Squaw Boy's Argument

An example of negative stereotypes to African Americans in the past and even the present is blackface. Blackface is a theatrical style of makeup that used negative African American stereotypes which included excessively black skin,

Stereotyping cannot only cause less of a need to get to know others, but can also become rather dangerous. Sometimes individuals pass stereotypes on certain people or groups that initiate anger and hate due to the origin of the stereotype. For example, the Ku Klux Klan is an organization that has been around for decades. This particular organization had a developed stereotype against black Americans that resulted in the death of hundreds of African Americans beginning in the early 1800’s. Though the Ku Klux Klan

I would say we’ve all been stereotyped at some point, be it due to your sex, gender, race, or religious beliefs, the list goes on. Some are blissfully oblivious when in the face of being disrespected and or stereotyped, some just don’t care to look further into the situation. Others simply “take the high road”, doing the right thing even if it’s not easy nor popular in a difficult situation. Most often we can’t help the labels which society places on us, we were born with the skin color we have, our values ingrained into us by our families, and so forth. Personally, I’ve faced stereotypes relating to my race.

Stereotypes seem to be very present in our country, especially stereotypes towards African-Americans. For the longest time, like it has been instilled as a fact in my brain, black people have been directly related to the words “ghetto” or “hood”. I don’t remember a time where I actually can remember the words “ghetto” or “hood” without the picture in my mind of an African-American person. I think that this is a big problem in today’s society because it is not true but still seems to be taught. In politics, society, and everyday life, it feels like African-American’s are being slammed for being hoodlums. This is a problem because there are millions of African-American people who do not fit this stereotype, but still get degraded and treated badly because of this age old belief.

Whether people want to admit it everyone has stereotyped at one point in their life. I know I am guilty of it. This can happen without the person even knowing that they are doing it. How a person is raised and their families beliefs growing up can impact their beliefs. So one of the important questions to answer is does being stereotyped have a lasting impact beyond the moment when it happens? A study by science news in 2010 showed that stereotyping does have a lasting effect on that person, (Science News, 2010). People do not forget and this can cause damage in their lives and their future decisions. For example, my cousin became pregnant by an African American as a teenager. She was shunned by certain people in my family, including her father. My grandmother without thinking or meaning to offend the only African American in my small home town told the man that she had a little mulatto (mixed) great grandchild. Her vocabulary was due to how she was raised and taught the biased word.

Throughout the years, racial stereotypes have played a major role in society. Even today, one combines racial stereotypes and prejudice thoughts before one even says a word to the person. Just seeing an African- American man while in a parking lot and pulling out ones phone, can be a simple example of modern-day racial stereotypes.

According to their website, “Racial stereotypes are automatic and exaggerated mental pictures that we hold about all members of a particular racial group. When we stereotype people based on race, we don’t take into account individual differences. Because our racial stereotypes are so rigid, we tend to ignore or discard any information that is not consistent with the stereotype that we have developed about the racial group” (University Counseling Center 1). America does a great job keeping up the blacks are dangerous racial stereotypes. But the real question is how someone can develop a racial stereotype? According to Notre Dame Counseling Center, “We develop our racial stereotypes in a variety of ways. On a very simple level, it’s human nature to categorize people. It’s our way of making a complex world simpler. From an early age, we learn to place people and objects into categories. However, when we’re very young, we tend to put less of an emphasis on attributing values to these categories. As we grow older and are influenced by parents, peers, and the media, our tendency to label different racial groups as superior/good or inferior/bad increases significantly. Additionally, the less contact we have with a particular racial group, the more likely we are to have negative feelings about the group. Any negative experiences that we have

Even more evidence of the racial stereotypes that is given to African American people is evident in Native Son, when it was stated that all black men want to do is go out and rape white women, (Wright page 351 ). This places a stereotype upon us that is ultimately hard to escape from, with people running from you without even taking the chance to get to know you and you having to prove yourself to them from a distance, even though deep down you know you will never be good enough to please them. While most forms of racial stereotypes follow in the fashion of others judging you because of the rumors they hear, it also comes in the form of them using very invective language towards you. As seen by Richard Wright on page 337, all of the white people were calling Bigger racial names and racial slurs in an attempt to try and dehumanize him from all other humans so that way they feel better for the horrible way that they were treating

    To society, blacks considers themselves as a stereotype threat ( a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group). Therefore ,

A situation where I was stereotyped negatively was when people found out that I was Native American. Once they hear that I am, they automatically assume that I get a check from my tribe. Unfortunately, this stereotype is not true. Although, some tribes receive money but since my tribe is the biggest one, I get no funding. Meaning that most people that are Native American do not get funding. People just assume that because I am Native American, that I get money. From what I have learned, I can cause more flexible stereotyping by helping others not just automatically assume something about an individual. Although, I know it is hard to not automatically make judgements about someone whether it is good or bad. A situation where I negatively stereotyped

Other races never have anything nice or positive things to say. Stereotypes have made black people look and sound less or not at all intelligent. These stereotypes include examples such as living in the projects, selling crack, and having multiple children by different men. Although, some stereotypes can be applied to selected members of the black

One of my pieces of evidence is “Once, I stereotyped a white girl because I thought that she was acting black to make friends. Once I got to know her, I learned she was a sweet person and she was only acting black because she grew up around blacks.” In the book The Outsiders they talked a lot about stereotypes.

Racial stereotyping is a certain belief about a particular class or group of people. Every racial group weather it is African American, Asian, Mexican, and Middle Eastern and many more have been a victim of racial stereotyping. For example a common racial stereo type about Mexicans/Latinos is that they are poor lazy uneducated people, yet Mexicans/ Latinos are some of the hardest working people I know. Sure there are Mexicans/ Latinos who are not as “educated’’ as others may say ,but there is a big difference between them not wanting to continue school and them not being able too because they need to work in order to support their families. Media is also a big contributor to racial stereotyping we see it in TV shows like “love & hip hop”.

I have experienced many stereotypes myself. When I wear a head cap also known as a du-rag, I am often viewed as a hoodlum or a terrifying young black male. Head caps are often common for young black males to wear. What is the first thing you think when you see a tall black male with a black head cap on his head? The fact that I had a head cap automatically brought negative connation to what I represent as a person. The stereotypes of this certain group impacted everyone who may have similar feature. I was pre-judged just because I had similar feature to another black male with a head cap that may have been a “thug”. My appearance directly impacted what people thought of me before they even knew me, or before they knew the purpose of my

Stereotypes is one of the most common causes of racism. Through radio, through television, through the internet, through music, through books, and many alike, the real potential for stereo types to arise are an inevitable possibility. Parents, willingly or not, expose and teach their children, subconsciously, by saying statements and/or watching programs that involve racism. When there is a constant source of negativity towards a certain race, then it will eventually effect the overall opinions of the populous. (The 4)