Stereotyping Isn't All That Bad

[Aassem]

Stereotyping is categorizing humans according to any differences that might exist between them. This categorizing can descend from race, religion, culture, gender to type of clothing, financial status, job, marital status and so on.. But can all these factors have been originated without the existence of actual differences? I mean there must be reasons for it.

So why are people making all this fuss fighting stereotyping, claiming that it's absolutely wrong! People are different that's a fact, so assuming certain characteristics for different types of people seems nothing but logical to me. Judging people according to certain factors is what am completely against.

The difference between assuming and judging is actually huge according to the definition of both words. Assuming means considering certain traits for each type, based on previous knowledge or experience and scientific facts, just considering not knowing for sure. Judging on the other hand means knowing for sure; "Oh look what she's wearing, she must be a whore!". Judging is absolutely wrong.

We can't completely ignore our experiences and the scientific facts, or else what exactly are we learning, and how are we improving! Shouldn't we be cautious, be prepared for what we might face? We definitely should, we also should keep an open mind about other possibilities. We must not close our minds with opinions about people based on what we hear or even our personal experiences with some of them, when we didn't actually get to know them, I mean this is just stupid.

All I'm saying is that we shouldn't be defined or judged based on stereotypes, but we also shouldn't completely ignore them.

[lumos]

It actually is quite bad considering that the majority of people who do stereotype aren't just "assuming" anymore like you've suggested, they very much are judging. Stereotyping is the reason why certain people out there have a harder time getting jobs, or even the reason why they end up losing their jobs. Stereotypes are deeper than random comments about a girl's outfit reflecting her personality, or a person's preference in food based on race. It's something that deeply affects many people around the world, to the point where they're systematically shunned by society, looked down upon and sometimes even threatened, beat or murdered. It's not just "haha that guy is wearing a pink shirt, must be gay", it can also be "look at that disgusting f*ggot wearing that pink shirt, let's beat the living shit out of him". And I simply cannot support something like stereotyping when that very much can be the end result of it.

[Jayjoy]

how is it bad?

[Dude_1820]

I mean... stereotypes exist for a reason love. Just sayin'
I'm half Indian and make fun of myself regarding Indian stereotypes all the time. One of my friend is Mexican and loves the jokes I make about him because of how... shall we say creative I can get with them

[lumos]

@Jayjoy I literally gave examples in my opinion.
@Dude_1820 I could not care less about the jokes you come up with when you're with your friends. I don't think beating someone up for wearing a pink shirt or calling someone a whore for wearing a crop top is quite as funny as simple friendly banter.

[NatashaJ]

This^ it getting annoying now like random people online calling random white people racist for dumb shit. It just making life harder for no reason lol.

[Jayjoy]

@NatashaJ welcome to the internet, I don't know who this lumos chick is but she's kinda uh, anyways she's only 23, she still have time to learn how this world works!

[Dude_1820]

@Jayjoy ironically the same age as you lol
Glad to see you at least know what's going on in the world

[Jayjoy]

@Dude_1820 yeah on gag im 23 :D

[lumos]

@Jayjoy awww cute, you don’t have anything to say as a counterargument so you attack my age instead!! If you’re older than 23 it sure doesn’t show. 😘

[Jayjoy]

sweety sit down

[lumos]

@Jayjoy I am sitting down? Run along now, nobody asked for your input

[NatashaJ]

Jay no need for that she didn't do anything wrong she just stated a opinion.

[SirRexington]

Beating up or murdering someone is a crime regardless of the reason unless it was self defense. Acting on a thought is different than having one and preventing people from having thoughts is wrong. Most people aren't going to beat up a man for wearing a pink shirt. Only people who are already dangerous and horrible people. Unless your thoughts are suicidal, pedophilic or completely separate from reality then there should not be a problem.

[lumos]

@SirRexington my point was that stereotypes aren’t just thoughts, they are thoughts that oftentimes turns into actions. Sure, not as aggressive as beating someone up, but it definitely affects people in a sense that they get treated differently (most often worse) because of stereotypes.

[SirRexington]

But they are just thoughts, they are people making complex but instant decisions that the brain does subconsciously to read and decipher what is in front of them. These assumptions can change though as they learn more about the subject.

[lumos]

@SirRexington except that stereotypes tend to be something people stick to, even when they're proven to be false. Also going into something with a slight bias isn't the same as stereotyping. Having a bias is about trying to decipher something based on previous experiences. Stereotypes are something people just parrot to each other without factual grounds.

[ZaraHadid]

There are harmful and non-harmful stereotypes though. Stereotyping a white girl as someone who likes Starbucks and wears Uggs all year isn't harmful. Its just dumb. Stereotyping a Muslim woman wearing hijab as a terrorist is harmful as we can see from the plethora of attacks on Muslim women - including a pregnant Marwa El-Sheribini who was killed in front of her child in a court of law by a man who was on trial for verbal abusing her because of the stereotypes he has of Muslims. Stereotyping black people as liking chicken and watermelon isn't harmful. Its just dumb. Stereotyping black men (and women in some cases) as being dangerous is harmful as we can see from the plethora of unarmed black people being murdered by police in America. You can't say stereotypes aren't that bad if it leads to deaths of innocent people.

[taleswapper]

The problem of stereotyping is that it takes characteristics of some members of a set, and assumes it applies to all members of the set. This is the error of hasty generalization. Try to avoid it. You can go from specific examples to general principals, but going back the other way can be less reliable.
For a specific example, let's say one notes that the stereotypical Irish person had reddish brown hair, and freckles. So while you can expect anyone with those characteristics to have some Irish ancestry (as a working hypothesis), you can't assume someone with dark hair and no freckles isn't Irish.

[Aki6000]

Unfortunately it is the stereotypers who really care. Sure if you're black then you're black but some people make a big fuss about it because of them being as open-minded as a peabrain. They work up a big storm over something as insignificant as this and it affects the lives of the people they're stereotyping such as receiving unfair treatment, abuse etc.
What the people being stereotyped are afraid of isn't the stereotyping in and of itself, rather they are afraid of people who would ruin their lives because of it.

[Anonymous]

A stereotype is in fact a pre-judgment of someone and often times one that is very wrong or highly distorted. There are too many people in this world that rather then simply acknowledge that a person may do things differently from themselves, uses that otherness to discriminate, or perpetuate hate, and in many cases, promote acts of violence against others based on those "harmless" stereotypes. These people fail to recognize those of a group that they consider an other from themselves, as having any sort of personal identity or anyone from that group having the ability to be dissimilar from the stereotype that they have formed of them in their minds. This is the slippery slope that quickly leads to things like homophobia, racism, ageism, sexism, xenophobia, job/housing discrimination, etc. The thing is, if you want to find someone who fits a stereotype, you will. This is true for them all, however, it's using that confirmation of the one or the few that you may find, to them pigeon hole the rest and fail to see that anyone of that group can be any other way and then taking that and using that against a group. There is a reason we say, "celebrate your differences," and not "celebrate your stereotypes."

[keenybmr]

I like eating curry while giving my black friends watermelon and kfc. Behind me is Borat with his sunflower seeds insisting we both wear adidas track suits. Our Jewish brother here wants to become a world famous lawyer and make his banker father proud. But we all know he can't do that because Pablo here keeps bringing us green stuff from back home ;0)

[100lbguy]

while I'm pirating

[errorgoodnameunfound]

Let
s not forget that test coming up you'll likely fail because Xi Lang will be absent that day ;)

[Anonymous]

Funny how positive stereotypes are readily accepted whether they're true or not, and negative stereotypes are rejected whether true or or not.

The source also matters. A latina can say say she's passionate (which we all know means she's actually batshit) because she's latina, and nobody bats an eye. Others can spew bullshit about their race or ethnicity, and its perfectly fine. Let a white person say something positive about themselves. Let a smoking hot white girl say she's sexy because she's white. There'd be people breaking their own damn necks trying to ruin her life.

[errorgoodnameunfound]

Attention all people here. Please click on this. Play it loud as possible. Thanks. Not exactly on stereotypes, but around that subject though and quite hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXnM1uHhsOI

[Sesiero]

Black, Asian, indian, native American who works in the IT field.
Hard worker in DNA from black side
Knowledgable Asian side.
Tech support indian side
haven't managed to really make a playful joke out of my native side to fit in with my lifestyle.

[SirRexington]

This is very important to understand and sadly the mass populous is ignorant to this fact. Humans naturally categorize things as a survival instinct. The media needs to make this aware and people need to accept these truths instead of fighting them.

And by using my previous knowledge I can infer whether someone is a threat or a whore based off what I observe. My assumptions can be inaccurate though.

[John_Doesnt]

We all know what some people are thinking based on their race and how they look.
i.pinimg.com/.../...1021144d761c3acb63d4267371.jpg

[LegateLanius]

Stereotyping is necessary for human interaction and communication. When you enter a room full of hundreds of people how do you choose who is most likely to match who you are? You judge a book by its cover. It would be impossible to go around talking to everyone in the world and take weeks to get to know them. The process is made infinitely more efficient by stereotyping people based on their looks and actions.
That being said, there are good and bad stereotyping.

[Gedaria]

I love observing people see how they do things treat people. Like on a bus a girl will get on and it quite easy to build a picture about her in how she dresses , walks how she sits does she fidget with her hair does she keep looking at her phone in expectation of a message. It makes for a very enjoyable jouney...

[Dchrls78104]

Stereotyping occurs in all facets of society, from professional relations (e. g., actors being typecast ) to interpersonal relationships. In interpersonal relations stereotypes are often born of prejudice (e. g., racial prejudices). And, to be frank, prejudice hurts.

[vishna]

I agree with lumos, it's so much deeper than the way you describe it. Look at the mess in the world now, so much because of stereotyping

[Angelina25]

Sure but you know, right that there's this very fine line between judging and assuming? And this fine line is often trespassed by many.

[EmmaSmiles]

Yah, I looove Starbucks and like I shop like 24/7 and I, ya know, have like soooo many friends and we like always talk about serious stuff, ya know? It’s like, I know I’m weird and not like the others but like, whatever, you know?

[DevilsAngel]

Stereotyping is rarely based on facts but rather on assumptions. Some of them may turn out to be true for some but most of the time its untrue and quite unfair.

[BrittBratt2416]

No stereotype s are bad, it's why pocs still have a harder time in society and why people get scared as soon as they see a woman in a Burka.

[Anonymous]

As you are man of colour I thought you of all people would understand. But this proves that not all white people are ignorant, and not all ignorant people are white. Don't @ me

[Dude_1820]

He's not a man of colour... he's Egyption. His ethnicity further validates the point he's trying to make

[Opinion Owner]

@Dude_1820
Dude if your not white... you are a person of colour. Colour isn't limited to black people you know lmaooo

[Dude_1820]

Itstill doesn't make the point he's trying to make any less true

[Opinion Owner]

@Dude_1820
I guess it can seem that way when the stereotypes benefit you. Also if you are a man
Again don't @ me you know it's true

[cherryphi82]

Stereotyping is wrong when it's used to stifle or hold someone back or incite the exclusion or bullying of a particular group or person.

[Wizard-of-bras]

There’s nothing wrong with stereotyping. It’s just that our society has become so indoctrinated to be perpetually offended and we live amongst so many liberal snowflakes now and they have problems with everything.

[Killercroc]

Stereotyping for the most part is linked to racism. Are all black people thieves? Are all white people prejudice? Are all Arabs terrorists? Do all Asians have small penises?

All these factors make no sense.

[Dude_1820]

Finally the first smart thing I've heard all year. I've been surrounded by fucking libtards and snowflakes for too long lol

[Dude_1820]

All those down votes probably by snowflakes hahaha