There is no problem at all when adjectives such as intelligent, feisty, and seductive are used for describing individuals. However, once they are used for describing groups of people, the same adjectives might lead to stereotypes.
What are Stereotypes?
Stereotypes refer to qualities that are assigned to certain groups of people in relation to their nationality, sexual orientation, and race, just to mention a few. Since they tend to generalize groups of people in ways that can ignore a group’s diversity and result to discrimination, it is important to avoid and break free from a stereotype.
Stereotypes are Complex
Although stereotypes might refer to a particular country, race, religion, or sex, they often link different identity aspects together. For instance, a stereotype regarding black gay males often involves sexual orientation, sex, and race.
While this stereotype targets a particular African American segment instead of blacks as a whole, there is still a problem in insinuating that black gay men all act in a certain way. There are a lot of other factors that can make up the identity of a certain black gay man to associate him with a definite list of traits or characteristics.
Stereotypes can also be complex once they factor in sex and race, members of a similar group can be pegged in different ways. Some stereotypes are applicable to Asian Americans in general but once the population of Asian Americans has been categorized by sex, it is easy to see that the stereotypes of Asian American men and women are different. Stereotypes that involve gender and race may peg men of a specific racial group as striking while the women are an exact opposite or the other way around.
How to Put an End to Stereotypes
There are several things that can be done in order to break free from these stereotypes:
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Educate yourself.
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Among the first and most important steps you can take is the same thing you are doing at this very moment, and that is educating yourself. Be sure to learn more about the issue and improve your awareness of stereotypes and how you can combat them.
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Have the motivation to avoid being controlled.
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Yes, one of the most effective ways of making sure that stereotypes don’t control you and your thinking is to just be motivated enough not to let them control you. With just a bit of effort and awareness on your part, stereotypes will never bother you ever again.
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Know the facts.
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It is all too easy to judge things, situations, and people as you see them with the naked eye. However, before making any assumptions, getting the facts straight will ensure that you don’t end up using unnecessary stereotypes.
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Meet more new people.
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While it is always good to learn about racism and race, it is never enough all by itself. Studies have long been revealing how establishing reciprocal and meaningful relationships with people from other different groups can work to put an end to stereotypes.