Introduction: I was born in a racially and an ethnic diverse nation and a decade after my birth I moved to a less diverse racially country. And because of this, I have come across gender, racial or ethnic stereotyping almost every day. I have come to a realization that the more societies tend to differentiate themselves from others, the rate of discrimination in that society is much higher. This creates a mentality of Us Vs Them, that we are better than them. The society generalizes small groups of people based on what they have seen on the media, and media has ways of influencing the public mind by spreading the never ending dividing propaganda in our societies.
Now what exactly is a stereotype? A stereotype refers to a generalized …show more content…
The common examples of stereotypes that have come across are:
1. Gender Stereotypes; Women are usually seen as the weaker sex, compared to Men. I am reminded everyday by the society that I am physically weaker than my male counter parts. I have challenged this nonsense stereotypes on daily basis. When I am in the gym and lifting
Gender, race and ethnic Stereotypes weights other gym members think that I am not capable of picking 90 or 110 kg weights because of my slender and feminine physic. Also the fact that most men think that women enjoy doing house work and cooking is another example of gender stereotypes that I have come across on daily life. I personally hate cooking and house work, and I know a lot of other women don’t enjoy these tasks.
2. Racial Stereotypes: believing certain races have lower status than your own race. The country I country reside in, doesn’t know much about the Middle East. The only thing that they know about the Middle East is the Arab world. So when they meet me, they ask “are you an Arab” and I say “no”, they instantly assume that I am an India. Now the country that …show more content…
The Black lives Matter campaign is another example of how institutionalized discrimination will cause an uprising in the society.
Gender, race and ethnic Stereotypes
Conclusion: we live in a world filled with stereotypes and racism. Some of us may have it tougher than others, but I am certain that we are all facing these issues. Fortunately for us, there are ways in which we can eliminate institutionalized and even the personal stereotypes that have believed in. The first step is to put ourselves in the shoes of others and view the world through their eyes and feel how they are treated by others in the society. And if what we are feeling and what we are witnessing is painful and wrong we should change ourselves for the better good of everyone else. Treat others just as the way, you want to be treated.
Another crucial step to eliminate the institutionalized discrimination is to provide equal opportunities to everyone regardless of their skin color, social background or ethnicity. And lastly, it’s very important to note that we are all groups of unique and wonderful individuals that will do great things in this world.
We are all human