I Will Not Be Placed in a Box: Generalizations

[justbanANNAz]

This isn't a rant hehe, merely thinking out loud=]

I can't count the number of times I have seen generalisations on this site (and in reality of course). Whether they are trolling or not isn't even the issue. I can't grasp how some humans just don't... compute that WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME.

SO yeah in the most GENERAL sense, yes, we are the same humans^, but to think that I'm the same as the girl next to me, because we're both female?

I do agree that people from certain groups may share SOME characteristics, but does this mean they're suddenly all like-minded?

Some examples:

• Why do men hate virgin women?


• Why do women only go for bad guys?


• Why are pretty girls such bitches?


• Why do religious people try to shove their beliefs down my throat?


• What's the most beautiful race in the world?


• Why are all men assholes?


• Are all Asians really good at math?


• Do all black guys have large man-parts?


• Why don't girls date short guys?


• (oh i love this one, notice the difference in wording): Is virgin rape worse than 'normal' rape?

etc etc....

If anyone finds my opinion outrageous by this stage, please remain calm and listen carefully. The exit doors situated to your left and to your right. Thank you for stopping by.

Lol, sooo the rest of y'all know what I mean because it's EVERYWHEREEE. At least once in every hour we see a question of this nature.

When people ask questions like these, some answerers will usually try and explain that while they do understand the overall 'stereotype', they won't fit themselves into the little box that the asker claims they belong in.

I, for one, refuse to let stereotypes form my identity as a woman, sister, believer, mother, wife, etc...

a lot of people may respond with 'why does it matter? why do you care? Just do you and don't worry about others':) I guess in the end, you'd be right, and hear me out- it's not that I'm sensitive. I just don't feel that it's anybody's place to speak so freely about something they aren't even educated on, especially when it comes to another's identity. Ya dig? :P

We're tipping over 7.3 billion people now. Just stop for a minute, check out this worldometer and look at how fast that number rises...

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

So... how can one come to this conclusion that enormous masses of us will do the same thing, or react the same way?

I believe society is almost encouraging the loss of individuality by placing us into these stupid little boxes or categories, if you will, just to make things easier.

What, so there's no such thing as being 'different' anymore?

If we really could simply place each other into little nutshells like this, then I agrue, what the hell is the point of getting to know others? You might as well just walk down the street, analyse that person from head to toe and make all the ridiculous conlusions you want. What's the point of asking questions?

And what's the purpose of being a member of GaG, if one already, supposedly knows everything there is to know about the opposite sex?

We can't just say, 'I've got that entire group figured out'. Being oblivious to learning is wrong.

Life is full of questions, and if one isn't ready to accept the answer that THE HUMAN RACE IS SUBJECTIVE, they are ultimately leading themselves to be isolated from the beautiful diversity that is together, the race of human beans:)

~j.B

[Phoenix98]

Anna I find snowflakes to be the perfect metaphor for people despite us having the same base structure every single one of us is unique in our own small way. No two people are exactly alike much like snowflakes from afar we may look or act alike, but when you take a closer look and get to know someone you realize how different and unique they are compared to other people.

"Snowflakes in a group are just a pile of snow. Although, when you actually take the time to look at an individual snowflake you can see radiant beauty and majestic facets that you would otherwise miss.

[justbanANNAz]

that's a really pretty image. thanks for sharing :)

[Phoenix98]

Your welcome @justbanANNAz and I think what I said goes with what you were saying that while we may be the same we are also different, diversity is the spice of life and individuality is part of what makes people interesting and unique, especially with the number of people in the world rising.

[HollywoodGlam]

Nice take.
I hate generalizations. I don't like to be stereotyped, lol.

[justbanANNAz]

thanks girl xx
lol, preach!

[Anonymous]

I think I need to clear up some common misconceptions:

Why do men hate virgin women?

Men do not hate virgin women. I have no idea where you heard that from. The only guys who hate virgin women are the guys that want to have sex with said girls but are unable to.

Why do women only go for bad guys?

Women don't only go for bad guys. Women want strong guys and strong guys that aren't bad are somewhat more difficult to find.

Why are pretty girls such bitches?

Pretty girls are bitches sometimes because they can be and noone calls them out on their shit and they let them get away with it.

Why do religious people try to shove their beliefs down my throat?

Because most religions have passages that encourage conversion.

What's the most beautiful race in the world?

Mmm subjective.

Why are all men assholes?

Fallacy? I don't know

Are all Asians really good at math?

Because a lot of them are.

Do all black guys have large man-parts?

Apparently not (really) true.

Why don't girls date short guys?

Because of evolution. And they do at least sometimes.

(oh i love this one, notice the difference in wording): Is virgin rape worse than 'normal' rape?

Because "rape" is new conceptually. It used to refer ONLY to taking a girl's virginity before she was married. If a girl was no longer a virgin, like a prostitute, there was no rape. It did not exist.

None of those stereotypes prevent individuality, to an extent, they are there just because of biological tendencies.

[PT1911]

you clearly missed the point of the article bro

[Opinion Owner]

I don't think I missed anything and that's why I said: "None of those stereotypes prevent individuality, to an extent, they are there just because of biological tendencies."

What do you think I missed?

[PT1911]

The fact that you felt the need to clarify stereotypes...

[Opinion Owner]

It's not about feelings. It's about accurate information.

[justbanANNAz]

LMAO, let him be :) @PT1911

[mr90skid]

I found this funny lol

Are all Asians really good at math?
Because 'a lot of them are.'

Do all black guys have large man-parts?
'Apparently not (really) true.'

[Opinion Owner]

I'm not sure why it's fun.

[Opinion Owner]

funny*

[Anonymous]

i1127.photobucket.com/.../...m_MTA1NzA3Mjk4MjQ.jpg *great take and I expect nothing less from ya* i1127.photobucket.com/.../...kure%20no%20Jutsu.gif ( th122.photobucket.com/.../...yuudan20no20Jutsu.gif

[justbanANNAz]

I'm sorry sir i have no idea who u r, but thank u nonetheless :))

[Opinion Owner]

LOL (#^ ^#)

[YourFutureEx]

Behold, ~j. B. is our #GeneralizationHunter of GAG!!!

Real talk, before every generalization, there is our (general humans') fault. People react like what they see.
For example, the man (I am not generalizing, it might be a woman lol :P) who introduced the aliens to us depicted them like they are small in height, big heads, big eyes and probably, green in colour.
So we can't imagine them in another form.
Same goes to us, we have seen man hating virgins, women going to bad boys, Asians being good at maths *coughs* etc. So we tend to generalize because we are blindfolded and whenever we see a man loving virgin, women going for nice guys, a failure Asian, we ignore them completely, making them pseudo minority. So it's very hard to change the mentality of society. Yes, that was a good point, SOCIETY itself 'promoting' it.

Good Take, I can observe your activity against generalizing on several threads, so I must say, even better effort.

[justbanANNAz]

yeah id say blindfolded is a good say to describe it.
oh thanks, yeah i dont let it slip by sometimes.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the sentiment though Judging by your response to other posts you seem very comfortable with boxes as long as it's about women and men and how they think or behave or their roles they automatically come out identifying with. I don't see assuming a person is one way or the other Bc of their sex , to be any less detrimental or ignorant or more valid than the examples you give here... So it's kind of hard to take it seriously when you say you will not be put in a box. When you do it willingly lay to yourself and other Women. Then you ask " why". Well why DO you?

[justbanANNAz]

lol, as long as ur admitting that u stalk me, id like u to prove to me that i have ever ONCE made a generalisation on this site.
u either misunderstood my take or are claiming that u know everything there is to know about me. before u make such claims, get ur evidence THEN we can talk.

[bananatossing]

Great take! And very well written. Sometimes, boxes help people to identify themselves with a particular group, it gives identity to them.

But I have to say I'm more on your side. I think each should explore its own individuality and fulfill their God given potential, so to speak. Everyone has so much to give, and it only takes removing these tags to really flesh it all out. Cheers :D

[justbanANNAz]

thanks=]
i agree with ur first point as well. i think we sometimes need these boxes, but i think i should have said that we shouldn't rely on them completely to shape who we are.

yes! how boring would the world be if we were all the same?

thank u for ur input =]

[PT1911]

I think the pic I posted on a question I just asked sums up what you're saying perfectly

https://i.imgur.com/TuLUw28.jpg

[randomwhiteguy]

I miss those days

[justbanANNAz]

wow this is perfect lol. and i didn't know there were memes made for GaG... unless u made this.

[PT1911]

I made it lol

[justbanANNAz]

LOL nice! xD

[mr90skid]

One of us... become one of us...
41.media.tumblr.com/.../...maR2Eu1sx3zf0o1_400.jpg

Sike lol I feel ya though, go your own way

[justbanANNAz]

haha i like that pic! thank u i will :P *walks off*

[kickstand9]

You don't get to choose who puts you in a box. People naturally do this. You don't have to adhere to others notions of what you should do or be. You just have to recognize it's going to happen and live your life the way you want to. Don't be judgmental of others or you are no better than they are because you have expectations of them not to judge you. In the end, don't worry about what others think. God put you on this Earth so enjoy the experience. Live and let live.

[justbanANNAz]

yeah i understand:) but my point lies in ur first sentence.
'people naturally do this'. if people actually tried to redirect their thinking in positive ways, they can shift their mindsets over time. sounds impossible in this world, but u know, some food for thought.

[spuitkaas]

Great take! I got kinda sick of the generalisations too, but I guess that's how people on this site ask questions.

[justbanANNAz]

thanks hun, and ur right.

[Creeper1o1]

The last one I seen is "why are women gold diggers" lol aside from that the ones I hate most is why do girls like bad guys, and why are pretty girls such bitches. Lol these just sound completely silly to me

[justbanANNAz]

lol there u go. EVERY. DAY. :P

[AdoringFan]

The problem is though, that humans have the tendency to create these boxes, with names and characteristics to make sense of the world around them. Judging people based on a few characteristics is a way for us to quickly analyze people and react to them in an appropriate way. I don't mean that's a good thing however, but stereotyping is just a built-in way for people to make sure we don't expose ourselves to dangerous people.

[justbanANNAz]

oh totally, no doubt. in studying sociology at uni we were told that humans find it almost uncanny when something can't be placed in a box, so they actually try to almost, 'create' a new one themselves just to make sense of it, so i agree.
very well put and understood. maybe my message should be that while we can acknowledge the existence of these boxes, we should make sure that we dont just throw people or ideas into them without getting to know them at a deeper level?

[AdoringFan]

Yeah, ideally that would be the way to go. The question is however, can we? If we consciously try to avoid thinking in labels and boxes, subconsciously that might not work as well. It's human nature after all.

[justbanANNAz]

i believe we can if we make an effort to, but that's the problem. most people aren't bothered. just shoving a person or idea into a box is much easier than giving a damn about said issues to begin with. thinking in boxes is inevitable...

hmm. say racist people are like bad apples. there r 10 apples. 8 r rotten and 2 r healthy. my point is that u can't just place all 10 apples in the bin just because 8 of them r bad. ur still thinking in categories, but theyre actually fair. u put 8 apples in the bin and 2 back in the fridge.

[AdoringFan]

I see what you mean, maybe realizing that even within a certain group there is a lot of variation between people, could help stop generalization for a large part. However, like I said, generalizing is a part of human nature, so I don't think we can completely stop.
This doesn't mean I agree with it though, generalization can hurt people within certain groups because of untrue judgements being placed upon them, just because they are in a group.
Personally I try to not put people into boxes too much. Especially race, since we actually aren't devided into races since but it's all a matter of genetic variation. I'm white, so I would have more DNA in common with another white person and less with a black person. But that doesn't change the fact we are all still humans.

[justbanANNAz]

i see. it's very interesting that u and i think another person have said generalisation is part of human nature. i would say it's more 'categorisation' is, and we do this in different ways depending on the environment around us.
but each to their own and i respect ur view. thanks.

[AdoringFan]

I think that categorization and generalization are closely related. To categorize someone you reduce them to their defining trait to put them in a certain box and I think that is followed by generalization. But i respect it if your opinion differs, to each his/her own, right? :)

[justbanANNAz]

thanks for ur input =]

[TheWorldEndsWithYou]

To be honest, I don't think most people who are in here who ask questions are genuine about the very questions they ask. Most of the time I do think they say the most generalized question because most of the time you will get a response, argument or rant.

[SurströmmingLover]

Nice take but I really laughed at Are all Asians really good at math?
I've never heard this

[justbanANNAz]

lol iv seen it a lot:P

[SakuraChii]

I feel the same, I dislike questions like " why don't girls like nice guys" or "why don't girls like short guys" so much..

[justbanANNAz]

tell me about it.

generalisations all day everyday here. i could put money on it that i'll find another one within the next hour.

[p0rtis26]

"And what's the purpose of being a member of GaG, if one already, supposedly knows everything there is to know about the opposite sex?"

Enlighten others of course

[justbanANNAz]

what if everyone knew everything? :P

[p0rtis26]

Hmmmm, well they don't that is why I am here to enlighten them.

[justbanANNAz]

:P did i have u stumped for a moment? lol.
oh alright then, oh knowledgeable one.

[p0rtis26]

Yep you stumped me.

[apexalpha]

Agreed, although generalisation carry some truth to it. But is not the case all the time so the person asking the generalisation question wants to know the truth behind it..
I. e. its not like that 100% of the time but 51% it is why is that..

[justbanANNAz]

i agree. i hate writing too much for something so informal but yeah i should have included the benefits of some generalisation lol, i apologise. thanks for pointing that out.
lol talk about accuracy. thank u for those statistics sir:P

[apexalpha]

Welcome, update it copy and paste my opinion if you want

[Nexus5]

That's an awesome take. I am new here, but i am also tired of seeing same silly questions again and again.

[justbanANNAz]

thanks :) oh, welcome! i can relate.

[KDA20]

Brilliant take I completely agree and have nothing to add.

[justbanANNAz]

thanks. so kind as usual! x

[Homebakedcookies]

Why do all women on the planet assume stereotypes are forming them while infact they form the stereotypes?

[justbanANNAz]

well if you've read this article properly, i didn't base it around women.

[Zorax]

Great take, I agree completely :-)

[justbanANNAz]

thank you.=]