Group Identifiers, Stereotypes And Prejudices

Group Identifiers, Stereotypes and Prejudices

More often than not, when someone stereotypes someone it is more negative than positive. A negative generalization to a racial group can however be thought of as positive through association. For Example, I’m not good at tennis and I’m terrible softball but some people think that all white people are good at both. I, by default, am thought to be normally good at softball and tennis simply by association. Stereotyping is usually not accurate and used in a sense to hurt someone’s feelings. It is a lack of understanding that we stereotype placing labels on someone.
Stereotypes are a consequence of the way our brain logically puts things into categories and groups. The negative aspects of stereotypes
I truly believe we tend to stick with people who are similar to us and avoid those people who are different. I think it’s just comfortable to be among people who are like us, and identifying by similar traits; I think it provides a sense of belonging and community. When we avoid others who are different, we tend not to learn about them. When we don't really know what people are like, it's easy to make generalizations about them based on very limited knowledge or information about them. Those who are identified by race are socially set apart because of “obvious physical” differences. By obvious and physical differences, I mean things as simple as the hair color, the amount of body hair one has, etc. Each society defines in their own terms what they consider or find obvious. Most societies today use skin color as the most common identifier. Ethnicity, groups of people set apart from others because of their national origin or distinguishing cultural patterns would be the second most common way of identifying people. Ethnic minority groups are distinguished from the dominant group purely on the basis of cultural differences. For Example, views on marriage and parenting, food habits, and language are just a few to name that distinguish this group. The third most common identifier would be religion; any association with religion other than the dominant faith is the third basis for minority-group status. I had never considered myself to be a part of a minority group but because I practice Catholicism and learning Roman Catholics form the largest minority religion was a surprise. The fourth most common identifier is gender which makes up dominant and subordinate groups. It’s no surprise that the males make up the social majority and women are the social minority. Unfortunately, women often encounter prejudice and discrimination more often than men would. A women of a different race