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Stereotypes and their developments
Racial prejudice and racial stereotypes
Examples of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination
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Stereotypes are now a part of society. No matter where you go or are you see different types of people being very critical about someone's appearance. Stereotypes have a positive or negative impact on how they can make other people feel. We are all not perfect on this earth. Many people think that most Chinese people are very small. This was mainly true but mostly back in the day due to lacking of poor nutrition. Another stereotype would that they Chinese people seem to be quiet people because of the different languages they speak. For instance if you were to go to a Chinese restaurant you would not be able to tell whether their conversating or fighting meanwhile they are talking. A third one would be that Chinese people are hard workers because
Stereotypes are formed when a person sees a certain race, religious group or ethnic group behaving a certain way enough that they form an impression of that group as being that certain way. And it is considered a stereotype because they apply their impression to the group as a whole
Chinese people eat cats or dogs. Blue is a color for boys. Women are bad drivers. Those are the most common phrases I've heard about stereotyping. However, stereotypes are assumptions that are assigned to groups of people because of their religion, nationality, gender, race, clothing, among others. In our daily life, there are negative and positive stereotypes, and it is possible that we all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. Also, in my life I experienced this issue because of my ethnicity and my gender.
Stereotyping can happen in numerous ways; one very cruel way of stereotyping would be stereotyping a person for being overweight. People often stereotype others because of beliefs they have learned from their parents or on their own.
As an Asian American, I have several points to discuss in terms of stereotypes. Through a variety of media, Asian Americans are portrayed by socially constructed stereotypes that are either positive or negative to our community. By explaining the definition of a stereotype and listing three specific ones identified, these points reflect our cultural values. These stereotypes include the concept of model minority, the insinuation that Asians are highly skilled at mathematics, and assumptions of our food ways. In each stereotype, I integrate my own experiences to provide a deeper depth of meaning that will allow one to evaluate whether these stereotypes do mirror our society’s customs.
“What is this chink doing here? Does he even know anything about football? Go back to studying!” After hearing that, I thought, “First off, I am not Chinese, and why yes, I do know a little something something about football.” These remarks were some of the things that I had to deal with when playing football during my first year of high school. These discriminatory statements towards the few Asians and me on the team were things we heard daily from other teammates and students. While these stereotypes of Asians only being good for studying and playing badminton or volleyball was prevalent in my school, that didn’t stop me from trying to be the best football player on the team and disproving the typical Asian student at my high school. As with the up and coming star Jeremy Lin, he too had to face these generalizations before actually being noticed in the widely Caucasian and African American dominant sport that is basketball. With his impressive game starts, he surprised the nation by carrying the New York Knicks to a couple of victories. The discrimination and stereotypes that Asians have to face in sports and in the real world are not something that spurred out of nowhere, but rather it is something that has been rampant since the first Asians immigrated to the United States. Some of the prejudices that Asians face in the present may not be as bad as the prejudices Asians had to deal with in the past, but they still have to deal with bigots on a daily basis. By Jeremy Lin stunning the basketball league with his performance, he is able to combat the bigotry towards Asians.
equality to be able to vote, and today women are still battling for equality in political
Stereotype is also an issue in society. Yomaecka Tordecilla, student at California State University of Los Angeles, lives in Highland Park and faced Asian stereotype at school. Students made fun of her appearance and called her “small eyes and short Asian girl.” It angers me that many students made fun of Yomaecka. The media is to blame for the Asian stereotype. They portray Asian men as nerds, Kung
Out of all people, he decides to ask an Asian American where he can find it. Ronnie is outraged when he is asked where Chinatown is, especially by a “white guy”. Ronnie thinks its very racist that just because he’s asian, he would know where Chinatown is. We see many examples of asian stereotypes in this story. “So why is it that you picked me, of all the street musicians in the city-to point you in the direction of Chinatown? What are you gonna ask me next? Where you can find the best dim sum in the city? Whether I can direct you to a genuine opium den” ()? We see both sides of the issue for Benjamin and Ronnie. Benjamin is being disrespected by this Asian American because he doesn’t look asian american; while Ronnie is unconsciously being stereotyped by Benjamin. Although both men are Asian American, in different ways, there is a conflict because of their physical
Asian stereotypes are a product of prevailing myths propagated by various media, from books, plays, movies, television, to even historical propaganda. Generally speaking, the stereotyping of Asian women often swing to extreme types: the docile, subservient sexual object, or the dragon lady. Asian Americans only make up a small percentage of the United States population and live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii. Consequently, the rest of the American population will most likely get their exposures to Asian Americans through television and movies. Popular media exposure to Asian Americans lacks one-on-one acquaintance with Asian Americans. It hinders the process that could help Americans from other racial backgrounds realize that the stereotypical characters in Hollywood movie productions are unjust and biased. Furthermore, these popular movies do not reflect the true individuality of the typical Asian American living in America.
All women are too sensitive! All Mexicans are illegal immigrants! If you’re from the South, then you are ignorant! Most people have heard at least one of these stereotypes pertaining to a certain group. Some people believe them whilst others do not. American Born Chinese illustrates three stories depicting the custom of stereotypes surrounding society: “The Monkey King”, the story of Monkey King’s thirst for infinite power, and his quest for atonement; “Jin Wang”, the story an awkward boy who tries to “fit in” the community around from but constantly fails; and “Danny”, the story about a high schooler who feels uncomfortable by his stereotypically negative Chinese cousin Chin-Kee. In this day-and-age, stereotypes are what bring people together, and stereotypes are what set people apart. To be ignorant of stereotypes would be a disastrous event as one would consequentially be ignorant to the prejudices engulfing them daily. Even though this causes problems throughout different communities, the way some individuals choose to address stereotypes is through laughter. From start to finish the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang purposefully satirizes Asian stereotypes in hopes that the reader opens up to the fact that stereotypes are indeed existent in today’s society.
At one point in time, these stereotypes may have been true; however, in today’s modern society, most of these stereotypes are outdated and false, which leads them to turn into misconceptions. Usually, stereotypes are utilized to humiliate and degrade the person or group; they also do not provide any beneficial outcomes. Stereotypes focus on how a particular group acts because of the radical ideas and actions of the few, how a particular group looks, or how that group is physically lacking in some way. These stereotypes often lead to conflicts because the group does not appreciate the way it is perceived. Seldom are the stereotypes placed on a group of people truthful and accurate.
“Stereotypes unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account” (Schaefer 40). Stereotypes can be positive, but are usually associated with negative beliefs or actions such as racial profiling.
Chinatown (1974), a film written by Robert Towne and directed by Roman Polanski is centered around Los Angeles during the 1920s. Because of its setting and era, the film has cinematic style and and thematic elements that allude to “film noir”, a common genre for 1920s films. One aspect commonly brought up in this genre is gender role, specifically that of women, during the noir era . Polanski’s film references the common noir archetype of “femme fatale”, a lying, seducing female character who brings men to their destruction. He also nods to the common belief of the time, that men are strong and powerful heroes looking to find truth. However, because it falls into a more modern, “neo-noir” category, Chinatown brings the roles of women to a new light, and draws attention to the problems in society of the time when it comes to gender, both male and female.
“Family Guy” is well known to be a cartoon of disgrace and ill-mannered portrayals of real life events. Asian Stereotype was no exception portrayals in “Family Guy”. In many of the Asian stereotypical scenes in “Family Guy”, one of the episodes shows a scene about an Asian woman driver causing wreckage on the freeway as she exits out of the freeway itself. The following is a dialogue of the scene:
Stereotypes are assumptions that are made about an entire group of people based on observations of a few; they act as scapegoats for prejudice behaviour and ideologies.