Physical characteristics are a big influential factor in the lives of people. Have you ever seen a girl walk by with a short skirt and a tank top on, showing some excessive skin, and thought to yourself: “Damn! She’s pretty slutty!”? How about when a group of African American males are hanging out and “inspecting” females walking by? Did you ever think that they were “Playas?” I thought so.
These are stereotypes. I’ve been one to be extremely stereotypical throughout my life. Whether it’s about a certain race, religion, or gender, there’s always a certain thought about that certain group and you assess it to the whole group.
I can remember back in my High School days of playing basketball for my school team, the Siren Dragons. We weren’t a great team, but that’s another story in itself. I remember when we were playing a local rival team during the season. They had an African American on their team. So while I was in warm-ups I kept thinking, “god, this guy is gonna score 30 on us!” That’s right folks, I stereotyped. I stereotyped hardcore.
Not only did I assume he was extremely athletic, I also assumed some other things. I thought he would be a “gangster”, I thought he was going to be a jerk; I thought I would get beaten up by him if I said the wrong thing on the court.
Boy was I wrong.
Not only was he not that athletic as I presumed, he was one of the nicest opponents I had ever faced on the court. I remember during the game he helped a kid up that got knocked down. I felt terrible after this. I went up to him after the game and talked with him. We’re still friends to this day. This is just ONE story of stereotyping.
The media is a huge influence in people’s life today. Through sexual advertising, thematic TV shows, and extreme, elicit dialogue; the media is a force that manipulates the minds of people nowadays. They will continue to do this if people aren’t ready to realize what they are susceptible to.
If people are not aware of their perceptions, they could assume the wrong idea and create a conflict that could have been easily avoided. With that in mind, have you ever been in a situation where you or someone else assumed the wrong idea, creating a conflict within a group of people?
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I assume the wrong idea ALL the time...it's just part of everyday life...If you don't grow up with much diversity it's even more difficult to not make assumptions. I met this African American in my group of friends and I was a little intimidated by him, since my hometown doesn't have many other races except white. It turns out, he is scared of other African Americans himself! He isn't what I thought he'd be. I think that makes things difficult when you stereotype, but it's a hard thing to quit doing.
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