Myths and Stereotypes

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.

Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group. These classifications can be positive or negative, such as when various nationalities are stereotyped as friendly or unfriendly.

Stereotype: A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Have you ever stereotyped someone? Something? Anything? Taking a look at a visual argument that is made up of five cartoons that have to deal with different issues. Different issues but all rely on the same thing, stereotypes. Society has a tendency to make incorrect judgments of others based on various stereotypes that have been established over time.

Stereotyping is when a judgement is made on a group of people because of the actions of a few. Stereotyping happens because of misinformation and other people’s opinions.

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.

A stereotype is “...a fixed, over generalised belief about a particular group or class of people.” (Cardwell, 1996).

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

Racial profiling is a controversial and illegal practice in which an individual is targeted solely because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. This practice has been around for hundreds of years dating back to the beginning of slavery and still goes on today. Racial profiling comes in many forms and can be done by police officers, business owners or employees, airport security, or even regular citizens. Muslims, Hispanics, and African Americans are the usual targets of racial profiling. Muslims are usually labeled as terrorists, Hispanics are labeled as illegal immigrants, and African Americans are labeled as gang members.

Stereotypes spread by society is a main factor that contributes to racial profiling and can leave negative, long-lasting effects in the community as well as in future generations which can leave the minority groups feeling oppressed by the rest of society. Through these stereotypes officers have been shown to stop minority groups more often and be the victims of unreasonable searches. For some officers this can be seen as the “right thing” because the person they stop may look suspicious or they do

Racial profiling is the act of using somebody race as a key factor in deciding their character. Racial profiling has been one the leading cause of major incidents in today’s time. It’s been in the U.S. Criminal System for decades and now is reaching its peak. With people not feeling like they are being fairly treated, this society has turned into turmoil. Racial profiling can be minimized by educating the community concerning stereotypes in regards to ethnicity, national origin, and religion.

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).

Stereotypes affect people in many different ways. There are two sides to stereotypes, the victims and there aggressors. Unfortunately, we all have been a victim of stereotypes even with out us knowing it. Stereotypes hurt, but individuals handle the problem differently some feel belittled or embarrassed. Many victims of stereotypes can cause people to lose confidents in there self and many others in a psychological way, which can damage social and personal development. Kids that are victims of stereotypes are affected the worsted. Not only are the kids emotionally damaged the victim them selves can turn into the aggressor and stereotype others. The aggressors in many cases are individuals that have been victims of stereotypes, or brought up in a household or environment where people are constantly stereotyping other. People brought up in that kind of situation my stereotype others cause that is all they have come to know. Some refer to this person as ignorant, which is a harsh but accurate assumption. The definition of ignorance is the lack of logic. Ignorance is the main cause for people stereotyping others. There have been many discussions on how to get ride of stereotypes. My idea is to put a culture class in junior high or high schools and make it a mandatory class. Now if this were to happen it would compel students to study and understand cultures

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

These generalizations create negative or positive attitudes towards these stereotype groups. Stereotyping is defined as the "making of generalizations about groups of people on the basis of limited information" (Straubhaar and LaRose: 379, 2004). Stereotype is not the way people behave in certain environments but in fact, the way one has views about them either negative or positive through the way media portrays them.