Unfavorabl Unavoidable Stereotypes

It has always been assumed that races have a certain look; a person can always tell what a person is by their mannerisms, their speech and the overall way they carried themselves even if they looked a certain way. However, this is mainly due to stereotypes that have long plagued our society and what one “expects” someone to look like just based on the negative connotations that are associated with skin complexion. When we read certain literature, the description of the character is the first thing that we look for as it is a way for us to somewhat bond with the character and attempt to see the story through their eyes. Toni Morrison’s Recitatif explores how the author describes each character not expressing their race leaving a bit of mysery to the reader and attempts to breaks down the stereotypes that exist for each race. Through a literary analysis, the reader is able to see those stereotypical assumptions about the color of one’s skin and how they should cease to exist in any world whether it is literal or figurative.

Right outside a corner store, next to a stoplight, or at a park, there may be a homeless person asking for some sort of help; it can either be for a place to stay, money, or food. Many people are used to categorizing a group of people by a solo characteristic, known as a stereotype. Misconception, on the other hand, is a conclusion of someone or something that is wrong because it is based on faulty thinking or facts. Stereotypes and misconceptions appear to be similar, however, these two are not. A misconception is formed from having a stereotype. Stereotypes and misconceptions are built because many try, but are unable to understand a person or a group, or are just simply unwilling to understand the person or group. There are over a million

A 2006 Today/Gallup poll found that 44% of Americans had the perception that all Muslims were too extreme in their religious beliefs and 22% of the respondents would not want a Muslim as a neighbor. Islamophobia in America skyrocketed as a result of the 9/11 attacks and changed the way that Muslim-Americans and other Americans were able to interact with one another. These statistics show that there was significant fear of Muslims in the years after 9/11. In the years following the attacks, the number of hate crimes against Muslims in America spiked and have not dropped to pre-attack levels since. As Graph 1 shows, in 2001, there were a reported 481 hate crimes and majority of these would have occurred in the months following September. Although

“While biological factors certainly increase the vulnerability to developing fear and phobia, findings have not yet confirmed that these behaviors are controlled by biological mechanisms” (Rofé). Treating and understanding, psychoanalysis, phobias are believed to be a defense mechanism against trauma that might have been brought up as child. It still debated wether phobias are biological or created through life experiences. Due to varied experiments and evaluation, stating phobias derive from young childhood traumas would be untruthful and not factual. In the theory of psychoanalytic fear and phobias are created if the child remembers the experience which have brought

The image I have chosen is a world map that summarizes stereotypes (pre-judging someone based on assumptions) that are the base foundation for prejudice. Every individual has biased interpretations of individuals and groups limited to their own perspective, but don’t really have an explicit perception of reality. Our environment (race, class, religion, gender, etc.) impacts our judgments and how we perceive, respond, and react to daily experiences. The image is very unique because it outlines the stereotypes we encounter that influences our judgments such as religion, country of origin, education level, marital status, ethnicity, sports, political beliefs, etc. The picture argues that stereotypes and bias can be positive or negative in their original intent, however, they are still generalized and inaccurate characterizations that can offend others.

African–Americans are 63% of people that make up prisons for drug charges. Constant bigotry is the pattern and animosity that is inside our minds and are working outside of our conscious knowing. There is a common stereotype that associates minorities, mostly African-American people, with crime. 72% of people follow this stereotype, but it’s common in our life so we are attentive of it. “Our unconsciousness Is not good at distinguishing between associations that we approve of and those we don’t, so merely having the two concepts (Black and crime) associated in our memories causes one to be automatically activated in our thoughts when the other is presented.” (Harris)

On a daily bases people make excuses for everything. Everything meaning our actions and the things that we say. Common things that we make excuse for deal with sexist, racist, and heterosexist comments. Sexist is classified as saying that one sex is better than the other. An example of this is someone calling a male or female something that they are not. I do not like this because we are all humans and deserve to be respected and not called something that is degrading. We all know that racist is downgrading one race compared to another. An example of this is, saying that all black people are loud and ghetto. We all act the same but some people do certain things different from others. That’s just there way of living. I do not think that just because one person acts one way the whole race does also. Heterosexist is defined as heterosexuality is better than all other expressions. An example of this would be talking about how a guy dresses and calling him gay. I do not agree with this as well because it is good to stand out and be your own person not matter how others see you.

In "My Life as an Abomination," the main character, is working through adolescence, discovering who she truly was. She wanted nothing to do with what her parents had and she looked up to and admired the life and love-life of her "Aunt Birdie." She felt deep in her soul, that she was in fact, an "abomination" or a lesbian. The problem was, that if she told her family they would, "just throw [her] out on the street with no place to go. Or, if [she] were really lucky, allow [her] to live out the rest of [her] days with them under a dark cloud of silence and disgust." (Schuster).

Chimamanda Ngozi once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Stereotypes). Many stereotypes effect us. They can also have a negative effect and those affected by it can feel insecure because they may be judged or treated because of that certain stereotype. Stereotypes are labels that are unfairly placed on people, and they affect all of us.

Stereotypes concerning race and gender should not be as prominent as they are today. People of today’s generation should not discriminate against those who are born with certain genetic traits such as race, gender, and disabilities, considering how long it has been since topics like these have been settled by the United States government. All of these topics are deeply rooted in American history and have been discriminated against for many years. As shown in real life and in Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif”, stereotyping can have a lasting negative impact on the way people feel about themselves and their capabilities. In Recitatif, there are two characters, both who are different from each which is a key aspect in the story considering that

“America” is closely intertwined with the idea of freedom, the right to determine what we yearn to be, and contented people. Moreover, the standard of living in America is higher than developing countries such as India (D’Souza 340). Even, the poorest American has a television, microwave, and car (D’Souza 340). If we consider these facts, Americans should be among the most delighted people in the world. However, Americans are not as joyful as we thought they are, as a result of not being truly free, even though they are not being oppressed (Samuelson 24). Their freedom is limited by a set of unwritten laws, appointed by their community. This unwritten law is commonly called “stereotypes”, which looming around their social lives around their society.

False rape accusations can be incredibly destructive to the lives of those who are accused. As such, it is important that each case is investigated to the fullest extent possible and that the situations remain disclosed to the public until a verdict is reached. The idea of "innocent until proven guilty" must always be protected in our society; Allowing any case to ignore this philosophy is detrimental to freedom and due process all over the country. However, it is also very important to make sure that women and men can feel safe to report if they have been raped. People should not be shamed for reporting a rape, but they often are. Unfortunately, even the most cherished of people can turn out to be sexual predators. For example,

Being black and unemployed is one of the phenomena that continues to be observed. When it comes to the social environment, most blacks tend to be less educated than others, jobless or lack the social intelligence to obtain the skills for employment. Blacks continue to be viewed as incompetent and non-compatible to the job market. “The United States is comfortable with stereotypes. Indeed, we revel in them. Stereotypes serve as a useful function: they help reduce complexity, nuances and dilemmas of life to manageable proportions” (2008). When it comes to applying for a job online, you have to take a quiz or an assessment test. It also requires you to answer your ethnicity and your disability. Therefore, you are discriminated against before the

Living with a Phantom America was founded in 1776 and new citizens all had relatively one focus in mind, to survive. Since then foreigners have come to the country, women have become linked to the household, and men have become the dominant members of society. In other words, stereotypes have begun to form. Stereotypes have become an idea that every human; regardless of race, gender, age, etc.; has had to become accustomed to over one’s lifetime. Stereotypes can be found in all defined groups of people, stereotypical characteristics have changed over the years, and one should not let the idea of a “social norm” define one’s lifestyle.

We later used these characteristics of high status in a perverse male character obsessed with being with ever-younger women to the point we parody him eventually masturbating a baby. The movements become ape-like, panting like a dog and soon he was on his knees barking and entirely playing the dog. We were able to challenge the common fetish of older men and the desire to make themselves look younger. The purpose of these scenes was to make the audience unable to ignore the message we were projecting; an understanding that our position in society is only defined relative to those we consider to be lesser or greater than our own. By forcing the audience to consider their roles in these relationships it becomes an easy step for them to see their place in a wider flawed system – as noted from the lecturer’s course material, “absent target – eg ‘the establishment’, personal target – eg ‘the audience'” (Taaffe 2015-2016)