Stereotypes: 1
“We all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us.”
Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 26 of this newsletter! Today’s topic is Stereotypes. This will be a multi-week topic that I am very excited about and that tons of y’all voted for in my recent survey. I want to breakdown specific stereotypes of a few marginalized groups over the next few weeks including stereotypes of Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, Jewish, queer, disabled and overweight communities. This week we are just focusing on what stereotyping really is and how it affects our daily decision making, interactions and lives. Remember, though we all have implicit bias and stereotype those around us, some of these prejudices are more dangerous and harmful to our most vulnerable communities. We will continue to unpack this throughout the next few weeks. Let’s get into it!
Key Words
Stereotypes: In social psychology, a stereotype is an over-generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group.
Racism: Racial prejudice + power. Power here is defined as the authority granted through social structures and conventions—possibly supported by force or the threat of force—and access to means of communications and resources, to reinforce racial prejudice, regardless of the falsity of the underlying prejudiced assumption. Racism cannot be understood without understanding that power is not only an individual relationship but a cultural one, and that power relationships are shifting constantly.
Discrimination: Unfair or unequal treatment of an individual (or group) based on certain characteristics, including age, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religition, sexual orientation, etc.
Prejudice: Prejudice is a baseless and often negative preconception or attitude toward members of a group. Negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs and a tendency to discriminate. Although prejudice is a noun and not a verb, the behavior is often influenced by bias. Once the switch is made from "thought/feeling" to "action," discrimination has occurred.
Implicit Bias: The attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. They are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control and reside deep in the subconscious. The implicit associations we harbor in our subconscious cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance.
Profiling: The act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior.
Essentialism: A belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are.
Let’s Get Into It
We stereotype and profile people all the time. On the one hand, it’s a logical way for our brains to make sense of the world around us and categorize things into groups. Psychologists call our mental shortcuts “heuristics”—and we need them to help our brains navigate the world. But heuristics can lead us to make potentially damaging assumptions about other people. These associations develop over the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages, early life experiences, the media and news programming. Our family, community, favorite shows and toys reinforce this messaging. Because many of these ideas are subconscious, folks might be surprised by their implicit biases and believed stereotypes.
Think about some of the groups I mentioned earlier — Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, Jewish, queer, disabled and overweight communities — What images and associations pop into your head?
Common Types of Stereotypes
Racial Profiling: Based on someone’s perceived or known race, do you have specific ideas about them? Do you feel that they are more or less dangerous? Do you feel like you are more or less likely to date them or be friends with them?
Gender Profiling: Based on someone’s perceived or known gender, do you assume things about them? Do you feel they are stronger or weaker? More or less emotional? More or less trustworthy or capable or able to lead? Do you all together assume someone’s gender without inquiry into how they identify?
Cultural Stereotyping: Based on someone’s perceived or known cultural background, do you believe certain things to be true about them? Do you think they would be good or bad at math? Do they seem like they are a fast or slow runner? Do you think they are a foreigner?
Grouping: When you see a jock, goth, skater or emo kid (because this usually takes place in schools) do you assume how they will behave?
Sexual Stereotyping: Based on someone’s perceived or known sexual orientation, do you have certain expectations about their behaviors? Do you assume they will dress or speak a certain way?
Remember, everyone has implicit bias. Let’s unpack some common stereotypes and understand where they originated and how we can dismantle them.
