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My Thoughts on Stereotyping

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by James1991, Sep 16, 2013.

  1. James1991

    James1991 Guest

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    On another thread it was said that the problem with stereotyping lies solely in the ones doing the stereotyping. Which led me to feel the need to over-zealously voice my opposing opinion **Not directed toward anyone specific, please know. I just hear that said all the time and I disagree with almost every word. Half the problem lies in the people who reinforce a stereotype by acting stereotypically**

    So let the preaching commence:

    What is a stereotype. A stereotype is the often inaccurate generalization of a group of people; a summary; a brief and vague description of an eclectic demographic. And where do we learn stereotypes? Through life experience; through the gossip of mainstream media; through the punchlines of jokes meant to appeal the masses; through the statistics presented to us based on the studies of a small percentage of the population meant to represent the population as a whole, which are then sold to us as cold, hard fact; by looking for ourselves at history, at economics, and at sociology, and in classes of those subjects which are taught to us in schools; and the list of ways we are taught to generalize and stereotype goes on and on and on. So until we radically change the news; the media; the ways studies are conducted; the way future generations are educated; and the sheer willpower of individuals worldwide to stop validating negative stereotypes through their actions which predecessor bigots and idiots set into stone, stereotyping will remain a problem, because stereotyping has countless problems contributing to it. A good portion of them being generally unsolvable. :help:
     
    #1 James1991, Sep 16, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2013
  2. TheStrongestLink

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    Stereotyping is bad.
    /thread
     
  3. TheEdend

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    Eh, not quite.

    It is impossible for any human being to stop any kind of stereotypes or some prejudices from passing their head. Our brain is literally built to only work with certain information so we don't waste too much time with things that "don't matter".

    The trick is to catch yourself and not letting those prejudices or stereotypes strictly dictate your behavior.

    Also, there are no positive stereotypes. Even the ones that sound good on paper like "asians are all smart" can have a damaging effect on people. So the goal is not to make sure that every single individual must follow the new and "better" stereotype.
     
  4. method

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    I absolutely agree.

    Stereotyping is merely a tool that helps us navigate our world of boundless information.

    It's a tool that is used, but can be abused (for instance, as a crutch when one is too lazy to dig deeper when necessary)
     
  5. Argentwing

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    Did you just... stereotype stereotypes? Whoa, man.

    They exist for a reason. Without getting into psychological terms, they provide a fundamental collection of thoughts for how you perceive something with which you're only a little bit familiar. Obviously they shouldn't be used to judge. But they are almost always founded in reality, and exist for some reason.

    Case in point, the stereotype that east Asians are good in school. Not always true, but their culture puts much more importance on academic success than Westerners do. We would skip school and possibly feel no shame, whereas it would be unthinkable to somebody who considers education to be the top priority in their life.

    TL;DR version-- Stereotypes are like historical movies. Good to get your feet wet on the subject matter, but not to be taken as gospel.
     
  6. TheStrongestLink

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    Looking back at the post I put, I agree with you. I did stereotype stereotypes, which, confuses me...
     
  7. Aussie792

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    A stereotype is invariably de-humanising. It ends up with the only people being considered for themselves, and not a pre-conceived idea, being straight, white males with English names. Stereotypes mean that you're not you. They mean you're what people feel comfortable in saying you are. This means that we have to fight against stereotypes if we want to ever be respected as people.
     
  8. Straight ally

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    The problem of stereotypes are this

    * confirmation bias: you believe an stereotype, everything that proof your belief have more weight than anything that contradicts your belief regarding that stereotype trueness.

    *perception of what is louder: when you see a non-effeminate gay guy, you dont stop to think "might he be gay?" You dont even pay much attention. But when someone sees a effeminate man they notice him and they suspect he might be gay or even assumes he is certainly gay. Non-effeminate gay guys aren't noticed, so people end perceiving more gay guys who are effeminate than non effeminate ones.

    *confirmation bias pt 2: when they see a gay guy they inmediatly start noticing all slighty effeminate details, even details they would normally not notice. If they compare 2 guys who are equally effeminate, where one is gay and the other straight, they will perceive the gay one as more effeminate, even when both are slightly effeminate in the same proportion.

    *semi-trueness: some stereotypes happen with certain prevalence, for example there is more effimity among gay men(at least those out of the closet) than straight men, , because the latter feel forced to appear macho, while out of closet gay guys dont feel the need to repress their feminity that much. Making effeminacy a bit more common in gay guys. Effeminate gay guys might still be a minority among gay people, but the slighty higher prevalence combined with confirmation bias and perception of what is louder makes a minority stands as if it where a huge majority in the eyes of people who belief in the stereotype. Mantaining in that way, the prevalence of the belief people have regarding the validity or recurrence of the stereotype.

    This 4 aspects also apply to other stereotypes.
     
  9. SomethingWitty

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    And despite all of the negatives your brain MUST stereotype, your brain is built to run off generalizations and rules of thumb because they allow faster processing of information, no human has enough brain power to examine every detail of every situation, we all have mental shorthand. The key is to them in check, be objective in paring off needless or harmful ones, keep your mouth shut about them, never let them show, and for each new acquaintance replace the garbage with accuracy. Everyone does it whether they want to or not, to quote Avenue Q, "everyone's a little bit racist" (and stereotypically a gay man quotes a musical). Also in the gay community stereotypes do have one positive value, namely allowing gaydar to function. Trust me I don't ping on gaydar and that is annoying (and why I rely on online dating and fixups, so the info is out ther before hand, because no one figures me out if not told).

    TL;DR: you can't not.