is that they judge group of people by the characteristics and actions of their ancestors, rather than on an individual basis. More often than not, these assumptions will

Stereotypes can be defined as sweeping generalizations about members of a certain race, religion, gender, nationality, or other group. They are made everyday in almost every society. We develop stereotypes when we are unable or unwilling to obtain all the information we would need to make fair judgments about people or situations. By stereotyping, we assume that a person or group has certain characteristics. Quite often, we develop these ideas about people who are members of groups with which we have not had firsthand contact. Stereotyping usually leads to unfair results, such as discrimination, racial profiling, and unnecessary violence, all behaviors which need to be stopped.

According to Dictionary.com a stereotype is something conforming to a fixed or general pattern, especially an often oversimplified or biased mental picture held to characterize the typical individual of a group (dictionary.com).

A time when i was in a stereotyped situation was when middle school, every “popular “ kid used to pick on me because I was quite, weirded,dumb, the ugly duckling etc. They judged me based on my appearance. Never did they talk to me but somehow I was their target. My feelings towards stereotypes is that it is wrong judging others. It is not a good feeling being misjudged & being criticized without them knowing you.

All most everyone in there lifetime has stereotyped others are have been a victim of stereotypes. A stereotype is the belief about another culture, race or a person that has no logic or evidence to support there negative thoughts. Many people believe that when a person stereotypes another it is the lack of information or ignorance

A stereotype is a widely held, but fixed and oversimplified image of a person or thing. Stereotypes can drastically affect the way people view themselves and others.

Stereotyping redheads or Scottish people usually does little harm. It typically leads to friendly kidding and good-natured

Stereotypes are deeply embedded in every society in numerous ways. The dictionary definition of a stereotype is “one that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.” Stereotyping or Labeling is a technique that “attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign

The presences of stereotypes are overwhelming and are developed by both the environment a subject is raised in and their family. Stereotypes, which are pervasive throughout different societies, become intertwined in the collective values of the society as justification for all forms of social, economic, and political inequality among groups (Devine and Elliot 2000;Kaplan 2004; Operario and Fiske 2004). As people become more exposed to stereotypes they start to become a permanent part of a person’s life, they begin to stereotype themselves almost always involuntarily.

Stereotype means unfair judgments about certain people or situations. This is a fixed belief toward a person or a group and then lead to unfair discrimination and persecution. Stereotype in gender; men are more employable than women in job qualification because most of the people think men are more responsible, objective, rational, and aggressive while women are weak, passive and subjective.