Everyday Sociology Blog: Impact Of Stereotypes
In modern America, stereotypes affect every individuals’ lives, 95% of these stereotypes are wrong and negative. Stereotypes affect the way someone feels about themselves and others. Thus forms the question, how does society view individuals due to stereotypes? Stereotypes are generalizations (usually exaggerated) about a large group of people that is often offensive and untrue. Stereotypes influence lower self-confidence for people being stereotyped. They often make people believe in things that are not true about themselves. Some people live a certain way to either live up to the stereotypes or try to avoid them as much as possible. There are many different types of stereotypes including; gender, appearance, sexual orientation, and foremost race. Gender-based stereotypes are very common in American society.
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They are used to form a sort of separation between traditional male and female gender roles in society. When stereotypes in this category are applied, it can prevent individuals from accomplishing certain goals or obtaining certain jobs. Stereotypes like “woman are the weakest sex” are designed to negatively impact women 's roles in society. Appearance creates stereotypes in society that exist outside of the normal categories such as; race, gender, or social classes. For example, in a lot of cases an average or poorly dressed person would enter a high-end fashion store and, will not be taken seriously as a customer. The sale clerks would often treat the individual dressed poorly with less respect then a customer who dresses more expensively. They would assume the individual has no money and isn’t going to buy anything which is rarely the case. There are people in this society who have enough sufficient funds to afford overly priced merchandise, however not all people with large amounts of money spend it on things like clothes or expensive jewelry. People especially Americans have different views on the value of money and choose to spend it differently. So the poorly dressed individual may very well have money, she/he would probably choose to spend their money on items other than expensive clothes. Stereotypes based on sexual orientation apply characteristics believed by society to exist in individuals within that group. These stereotypes can involve how people of a different orientation may dress or how they may act. Stereotypes based on sexual orientation usually determine an individual 's social or political standing with no regard to their personality, beliefs or characteristics. Race has been the longest source of detrimental stereotypes in American culture. These stereotypes divide society into ethnical groups. These racial groups are identified by the person or mostly on appearance such as, color, body type features, or lack of features. A stereotype of this nature can be applied to anyone and may not be correctly based. Racial stereotypes are solely based upon the person beliefs, rarely including any facts. Most stereotypes are formed by observations of several groups overtime that turn into wide-spread generalizations about the group being observed. However, these observations are usually invalid due to wrong factors. This creates a problem because people tend to ignore actions that go against stereotypes, paying more attention to actions that may support the stereotype in the process. This keeps the stereotype alive for more generations to learn and use to harm and incorrectly judge others. Stereotyping also has Long-term effects on its victims, studies shown that; “people are more likely to be aggressive after they’ve faced prejudice in a given situation. They are more likely to exhibit a lack of self-control. They have trouble making good, rational decisions. And they are more likely to over-indulge on unhealthy foods.” Over the past several weeks, I surveyed twenty different people at my school to discuss how they felt about stereotypes and if they thought the stereotype they described made them and/or their race look bad. This group was racially diverse and their opinions varied, these factors contributed to my decision to pick this specific group for data collection.
Some of the stereotypes discussed and described were:
“All black people look the same.”
“Black people are loud and disrespectful.”
“All white people are whiney.”
“African American people are poor and have lack of intelligence.”
“Whites hate blacks...”
“Asians are really good at math.”
92.73% said these stereotypes did not apply to them, and everyone surveyed stated the said stereotype made them and/or their race look bad.
This is an accurate example of how stereotypes are usually wrong and hurtful. Not every member of “the group” follows the stereotype depicted. People are so used to stereotyping they no longer realize they 're doing it. This data has allowed me to come to the conclusion that stereotypes fully affect not only how society views us, but how we view ourselves.
Stereotyping causes wide-spread problems for the nation negatively affecting society, causing multiple misconceptions. No one fully understands how hurtful stereotypes are until they are the ones being stereotyped. Situations caused by stereotyping are normally embarrassing and awkward. These situations make people feel threatened affecting their ability to make proper decisions and to act logically. Stereotypes are the bases of racial problems in America. When people assume things because of ethnicity, color, gender, religion, and other categories no one feels equal or comfortable in their own skin. If opportunities are based upon these factors how can anyone live "the American dream"? Stereotyping comes so natural to everyone it 's sometimes impossible to try to prevent or stop stereotyping all together. But why it comes so natural is a question only you can answer since everyone 's answer will differ in various ways. However for the main question most individuals will agree that stereotypes are the main contributor to racial discrimination in this society. Also, stereotypes affect many factors of our everyday lives, making it a huge conflict for everyone in America.
Do racial stereotypes exist?
Bibliography
"How to Write a Case Study?." Term Paper Writing, Essay Editing, and Research Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.essayforum.com/grammar-usage-13/to-write-case-study-366/>.
"Long-term Effects of Stereotyping | Psych Central News." Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information ..
N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/11/long-term-effects-of-stereotyping/16675.html>.
Raskoff, Sally. "Everyday Sociology Blog: The Impact of Stereotyping." Everyday Sociology Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2012/06/the-impact-of-stereotyping.html>.
"Stereotypes Survey Statistics and Results." Survelum - create online survey with user-friendly software!. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. http://www.survelum.com/survey-results/T_Witter/
.
"Stereotypes: Do They Affect You? | Teen Opinion Essay | Teen Ink." Teen Ink | A teen literary magazine and website. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://teenink.com/opinion/discrimination/article/82236/Stereotypes-Do-They-Affect-You/>.
Swain, Kristin. "The Effects of Stereotyping In America | eHow." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013.
<http://www.ehow.com/info_8563840_effects-stereotyping-america.html>.
yunghef. "How Stereotypes Affect Society - Essays - Yunghef." Free Term Papers, Research Papers, Essays, Book Notes | StudyMode.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Stereotypes-Affect-Society-141498.html>.
They are used to form a sort of separation between traditional male and female gender roles in society. When stereotypes in this category are applied, it can prevent individuals from accomplishing certain goals or obtaining certain jobs. Stereotypes like “woman are the weakest sex” are designed to negatively impact women 's roles in society. Appearance creates stereotypes in society that exist outside of the normal categories such as; race, gender, or social classes. For example, in a lot of cases an average or poorly dressed person would enter a high-end fashion store and, will not be taken seriously as a customer. The sale clerks would often treat the individual dressed poorly with less respect then a customer who dresses more expensively. They would assume the individual has no money and isn’t going to buy anything which is rarely the case. There are people in this society who have enough sufficient funds to afford overly priced merchandise, however not all people with large amounts of money spend it on things like clothes or expensive jewelry. People especially Americans have different views on the value of money and choose to spend it differently. So the poorly dressed individual may very well have money, she/he would probably choose to spend their money on items other than expensive clothes. Stereotypes based on sexual orientation apply characteristics believed by society to exist in individuals within that group. These stereotypes can involve how people of a different orientation may dress or how they may act. Stereotypes based on sexual orientation usually determine an individual 's social or political standing with no regard to their personality, beliefs or characteristics. Race has been the longest source of detrimental stereotypes in American culture. These stereotypes divide society into ethnical groups. These racial groups are identified by the person or mostly on appearance such as, color, body type features, or lack of features. A stereotype of this nature can be applied to anyone and may not be correctly based. Racial stereotypes are solely based upon the person beliefs, rarely including any facts. Most stereotypes are formed by observations of several groups overtime that turn into wide-spread generalizations about the group being observed. However, these observations are usually invalid due to wrong factors. This creates a problem because people tend to ignore actions that go against stereotypes, paying more attention to actions that may support the stereotype in the process. This keeps the stereotype alive for more generations to learn and use to harm and incorrectly judge others. Stereotyping also has Long-term effects on its victims, studies shown that; “people are more likely to be aggressive after they’ve faced prejudice in a given situation. They are more likely to exhibit a lack of self-control. They have trouble making good, rational decisions. And they are more likely to over-indulge on unhealthy foods.” Over the past several weeks, I surveyed twenty different people at my school to discuss how they felt about stereotypes and if they thought the stereotype they described made them and/or their race look bad. This group was racially diverse and their opinions varied, these factors contributed to my decision to pick this specific group for data collection.
Some of the stereotypes discussed and described were:
“All black people look the same.”
“Black people are loud and disrespectful.”
“All white people are whiney.”
“African American people are poor and have lack of intelligence.”
“Whites hate blacks...”
“Asians are really good at math.”
92.73% said these stereotypes did not apply to them, and everyone surveyed stated the said stereotype made them and/or their race look bad.
This is an accurate example of how stereotypes are usually wrong and hurtful. Not every member of “the group” follows the stereotype depicted. People are so used to stereotyping they no longer realize they 're doing it. This data has allowed me to come to the conclusion that stereotypes fully affect not only how society views us, but how we view ourselves.
Stereotyping causes wide-spread problems for the nation negatively affecting society, causing multiple misconceptions. No one fully understands how hurtful stereotypes are until they are the ones being stereotyped. Situations caused by stereotyping are normally embarrassing and awkward. These situations make people feel threatened affecting their ability to make proper decisions and to act logically. Stereotypes are the bases of racial problems in America. When people assume things because of ethnicity, color, gender, religion, and other categories no one feels equal or comfortable in their own skin. If opportunities are based upon these factors how can anyone live "the American dream"? Stereotyping comes so natural to everyone it 's sometimes impossible to try to prevent or stop stereotyping all together. But why it comes so natural is a question only you can answer since everyone 's answer will differ in various ways. However for the main question most individuals will agree that stereotypes are the main contributor to racial discrimination in this society. Also, stereotypes affect many factors of our everyday lives, making it a huge conflict for everyone in America.
Do racial stereotypes exist?
Bibliography
"How to Write a Case Study?." Term Paper Writing, Essay Editing, and Research Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.essayforum.com/grammar-usage-13/to-write-case-study-366/>.
"Long-term Effects of Stereotyping | Psych Central News." Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information ..
N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/08/11/long-term-effects-of-stereotyping/16675.html>.
Raskoff, Sally. "Everyday Sociology Blog: The Impact of Stereotyping." Everyday Sociology Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2012/06/the-impact-of-stereotyping.html>.
"Stereotypes Survey Statistics and Results." Survelum - create online survey with user-friendly software!. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. http://www.survelum.com/survey-results/T_Witter/
.
"Stereotypes: Do They Affect You? | Teen Opinion Essay | Teen Ink." Teen Ink | A teen literary magazine and website. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://teenink.com/opinion/discrimination/article/82236/Stereotypes-Do-They-Affect-You/>.
Swain, Kristin. "The Effects of Stereotyping In America | eHow." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013.
<http://www.ehow.com/info_8563840_effects-stereotyping-america.html>.
yunghef. "How Stereotypes Affect Society - Essays - Yunghef." Free Term Papers, Research Papers, Essays, Book Notes | StudyMode.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2013. <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Stereotypes-Affect-Society-141498.html>.