I have been a member of a group that has been stereotyped. I have experienced stereotype in a different forms. One of a group I belong to is African American (black) and I believe it is the group that is most stereotyped. We all have heard (positive as well as negative) black stories of stereotype and it surely exists. One, that is typical for my group is that “we are only good at sports or music and not so good in academic.” But, as far as the group I belong to concerns, that is not the case. Most of the group members have a professional degree; with medical field, law, as well as business. Even though, we all love sports and play sports, that does not mean we are not in to education.
My experiences reflect to the idea the book discuses; “stereotype can be damaging.” They create an image that is not true or right to that group and “disallow for the valuable differences and positive contributions we all receive from each unique individual.” If people allow themselves to see a group such as mine, on the stereotypical eyes, they can fail to notice a great deal of value.
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Hi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasure reading your post. It was funny that the group I belong to has the complete opposite of stereotype of the group you belong to. The group I belong to is Asian, and the stereotype of is group is that we are only good at academic and not so good at sports or music. However, we all know that is not true. I have known many good sports players that are Asians, like Wang Chien-Ming who is Taiwanese baseball player and he is playing for the Yankees right now. Yoyo Ma is also a great music composer who is Asian. And I am sure you know a lot of African Americans who are thriving on the academic level, whether they are doctors, teachers or engineers.
-Sogo