Essay On Misperception

Misperception is a false or incorrect perception of someone or something. Misperceptions are in our daily lives whether we know it or not. Many people are misperceived based on their race, their gender, or both. I feel stereotypes and generalization goes hand and hand when misperception comes into play. Stereotypes are generalizations. Stereotypes are characteristics imposed upon groups of people because of their race, sexual orientation, and gender. Being an African American is already bad in society today. But the fact that I am an African American woman, there is no break. People expect you to be uneducated and talk “ghetto”. Or they expect you to have this “country” accent and slang. Neither of those describes me. Yes, I am African-American. Yes, I am a woman. However, I am highly educated and I use the correct grammar, most of the time. I do not have a “country” accent, nor do I make up my own words. But these comments are not just coming from other races and genders. It makes me angry when
other African Americans say these things to me because they are basically insulting themselves as well. But they are ready to get mad when someone of a different race says the same things. This seems very hypocritical to me. Instead of labeling ourselves with stereotypes, we should prove to people that these stereotypes are wrong and ignorant. Being a teenager also contributes to generalizations I have been associated with.
Teenagers are lazy, rebellious, and ungrateful. I am far from any of those statements. Laziness has never been an option for me, especially with the words of my mother. I knew I could not get or do what I wanted without handling the responsibilities I had at home. If I wanted to go out, I knew I would have to have my room clean and dishes washed. There was no if, ands, or buts about it. There is no way that every teenager in the world is lazy, rebellious, and ungrateful. Yet, people still label teenagers in the world by that description. There may be a few teenagers out there who are lazy, rebellious, and ungrateful. But, it is crazy how those few have seemed to destroy the image of every teenager in the world The hardworking, determined, and honest teenagers are thrown under the rug. However, we are still out here, waiting to be noticed, slowly trying to change that
generalization. On the other hand, I have also put individuals in generalizations. Everyone does it, whether you want to admit it or not. And honestly I feel everyone should do it to a certain degree, as it is a useful survival tool. For example, if you were to come across a stray pit bull, can you say that you wouldn’t get a little nervous? Why is that? Because it is a part of human nature. Pit bulls are portrayed as being aggressive and vicious. Coming from movies and even the media. Media has a big influence on how we see each other, from the stereotypes and generalizations that have come about today and over the years. The media relies on these because it can be seen as humorous or to describe others based on their beliefs. They are used both negatively and positively. They are used to influence, impact, and change the beliefs of the individuals watching, reading, and listening to the media.