African American Stereotypes

“A stereotype is an oversimplified or generalized idea about a certain group of people, often held by members of a different group.” Stereotypes typically come from those who are ignorant to topics such as gender, sexuality, race, religion, etcetera. The people imposing the cliche use stereotypes as a defense mechanism, to feel superior, safer, more comfortable. A couple examples of this are gender bias or roles and police brutality. Gender bias is a very common stereotype. From the moment we are born, we are given the assigned colors, blue for boys, pink for girls. Women are feminine, men are masculine, and if the cards are flipped then that person is deemed as queer.

Every human being belongs to a specific type of race or possibly multiple races depending on his/her background. As a population, society views their fellow citizens according to their certain race. For some, culture and traditions of their own race means everything to them and these people are proud of who they are and where they come from. However, for some races their background and pride carries burdens. Although every race is known for distinct stereotypes, a few are worse than others and usually these stereotypes are not true. African Americans have suffered through discrimination for an extremely long time and even though it is not as severe as fifty years ago, stereotypes and racism still exists today. It becomes a fact that others

I chose this article because when I got back from my mission I came home to a lot of politics. It has really interested me because when I left, politics were still an issue, but not to a large effect. When I got home it seemed like all hell broke loose and that’s all anyone was talking or posting about. So, I did some unbiased research myself not really listening to ones side or the other until I have read both stance points. I wanted to see what I believed more. After I read, I became hooked on a lot of controversial things.

Imagine being perceived in a way were almost everyone thought one lived a catastrophic life based on the school they went to. A stereotype is an image of a person or group of people that is labeled or seen in a specific way by a range of people. Although stereotypes come with some legitimacy, another way groups and individuals are judged or viewed differently is by misconceptions. False interpretations forming from misunderstood ideas or thoughts are misconceptions. Stereotypes have come from past generations which are now influenced from media such as movies, tv shows, and social networks. Students that attend continuation schools are often observed as misbehaved troubled filled students. This stereotype and many more have surrounded and

There is one hard and very evident fact that exists in the world we inhabit; that fact is that stereotypes are as common as rain. A stereotype, as defined by bing.com, is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. They happen so often that we aren’t even aware that they occur. These atrocities appear in books, films, the news, and other worldwide forms of media. The troubled teen who just so happens to be of African American descent; or the saying of how the Chinese community cooks dogs as a source of meat; or how most people from Mexico are illegal immigrants; these are just some small examples of stereotypes. They exist in reality why should they exist in films. In the film A Family Thing, Ray’s troubled childhood is a stereotype, along with the films portrayal of African Americans.

A stereotype is a fixed set of beliefs upon of a certain group of individuals who share common traits. Stereotypes can be classified into a wide range of categories such as: race, culture, ethnicity, gender, social or economic status, and religion. A stereotype has to do with a group of people rather than an individual. Most stereotypes are biased and untrue. Stereotypes often lead to prejudice, meaning that one acts a certain way due to the fixed beliefs they have toward a certain group of individuals. Although stereotypes often have a negative connotation, psychology says that we need to put people into these groups in order for our brains not to overload on information. I was recently insulted by a woman who made a very rude stereotype about Mexicans. It has definitely impacted my life and the way I view and act towards others.

Everyone that has ever existed has faced some kind of subjugation. Whether it be over gender, sexuality, religion, financial status, ethnicity, or color everyone is stereotyped. Some have more negative stereotypes than others, some just have ones that are neatraul. To dive down deeper into the understanding of different stereotypes, I asked a close friend some questions and compared them to the ones I face as a young woman. The answers were incredibly different, but so weren’t the effects which I expected to be the same. The friend that I interviewed was answering from the standpoint of being African-American, while I interviewed myself from the standpoint of being female and compared them. The outcome? Peculiar.

The act of stereotyping is assuming that all members of a group have similar knowledge, behaviors, or beliefs simply because they belong to a group. Using stereotypes is one of the most common reasons why countless people are misjudged. It can occur with the person’s knowledge or it can happen subconsciously. Sometimes, in writing, authors will form stereotypes for their characters to fit into. By using a stereotype, it sets a base for the character to build off of and show change. The writers of tv’s number one hit comedy, The Big Bang Theory have included a prominent stereotype in their show that is fitting for their title. The stereotypical nerd is portrayed in many of the character’s through the way they dress, their vernacular, and their lack of social skills.

In Chapter 1 of The Wilmington Ten, Janken wrote about how students from all-white high schools could have been dispersed into all-black high schools in Wilmington, North Carolina in order to help integrate the school system. Instead, only students from the all black high school were dispersed into two different all-white high schools because the community good was defined by what was acceptable to whites. This is relevant to the course theme of critically assessing the significance of events in North Carolina’s African American history because “white privilege” is very prominent in today’s time. For example, Americans of color are far more likely to be victims of law enforcement officers than white Americans. There has been a plethora of killings of African Americans by police

When I see this photo, not only do I see a mother and her daughter being comforted by a man, I see a mother wanting a better life for her and her daughter by migrating to the United States. Unfortunately, their dream has come to a halt. The man in the photo seems to be wearing his border patrol uniform so I am assuming she has been caught trying to find a new life for her family. It is heartbreaking to see this photo because the mother is crying and usually when I hear ‘mother’ I tend to believe they are strong, determined, happy, optimistic, and immortal but in all honesty they are struggling to keep us happy. The daughter may have also believed that but when she saw her mother

Today, we are living in a very complex social environment. In today’s society, people are stereotyped in many different ways depending which category an individual is located in. Haven’t you been stereotyped at some point in your life? Or you may have stereotyped someone without even noticing it. Stereotyping is actually more serious than we thought and it is becoming a major problem in our society today. But what is stereotyping? According to the dictionary, stereotype is defined as “a simplified and standardised conception or image invested with special meaning and help in common by members of a group.” Moreover, it is considered as a form of prejudice, as people are putting labels about how a person should act or live according to their gender, nationality, religion, personality or appearance. This creates pre judgment, including misconceptions, which can develop further, leading to bigger problems and complications.

Factors can exist in in the perceiver, the target, or the situation. For example, when you look at your target, your interpretation of what you see is influenced by your personal characteristics (Book pg.153). Things that are important to you matter in these situations and the context in which perceptions are interpreted have an impact. I also believe that stereotypes play a factor in this as well. Being African American, I know many of times I have experienced situations where on the job that sly remarks have been made or actions have been displayed towards me. I can recall a time when I went into the break room to have lunch and some of coworkers joked and asked “What are you eating for today? Chicken?” While they laughed and joked amongst

One thing everyone needs to know is all stereotypes are all based on truths. Truths, pertaining to stereotypes, are how categorized groups used to act in a certain way in the past or how some still act that certain way currently. Truths are basically the honest look of how the group behaves. Currently people get misconceptions and stereotypes confused. Yet misconceptions are formed from stereotypes and are incorrect based on truths. Misconceptions are assumptions, or a mistaken belief, a person has because he or she is apart of the group. These misconceptions are not exaggerated and usually have no truths to it. Misconceptions and stereotypes about people also often get falsely confused with prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is a person’s hostile opinion or feeling is based on something they have no knowledge about, thought, or reason behind it. Discrimination is the unjust treatment of a person due, the group, class, or category to which that person belongs to. So essentially a person’s adverse attitude toward someone is prejudice and a person’s biased action toward someone is discrimination. There are misinterpretations about stereotypes that make it seem as these made categorized groups as a bad thing, but there is always a little truth in every

The racial inequality that we have in modern day blossomed from the historic oppression and comprehensive prejudice of minority groups. From the very beginning of “American” history, other groups of people who were not of European decent were discriminated against and treated inhumanely and without the smallest regard for their lives. Native American populations were decimated by diseases brought oversea by Europeans and forced from their ancestral lands by settlers to make room for their expanding populations. African people were enslaved by the millions and were used as tools of labor, and weren’t even regarded as humans,

Stereotypes have been around for decades, and are still prominent today. In today’s society, everybody stereotypes one another, but will not admit that they do. Stereotypes can either be positive or negative. Usually stereotypes are used in a negative approach and can be degrading to an individual. Misconceptions are also used by individuals and can be harmful and unreasonable. Misconceptions are usually formed from having stereotypes. Everybody has a stereotype that is associated with them, whether they like it or not. Male probation officers is a group that is misunderstood to society. They have multiple stereotypes and misconceptions that are associated with them; theses associations are made up by the offenders or individuals in general. Individuals need a better understanding of male probation officers because not all of them are intimidating.