What is a Stereotype? Essay

?What is a stereotype? Stereotypes that I am aware of are cultural, groups of individuals, sexual stereotypes, and men vs. women. “The definition of a stereotype is any commonly known public belief about a certain social group or a type of individual. Stereotypes are often confused with prejudices, because, like prejudices, a stereotype is based on a prior assumption. Stereotypes are often created about people of specific cultures or races. Almost every culture or race has a stereotype, including Jewish people, Blacks, Irish people, and Polish people, among others.

Stereotypes are not just centered on different races and backgrounds, however. Gender stereotypes also exist. For example, if you say that men are better than women, you’re stereotyping all men and all women. If you say that all women like to cook, you are stereotyping women. Sexual orientation stereotypes are also common. These stereotypes occur when you have negative views on gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals. People who have these negative views are often known as homophobic (Stereotype Examples)”.

Our concerns of people that are different from us would be: are these people okay to be around, will they attempt to hurt me if I wear this color, what is their motive or way of thinking, people who wear their pants below their butts are gangsters, and etc.. I find myself curious of other people’s identities that are from a different culture because I always ask myself “how differently were they raised by their parents”. I am worried about other people who wear their pants below their butts because it makes me think they’re a gangster or people who look weird.

I feel the need to watch myself around people of this type because they seem to be the violent or creepy people you see on the news. I appreciate a lot of things about the opposite sex because they are here for me to friend/date. The person I date now if very supportive to my family/myself and he is my idea of a lifetime partner. He doesn’t wear his pants below his butt; he is educated, a Christian, has help me become a better person, helped to believe that there is a god because before I met him I was an atheist, he protects me from creepy people, and he is ambitious about achieving his goals of success.

I also appreciate people of a different culture because it gives me the opportunity to learn things about the different cultures. I do understand that there are people of different cultures that don’t like my culture, but I look past them. I feel that if I was to encounter a like said person, I would probably run because I am strongly against being stereotyped. Of course it would be out of my control to change a person’s view or way of thinking unless they volunteered to hear what is wrong about being that way.

“Stereotyping is not only hurtful, it is also wrong. Even if the stereotype is correct in some cases, constantly putting someone down based on your preconceived perceptions will not encourage them to succeed. Stereotyping can lead to bullying from a young age. Jocks and preps pick on the nerds and the geeks; skaters pick on the Goths, so on and so forth. Stereotyping is encouraging bullying behavior that children carry into adulthood.

Stereotyping can also lead people to live lives driven by hate, and can cause the victims of those stereotypes to be driven by fear. For example, many gays and lesbians are afraid to admit their sexuality in fear of being judged. It is a lose-lose situation, both for those who are doing the stereotype and those who are victims (Stereotype Examples)”. References/Citation List “Stereotype Examples”. YourDictionary. com. Retrieved on November 15, 2013 from http://examples. yourdictionary. com/stereotype-examples. html.