Irish Stereotypes Research Paper

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.

Stereotypes are this planet’s number one flaw. Not all of them are bad, but what do most people think when they hear that word? When I hear it, my mind jumps to every single negative thing I can think off. Such as our current crisis right now about “Black Lives Matter” or anything racial for that matter. Other examples that pop up in my head are, “He wears black, he must be emo/goth”, “She’s a teen mom, she’s trashy and irresponsible”, or “Women are terrible drivers”. The thing is, science doesn't back up any of these stereotypes; although these may be true in certain cases. There is not just negative things that come out of this, stereotypes can ACTUALLY be good for you.

There are many different stereotypes in the world today. They can be used for different categories like age, gender and race. Stereotypes are formed by the media, passed down from many generations and also just the populations need to understand the social world around us. Racial stereotypes make up large portion of stereotypes in today's society. Racial stereotypes can be used for comedic effect and our found to be funny by a majority of people, but they can also be depicted as hate to an ethnic group if it goes too far. One example of a race effected by stereotypes are Asian people. They have many stereotypes that have developed over the years. An example of a stereotype Asian people experience is that they cannot drive very well. Some

This results in a fight between the boys. When the headmaster comes out to stop the fighting, he exclaims “You little hooligan. Is that the sort of behaviour you brought from America?” The master puts Frank’s behaviour down to his American upbringing, and humiliates the boy in front of the whole school. This isolates Frank from his peers, as they see him as a foreigner despite his Irish heritage.

On one hand, Gerald may be ashamed of his own biological makeup, because of his parent’s filthy urges but, on the other hand, he still holds some confidence in the fact that because he is more involved with his Christianity, he could not possibly make the same ghastly choices that his parents and supposedly the Irish appeared to. He uses the Irish his book to make an example out of anyone involved in hybridity. According to Gerald, the Irish “are ignorant of the rudiments of the Faith” and “do not attend God’s church with due reverence”, but instead he repeatedly accuses them of “incestuous relations” and have “yet to pay tithes or first fruit or contract marriages” (106). He is upset with the Irish because he

While this cartoon is based in America the prejudice against Irish natives and immigrants had long been in issue. Over the centuries Ireland has dealt with conquerors, loss of culture, poverty, hunger and political strife. The emerald isle was entirely conquered and colonized by the British in the second part of the sixteenth century. After the colonization Ireland’s inhabitants

In certain situations, stereotypes can be negative, which in hand, can harm certain ethnicities, racial groups, religions, and other backgrounds. This often alienates certain groups from mainstream societies, as if they are an "other." This further in hand can, lead to heated friction and division among groups, which is not a good thing, and is the "cancer" of a benevolent, developed society. Certain examples of negative (falsified) stereotypes are that African-Americans are violent, Asian-Americans are bad drivers, Latin-Americans can't speak English properly, Middle Easterners are misogynic, White Americans are racist, etc. Of course, these stereotypes in all cases are NOT true, yet sadly the general population tends to seek them as true.

Lastly, these stereotypes have been around for awhile and they are still around for one reason and one reason only. Stereotypes have truth in them. For example, statistically 50.5% asians all have a bachelor’s degree or higher.This means that not all asians are smart, but a large portion of them are smart, so in conclusion, stereotypes can be good and bad. It all depends on how you handle them when they come your

Stereotypes in the past had a significant impact on the Irish people. Stereotypes such as the religion of the Irish: Catholicism. Catholicism brought new holidays: Ash Wednesday and lent. English-raised Americans were scared of these. Leading to the names “vampire” and baby killer” for the Irish’s belief of wine and bread to represent Jesus Christ: Transubstantiation. Then, the Irish were compared to apes and equivalent to the blacks in the South. Irish were now seen as inferior to those of English-decent. Not only were the women unmarried, all the men were young and single. It was assumed any single woman staying in a tenement was sleeping with all the men. Leading to names “Bridget” and “Paddy” being derogatory for the Irish women and man. Whereas in reality, they were street smart and independent. Traditions were twisted into stereotypes, such as the Irish’s “pub-culture.” The men would drink before and after work in order to relax themselves for the day, but was depicted as alcoholism.

For many people, the American dreams and promises brought ideas and new hopes of a better life. For the Irish, the American dreams and promises weren’t just ideas and hopes, they were the way to a new beginning in America, a way to start over and forget the horrifying past they encountered. The Irish struggled day after day to pay for fair travel to America. To many people, the challenge the Irish overcame seemed to deserve praise. Today, the Irish are honored and commemorated for their hard work and desire for a better life.

No matter their religion, language, or struggles they faced upon arrival in America throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the one thing all Irish had in common was their reason for leaving Ireland; the English. Whether Catholic from southern Ireland or Presbyterian from the Ulster region, the Irish were systematically oppressed by the Anglican Church of England. For those who could afford the passage, America meant freedom to worship as they chose and for the Ulster Presbyterians; recognition that their church was valid. For the southern Irish, unfortunately, during the 1800’s America was a heavily Protestant country that harbored severe suspicions of Catholics and rumors the Pope was plotting to destroy their country. This meant

As they began to immigrate to the United States, the Irish population suffered from various racism. They were categorizes as dangerous, aggressive, temperamental, along other derogatory words. However, with the introduction of new ethnicities, as well as the conformity Irish Americans dealt with, the stereotypes and discriminations regarding this immigrant group often diminished. As many other ethnicities have done, the Irish Americans found themselves conforming to American cultures and beliefs. This process of conformity has been adapted by many immigrating ethnicities, giving up most of their culture and identity to fit the image of what an ideal American is. In the case of Irish immigrants, many of them encountered hostility because of

Some stereotypes that are apparent in America are that white Americans are obese, lazy, and dim-witted. More stereotypes are that all Mexicans are illegal immigrants, that all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists, and that all black people have been to prison before. Canadians are dull, hang out at Donut Shops and Dollar stores, and are bad tippers. Another example of stereotyping is that Chinese people are incredibly bad drivers.

This idea is also illustrated in political cartoon #3 showing Irish people on St. Patrick’s Day of 1867. The image shows a very violent scene between Irishmen who are depicted as apes and police officers. The cartoonist depicts Irish people as apes to show how Irish similar to animals carelessly killing innocent helpless police officers. On the bottom of the image it says, “THE DAY WE CELEBRATE” and words “RUM” and “BLOOD.” Looking carefully on the Irish’s faces and their positions make them look very evil and ruthless while the police officers look helpless. The word ‘Rum’ is there to illustrate a major stereotype of the Irish being drunk. Overall, this political cartoon is an illustration of how Native Protestants viewed the Irish in America.

The Irish had suffered long before in the hands of the English when Cromwell had been in control and had taken away land held by the catholic majority of the country to members of the protestant minority. This created a large tension among the population with the oppressed majority and the rather entitled minority who by Trevelyan’s snooty tone did indeed see themselves as the superior people in the country. (Trevelyan’s tone is probably the most dismissive when in discussion of the Irish, mayhaps showing his own true dislike.) (Trevelyan, p. 116-