Stereotypes

Probably every single one of us has been put down at least once in our lives because of our genders. We have been judged and pushed around just because of how we were born; something we have no control over.

The word stereotype was invented in the 20’s by the American journalist Walter Lippmann. Lippmann believed that stereotypes had four main properties: they simplify reality, they are false, they are assimilated from the outside, and not produced by the person himself, and they are very tenacious. He wrote about this in his book called “Public Opinion”. Stereotypes are peculiar to everyone and we mustn’t take them for granted.

Historically, the division in people belonging to the same tribe, colour, language or religion and foreigners was absolutely necessary. Stereotypes made it possible to automatically perceive sources of possible threats, and for many centuries it has remained that way. Stereotypes are like robots, they carry out the most primitive sorting of information that continuously enters our brain: round parts to the left, square to the right, white-skinned to one part and dark-skinned to the other etc..

These days kids have very set ideas on what men and women should do; how they should act and what they are “worthy” to achieve. But today we know that people should all be treated the same way, no matter their gender. This, unfortunately, doesn’t happen though. Although unintentionally, girls are taught to think the only thing that matters is how they look and that they’re not smart enough, not capable to do things that boys might do. On the other hand boys are taught to think that showing emotion is a weakness, that if they cry they might seem frail. This might not seem like that big of a problem but it is. If parents don’t teach their children, from a young age, that they can do anything then they will grow up thinking that some things are suitable for boys and others for girls. This leads to stereotypes.

A few weeks ago we started watching a documentary about gender neutrality with our English teacher Ms. Barolini. It made us notice kids have very set ideas on what men and women should do, how they should act and what they can achieve. The documentary was about an experiment on primary school children and it lasted a few weeks. During this time the behaviour of the class was strongly improved. In order for this to happen some significant changes had to be made. One was for the teacher to stop calling children pet names (like mate or sweetheart). This was shocking because, who thought the way children are called can have an influence on their outlooks.

There has been a lot of work in attempting to challenge gender stereotypes. Old-fashioned ideas that some toys are just for boys, or that women should stay home while men work, have been challenged and progress has been made. While the fight for gender equality is far from over, the same efforts to challenge assumptions and provide equal opportunities for people of all races, genders etc. must be given the same attention.

The first step is to identify stereotypes. When you find yourself filling the gaps about a person, stop and ask yourself if it is true or if you are assuming it based on past experiences with other people that looked like them. Make an intentional effort to get to know people from different backgrounds. Often when we begin to interact with people who are different from us, our experience of the “other” expands. Once stereotypes are challenged repeatedly, it makes it harder to stereotype in the future.

Aali Sama, Gvosdiezcha Tatiana, III C LSA