Stereotypes
What are stereotypes?
The word stereotype comes from the Greek language, meaning “solid impression”.
A stereotype is a generalized perception of first impressions, such as: beliefs or behaviour presumed by a group of people who judge with their eyes and criticize the ones outer appearance without knowing them in depth. Stereotypes, therefore, can set off prejudice and false assumptions about entire groups of people, including the members of different ethnic groups, social classes, the opposite sex, etc. A stereotype can be a conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image, based on the assumption that there are attributes that members of the "other group" have in common.
For as long as there has been a human species, individuals have been different from one another – hence they are called individuals. Persons have slowly made their way to groups of other persons like themselves. People create and develop categories of qualities by which to classify the groups; some were based on ancestry. Many of these groupings have become the key factors in determining which groups have political, social, and economic power in the world.
For individual people there can be both positive and negative effects of a stereotype which is seen to apply to them. The overall effects of stereotyping are seen by many to always be negative. Some people believe that stereotypes are generally based on actual differences, but most believe that stereotypes are always false generalizations.
I am familiar with quite a few examples of different stereotypes such as:
Blonde-
Some of the characteristics of the “blonde” stereotype are: stupid, popular, successful in athletics, a bit of a flirt. I have been considered as a”blonde” a few times, and I didn’t like it at all. I don’t think that the colour of my hair should be the first thing that people look at when they see me, and I don’t think that they should make a decision on what kind of person I am, with only knowing the...
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