Stereotypes In Our Society: The Negative Effects

Stereotypes in our Society: The Negative Effects

Hannah Poling

Mrs. Davidsen

Abstract

In this paper, I will discuss the role stereotypes possess in society today. I will describe the negative consequences that result from stereotyping others. With my opinion, along with supporting articles I accurately explained how I feel about stereotypes and the affect they have in our lives.

Stereotypes in our Society: The Negative Effects
Stereotypes have become a part of our everyday lives. People use them on a daily basis, sometimes without us even noticing. The purpose of stereotypes is so that as an individual, you are able to come to a quick conclusion on the type of person someone is without having to get to know them very well.

People use stereotypes to determine the type of person someone is without getting to know them. Many times, these perceptions are incorrect. Past experiences factor in when stereotyping someone. It is a type of defense that each individual uses when meeting new people. If you previously had an experience with someone that was not necessarily good, next time you meet someone that slightly reminds you of that individual associated with your previous experience, you will assume them to be similar or the same as that person. Sometimes this proves to be correct, other times it is not. In the article Stereotypes in Society written by Vianey De La Rosa (2013), the author stated, “This just shows us how we can be criminalized by people just by having them look at us and create opinions about what they think of us.” (para. 2). Just by looking at someone people come up with their own opinion and believe that they have come to the conclusion of the type of person they are. Most of the time this proves itself to be wrong. As individuals, we need to work on doing this less often until stereotypes are almost non-existent. This is quite farfetched, however I believe that if we all set our mind to this we can escape the negative outlook that derives from stereotypes in our

How we dress, who we hang around with, where we live, where we work, what our job is, whether or not we have a job, and so many more. Today, people can hardly do anything without being judged and labeled as something to be offensive. This should not be our reality, yet we have still let it come to this point. How and what we eat is one thing that has multiple stereotypes attached to it. In the article The Wages of Sin written by Francine Pose the author stated, “What’s slightly more disturbing is the notion that not only do fat people need to be monitored, controlled, and saved from their gluttonous impulses, but that we need to be saved from them-that certain forms of social control might be required to help the overweight resist temptation.” (p. 181) (para.2). This is how overweight people are looked at in society. This is wrong! Many people overweight cannot control the fact that they are overweight. There are many health issues that factor into weight gaining. These people do need help. However, we need to be considerate and caring when addressing them. Personally, I believe that Pose addressed being overweight in a rather hurtful and snobby way. Overweight people need encouragement. Being labeled “fat” is not encouraging in any way. The people in our society need to learn to be caring for others and not label them