Are stereotypes true?

Question

Obviously they are not pulled out of the air. There is a bit of reality in stereotypes. Do you agree?

Where do they come from otherwise?

Answer 1

oh no no no no no no

Answer 2

Interesting. If something is stereotypical it is chosen as a representative of a type and yes, there must be some accuracy contained in it. However, though intended to be a truthful guide - a kind of short-hand to point to a conclusive series of facts about a person or thing - stereotypes can be inaccurate, and even cruel.

Beware the stereotype and form your own opinions, then.

Generous Scotsmen, Frenchmen who can't cook and Englishmen who are terrific lovers DO exist! (Probably).

Answer 3

They are not absolut, as they fit between the black and white spectrum.

Answer 4

what's truth?

Answer 5

There are sterotypical people yes, but that doesn't mean all black people eat watermelon, or all hindu's  are terrorist, or all chinese people are good in math, or all white people live in trailers and catch their dinner, not all women who wear comfortable shoes are lesbians.  sterotypes are just racism. Its sad how we can take one persons habits and use it against an entire race or group of people.   but that is the way our society is and i don't expect that to change for a long time, well not as long as the media continues to play up the white-black controvercies (sp?) or the idea that all terrorists are middle eastern.

Answer 6

Of course they are true, they have their foundations in realities, a composite of a number of traits, behavioural characteristics, foibles and eccentricities.

Even the 'bad' or negative stereotypes have the foundations in some subjective rationale, but that subjectivity is generally formed from a narrow perspective with a very narrow and frequently nasty intent attached.

Sash.

Answer 7

Ditch the labels.

They just give people something to talk about.

Labels/Sterotypes are basically catogorizing people into a group that have the same things.

It's based on what people look on the outside.

Answer 8

yeah they can be true, that doesnt mean they are always true.  If someone says black people like chicken and its obviously a stereotype, if it wasn't true would no black person like chicken?  Generalizing it to everyone and saying all black people like chicken is false.

Answer 9

A stereotype is a generalization, average, statistical norm, nebulous preconceived notion, and we are all unique individuals.  The "little bit of reality" may apply a little to all of us or not at all.

Answer 10

Some are. I meet a stereotype Irishman everyday.

Answer 11

I don't think stereotypes in themselves are a bad thing, they're necessary. People have to categorise the world around them to some point in order to understand it. You can't get to know everyone personally after all.

The problem comes when people act wrongly on stereotypes or rely on them as fact etc.

Sorry if it's worded badly, I'm tired :)

Answer 12

They do have some 'truth' to them, but that doesn't make them right.  Society as a whole needs someone to blame things on, for everything.  Drugs make your town look bad?  Blame the stoners.  Stereotypes are also a way to use 'popularity' in your favor.  If your in any athletics, it puts you above everybody else.  Popularity and the competition that comes with it is just completely stupid.  I believe all people are equal no matter where they are, and I have never let any of my own achievements put me onto a food chain.  I just sit back and watch everybody else bite their ears off.  It's delightfully entertaining.

Answer 13

only in 2 cases. 1)blondes 2)congress

Answer 14

Very true. They are usually general statements but apply to select individuals .

Answer 15

they come from a general association of people. for instance, women are generally seen as at home moms/housekeepers. its been that way for years. now, people have found that funny and have used it in a negative term to fight against women's rights. its taking the little mistakes in people and making seem outrageous. so yes, they can be very real if they are true.

Answer 16

Stereotypes exist because people love categories. It's human nature to want to observe something very simple and infer as much as possible about it. Stereotypes fill in the blanks of things that we cannot know about a person by simply looking at them.

Stereotypes are becoming weaker, though, as more cultures gain better exposure. Stereotypes are easy to believe when you don't know much about the people that are supposedly described in them. But as they gain exposure, we're seeing more and more examples of different ways in which people express their identity.

The reason that there appears to be reality in stereotypes is that people are so variable, you're bound to meet someone who fits the mold. This is especially true for someone who was brought up with a high awareness for that stereotype (self-fulfilling prophecy). We're also more likely to remember an encounter with someone who fits a stereotype than an encounter with someone who does not. But if the stereotype were reversed, you'd still probably meet some people that fit the new version. Also, if you meet someone that matches a stereotype of an ethnic group that they don't belong to, you're not going to think twice about it (there are plenty of white people that love to eat chicken, for example, but no one cares).

As for where they come from, that depends. I would argue that whatever was a culture's earliest exposure to a certain ethnic group (usually through entertainment) will become what people expect from all people of that ethnic group. Other stereotypes are deliberately manufactured by people with enough hate and hegemony to control how the population views an ethnic group (such as William Randolph Hearst convincing the country to hate Mexicans by associating them with drugs). Maybe they can come from more arbitrary sources, too. It'd be interesting to find out.