The fight against stereotypes
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
Stereotypes are widely spread across society and rooted in many people’s minds. And even though progress has been made, the years of fighting for open-minded views on life and a stereotype-free society shouldn’t be overlooked. There is still a long way to go.
The biggest problem is the fact that stereotypes affect everyone, whether it’s regarding ethnicity, gender or life-choices. According to my own observations almost no one I have talked to hasn’t encountered stereotypes in their lifetime. Usually, the first contact people make with stereotypes is through school or kindergarten or within their families. Hearing people tell their stories made me question if our current society regressed back to decades before. How is it possible that so many people don’t see the problem? I understand that especially older people have a hard time adapting since these thoughts are embedded in their minds, but it isn’t impossible. It is the current society’s responsibility to create a comfortable environment for everyone.
The first time that I realized stereotypes are a thing was when some random boy convinced me that I should not be allowed to play football with them as it’s a boys-only thing. From then on, I’ve been told so many things that I still refuse to accept. And somehow, I have the feeling that it has become trendy amongst teenagers to joke about stereotypes, and I can’t even differentiate if they are joking or if they actually mean what they said. I am not criticizing humor, but lines have been crossed. Nowadays I’ve seen 10 year old racists, women haters, homophobes, in general very discriminating children filled with these thoughts and views we would expect them to know from history class and not their own minds. Together as a society we should teach them from early on that stereotypes are unacceptable: Women are not weaker than men and men are not weak for crying, Sport is for everyone, mentally ill people aren’t crazy and disabled people aren’t disgusting, race has nothing to do with personality, queer people aren’t worth any less than straight people, all clothes can be worn by all genders, education doesn’t equal intelligence nor does money, etc., etc.
In the end we are all the same people, why judge each other based on some thoughts someone made up hundreds of years ago? You can make the difference: always be open minded and kind to everyone.
Comments (1)
Stereotypes can be described as behaviors or characteristics that are attributed to people based on their origin or affiliation. People confronted with prejudices often feel bad or suppressed which is why stereotypes are unacceptable.
I don`t say that every stereotype is an insult or that there shouldn`t be any joking about stereotyping, but often those jokes exceed limits. Imagine a group of friends hanging around and one man says something like: ,,Women are only good for cooking". The other men may laugh or forget about it in two seconds, but the woman perhaps pretent to be laughing and feel deeply degrated. And here lies the problem: Stereotypes are not there to oppress a group of people, but often have a bigger impact on it`s addressees than you think.
Stereotypes towards woman often can be equated with gender-inequality. The stereotype may be that women are still not fully emancipated, which can be absolutely confirmed by Afghanistan, for example. Woman are only allowed to move freely in puplic if their husband is with them. Another point is that many young girls have no chance of education.
In my opinion, we shouldn`t take everything too serious and perhaps start laughing, also when it is not the best time. What really matters is that we fight gender-inequality and always keep in mind that we can hurt someone not only with our fists, but with our words as well.