Stereotypes And Misconceptions In Society

Throughout the world, there are many different groups of people who share the same interests and beliefs as each other. We are all part of a group that we feel comfortable being with. Every person sees and knows the truth about the community they are part of. But the truth may be twisted and become negative. A stereotype is the perspective of group of people based on truth, but very exaggerated. Stereotypes start like rumors, if one sees a group in a different way, then another might see the same. Some stereotypes may be untrue, therefore the stereotype becomes a misconception. We all have stereotyped a group of people and even the people we love. We may not know the full story, so we don’t quite understand. People stereotype because they don’t know.

Stereotypes and misconceptions lead to the categorization of a group or a clique. For example, in the article “About Men” by Gretel Ehrlich, she quotes, “Instead of the macho, trigger-happy man our culture has perversely wanted him to be, the cowboy apt to be convivial, quirky, and softhearted” (1). Our society categorized the cowboy of having the persona of a macho, tough man, but in reality they have to be like that, because of their workplace. However, a misconception is a statement which is false. An example from “About Men”, “...gentle with animals and rough on women- but rather, that they don’t know how to bring their tenderness into the house and lack the vocabulary to express the complexity of what they feel” (6). This perspective of the cowboy is a misconception, because of the statement “rough on women”. The cowboy cannot be “rough” on women, because they live in isolation, therefore this is a misconception. Being close to a group and knowing that they are being categorized by stereotypes is difficult to believe. Knowing the whole story of the group will change your