Stereotype  

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Stereotypes of white people

Stereotypes are generalized ideas and representations about members of particular groups, based primarily on membership in that group. They may be positive or negative prejudicial, and may be used to justify certain discriminatory behaviours. Some people consider all stereotypes to be negative. Stereotypes connect with stock characters, clichés and tropes and are contrasted with individuality, originality and unicity.

Description

Stereotypes are assumed characteristics based on a large group of individuals whose beliefs, habits, and actions are perceived to be similar.

Stereotype production can be based on

• Simplification
• Exaggeration
• Generalization
• Presentation of cultural attributes as being 'natural'
• Unshakable belief in stability of stereotype
• Racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination
• Historical factors
• Guilt by association

Stereotypes are seen by many as undesirable beliefs imposed to justify the acts of discrimination and oppression. It is thought that education and/or familiarization can change these misbeliefs. Other negative effects are:

• justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
• unwillingness to rethink one's attitudes and behavior towards stereotyped group
• self-fulfilling prophecy for both stereotyping and stereotyped group (white people treat black people in a more hostile way because they are afraid of them; black people accordingly react more aggressively, thus confirming the stereotype...)

Unhealthy stereotypes can be negative or positive, even for the same group: Black men are generally supposed to be good musicians and basketball players, but at the same time seen as aggressive, prone to lives of crime, and likely to be on drugs. The effects of stereotypes can have positive and negative effects: Students who were implicitly made aware of their gender behaved as the stereotype suggested:

Asian-American women performed better in math tests when being aware of being Asian, and did worse when being reminded of being women.

Stereotyping can also be created by the media, showing an incorrect judgment of a culture or place.

Often the terms stereotype and prejudice are confused:

• Stereotypes are a generalization of characteristics; they reduce complexity, provide stability, and offer opportunities to identify oneself with others.
• Prejudices are either an abstract-general preconception or an attitude towards individuals.

Role in art and culture

Stereotypes are common in various cultural media, where they take the form of dramatic stock characters. These characters are found in the works of playwright Bertolt Brecht, Dario Fo, and Jacques Lecoq, who characterize their actors as stereotypes for theatrical effect. In commedia dell'arte this is similarly common. The instantly recognizable nature of stereotypes mean that they are effective in advertising and situation comedy. These stereotypes change, and in modern times only a few of the stereotyped characters shown in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress would be recognizable.

In literature and art, stereotypes are clichéd or predictable characters or situations. Throughout history, storytellers have drawn from stereotypical characters and situations, in order to connect the audience with new tales immediately. Sometimes such stereotypes can be sophisticated, such as Shakespeare's Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Arguably a stereotype that becomes complex and sophisticated ceases to be a stereotype per se by its unique characterization. Thus while Shylock remains politically unstable in being a stereotypical Jew, the subject of prejudicial derision in Shakespeare's era, his many other detailed features raise him above a simple stereotype and into a unique character, worthy of modern performance. Simply because one feature of a character can be categorized as being typical does not make the entire character a stereotype.

Despite their proximity in etymological roots, cliché and stereotype are not used synonymously in cultural spheres. For example a cliché is a high criticism in narratology where genre and categorization automatically associates a story within its recognizable group. Labeling a situation or character in a story as typical suggests it is fitting for its genre or category. Whereas declaring that a storyteller has relied on cliché is to pejoratively observe a simplicity and lack of originality in the tale. To criticize Ian Fleming for a stereotypically unlikely escape for James Bond would be understood by the reader or listener, but it would be more appropriately criticized as a cliché in that it is overused and reproduced. Narrative genre relies heavily on typical features to remain recognizable and generate meaning in the reader/viewer.

The teen sitcom Saved by the Bell features a typical group of high school stereotypes such as a class clown (Zack Morris), a jock (A.C. Slater), a nerd (Samuel "Screech" Powers), a cheerleader (Kelly Kapowski), a feminist (Jessie Spano), and a superficial fashion plate (Lisa Turtle). Some observed the sitcom, like many teen sitcoms of that time, in addition to stereotyping people, stereotyping an institution itself, that of high school. Television stereotypes of high schools have often promoted a "typical American school" as football games, fashion styles, flirting, and not much devotion to academics or studying.

In movies and TV the halo effect is often used. This is when, for example, attractive men and women are assumed to be happier, stronger, nicer people.

Stereotypes of groups

Common stereotypes include a variety of allegations about groups based on age, ethnicity, gender, nationality, dis/ability, profession, sexual orientation, race, religious belief, size, physical appearance, social class (see social stereotype). Stereotypes can also be based on individual impairments.

See also

• List of basic stereotype topics
• Animal stereotypes
• Stereotypes