Stereotype

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[[Category:Discrimination]]

Revision as of 11:56, 23 March 2009

A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression", apparently) is a thought or idea that says that all members of a group share some unrelated trait in common. Common examples include "all black men dance well" or "all women drive poorly" or that all homeschoolers are right wing Christians. It differs from "archetype" in that the latter is a model to follow rather than a (correct or otherwise) perception.

Stereotypes are most often encountered when dealing with discrimination, particularly racism, sexism, and homophobia. A less uncommon stereotype is seen with anti-intellectualism, Conservapedia's article on Professor values for example (the list below contains a few specific examples trotted out by these people).

Note that even "positive" stereotypes can have ill effects.

Examples of Stereotypes

  • All Jews are money hungry.
  • All Mexicans are illegal immigrants.
  • All Conservapedia editors are parodists.
  • All RW editors are immature nerds.
  • All Asian people are intelligent.
  • All Asians know some form of martial arts.
  • All heavy metal fans are obsessed with picky sub-sub-sub-genres.
  • All scientists are atheists.
  • All atheists are "evolutionists".
  • All Muslims are Jihadists.
  • All Buddhists are peaceful.
  • All Dutchmen are drug addicts
  • All African American men can run fast, jump high and have large . . . . . .......lips.
  • All African American men are slow, stupid and will rob you at razor point, given the chance.

What it isn't

It should be remembered that it's only a stereotype is the trait in question is unrelated, rather than as part of the definition of that group. To say that "all Christian believe in Christ" would not be a stereotype, however, "all Christians are God-bothering, preachy freaks" would be, and rather insulting to the more moderate, sane ones. When a stereotype is based on fact, and the "all" changed to "most" or "tends to", it really becomes a trend rather than a stereotype, such as "most women tend to have longer hair".

See also

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