Stereotyping In Today's World

Aguilar 1
David Aguilar
Genevieve Zuidervaart
English 099
October 21, 2012
Stereotyping in Todays World In this world there are many things people are guilt of, one of those guilt is stereotyping. Due to racism, discrimination, and sexuality stereotyping has been a major effect on social groups in society today. Often, people don’t realize what their actions are capable of doing, and don’t realize the damage they have left behind until they’re actually done it; this only brings negative consequences amongst themselves as to why they did it. One major effect that stereotyping has is racism. Racism, in most cases, can result into hatred of each individual of the subjected race, which can lead to discrimination and hate crimes. Racism,
in it's most frequently used term, is created when people dislike a certain characteristic attributed to a significant amount of individuals of a certain race, yet, would dislike the race itself and not just the individuals possessing subjected characteristic. In the short story Black Men and Public Space, Brent Staples discusses, “ that no one should be treated unfairly; due to their skin color, race, or personal background.”(270) For example, people shouldn’t make an effort to stereotype because majorities only look at their appearances rather than what they truly are capable of. One common asset society claims to stereotype would be that “All Mexicans (which is usually what some people call all people of Latino descent) are illegal.” Which in most cases that stereotypical comment can be offensive, and racist. Also, hate is a negative emotion that
Aguilar 2 generates anger. Anger leads to violence, and violence is a crime. Thus, when people commit crimes against someone of the subjected race because they attempt to combat the stereotypes they dislike, chances are, they'd get charged for a hate crime. Another major effect that stereotyping leads to is discrimination.
Discrimination can lower your self-esteem and make you feel as if you are an inadequate human being, which can lead to you constantly seeking approval from others. Also, anger and frustration can build up inside said person, which is never healthy. If you discriminate, you are judging someone unfairly, usually on what they look like so if someone is the wrong color, size or age, you are discriminating against them, since color, size and age are not important. Everyone has equal rights to live their life to the best of their ability. Some people are biased against others, and that’s unfair. In the story Indian Education, Sherman Alexie says, “ Why does discrimination play a role in today’s society in which we would abuse it to discriminate others by their race, color, and ethnicity” (274) For example, if you were to turn down someone on job because they look wrong, then you’re most likely to employ employees based on their appearance who in fact could be lazy, uncommitted or high maintained.
Due to the advances made in recent years to establish equality between the sexes, society reflects fewer attitudes that support discrimination and inequality between men and women. Most of us espouse a point of view that is liberated from old sexual prejudices that once bordered on racial bigotry. However, even though we are liberated in our beliefs and attitudes, many of our actions are still influenced by misconceptions
about men and women that have been passed down through the generations. In spite of their Aguilar 3 stated values, a surprising number of people today relate to each other based on stereotypical views of the sexes. We learn prejudicial attitudes at an early age from observing the stereotypical roles that people in our families assume. As we progress through school, our classmates and peers reinforce these attitudes. They are also supported by the unspoken biases of our teachers and by the arrangement of educational programs. On the other hand, suggest that any feminine man is gay and any masculine woman is a lesbian. Those who believe gay stereotypes may also believe that homosexuality are immoral, wrong and an abomination. Sexual stereotypes confuse people’s thinking about the differences between men and women. It also confuses people’s thoughts about the differences between men and women. These timeworn attitudes overstate the qualities that distinguish men and women, and place the two sexes in artificial categories. For instance, one could say that a man is tough, and powerful, and woman is sensitive, and intuitive. However, society shouldn’t look at it that way because there’s so much more a woman can do that men do as well. For example, law enforcement men, and woman contribute with one another to work together. As a result, due to stereotyping, we realize that no matter what the circumstance are, we as humans have to understand that it’s not right to stereotype. As long as there are different races and cultures, stereotypes will never go away. This is because humans fear what they do not understand and thus, must categorize behavior in order to better understand the world around them.