Impacts of Gender, Racial, Ethnicity, Class, and Sexual Orientation Stereotypes
Introduction
Equality is essential to the development of any nation. In fact, lack thereof compromises the possibilities of social and economic growth due to the prevalence of discrimination. With this in mind, it is worth acknowledging the fact that there are multiple stereotypes associated with race, sexual orientation, gender, and ethnicity. These stereotypes foster the development of prejudice due to the unequal distribution of responsibilities, gender inequality and psychological torture due to sexual orientation. According to Ward and Monica (128), the impacts of these stereotypes are demoralizing, and the affected groups feel unappreciated. For instance, the UK Feminista (2016) reports that nearly 3 million girls and women in the United Kingdom experience rape, stalking, domestic violence and other hostilities each year. Additionally, the corporate society does not fully embrace equality in the distribution of high corporate positions and the allocation of compensation. This paper evaluates the reasons for the development of these prejudices. It provides a rationale for their prevalence in the modern society and highlights the impacts they have on social and economic development. For a fact, racial, ethnical, class, sexual orientation and gender stereotypes, present in the modern society have negative impacts on the development national development.
Women find it harder to balance their private life and work affairs than men do. This situation sparks the development of inequality between these two genders, as it is more challenging for the females to uphold domestic care and work responsibilities. According to Andersen and Patricia (93), the responsibility of looking after dependent members of the family is mainly borne by women. In fact, the authors argue that only a fraction of men choose to take a parental leave to foresee family issues. As such, women are compelled to exit the labor before their retirement as opposed to men. In the former EU, only 65.8% of the women with children worked in the labor market as opposed to 89% of men (UK Feminista n.p). Moreover, women’s input in the corporate environment is often undervalued as they are paid lesser than men and not frequently tasked with valuable company responsibilities. In spite of the fact that nearly 60% of the university graduates are women, they have a minority representation in fields like computing, mathematics and engineering. These differences are largely accredited to the inadequacies women face in balancing their work and private life affairs.
Culture, religion and traditional beliefs promote the development of stereotypes based on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. According to Coston and Michael (103), the notion of cultural superiority among different ethnicities is a primary cause of discrimination. Precisely, a particular group believes that the values they uphold are better than what other communities understand. As such, a restriction and exclusion are directed among people who hold contradictory beliefs. On the other hand, religious doctrines castigate some beliefs that have continually been embraced in the modern society. For instance, some communities believe that individuals have a right to determine their sexual orientation without any form of castigation from the society. However, other communities think that tolerating sexual relationships between people of the same sex is unethical and should not be promoted among the community members. Consequently, such groups develop resentment among people with different sexual orientation from religious and cultural beliefs. Racial superiority, on the other hand, is an erroneous notion that has promoted inequality over the centuries. The Journal of Social Issues argues that people from different races ought to live in harmony among themselves by encouraging cohesion and eliminating any controversies that could lead to their separation. Nonetheless, believing that one racial group is inferior or superior to another leads to the development of racial stereotypes.
Evaluation of the stereotypes
Stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, race and class are discriminatory, and they promote the development of vices in the community. According to Michael and Coston (105), social classes created due to economic differences undermine the prevalence of equality in the community. This situation is largely accredited to the fact that the highly ranked individuals in the society associate with the people of the same economic class. As such, it becomes difficult to promote the collective development of the community due to poor integration. On the other hand, gender differences compromise the possibilities of any social entity coexisting in harmony. For instance, not sharing parenting responsibilities equally in families makes the female gender overburdened with work and personal responsibilities. This situation negatively affects their performance and self-esteem. On the other hand, cultural discrimination promotes favoritism of specific communities while undermining others. As a result, ethnical segregation hinders the development of the society and instead promotes the development of vices such as chauvinism and impartiality.
Impacts of these stereotypes on the community
The presence of these stereotypes in the community fosters division among members of the society. According to Ward and Monica (29), individuals tend to co-exist better when they know other people appreciate their public role. Nonetheless, the development of sexual orientation and gender stereotypes compromises the possibilities of these people coexisting in harmony. As such, separation barriers are created based on ethnicity, race, class and sexual orientation. For instance, when women are not given access to prestigious corporate positions or the level of their reimbursement does not equal that of men, the development of resentment follows. Similarly, when people are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, associating with the members of the community is somewhat challenging due to the divisions created by these forms of prejudice. For example, nations that do not acknowledge the LGBT community believe that tolerating the same sex marriage is immoral and against religious doctrines. Consequently, people belonging to this group are isolated and tend to drift from the public eye for fear of castigation. Such situations limit the development of unity among the community.
The stereotyped parties in the society underperform in their areas of expertise thus limiting the potential for economic development. This situation is largely accredited to the fact that these prejudices lead to emotional and psychological turmoil (Coston and Bethany 107). Since a large section of the community believes that the stereotyped group is inferior, they are forced to live by the expectations of the majority. For instance, when an individual is in a nation or community with people of a particular race that he does not belong to, it is hard to act normally in such an environment without facing opposition. Similarly, since women have more family responsibilities as opposed to men, balancing their work and personal affairs limit the potential of their performance. As such, their minimal contribution to the development of the community compromises economic development.
Conclusion
Certainly, gender, racial, ethnical, sexual orientation and class stereotypes have negative impacts on the development of any nation. Since they promote the development of vices such as prejudice and discrimination, living in harmony is challenging among the community members. The primary reason for their development is the lack of appreciation for diversity. In fact, when a particular group in any organization fails to acknowledge the potential of another, the development of stereotypes is imminent thereby promoting resentment and division. Consequently, people ought to appreciate the contribution of other people in complementing national progress to enhance joint development.
Works cited
Andersen, Margaret, and Patricia Hill Collins. Race, class, & gender: An anthology. Nelson Education, 2015. Print.
Coston, Bethany M., and Michael Kimmel. "Seeing privilege where it isn’t: Marginalized masculinities and the intersectionality of privilege." Journal of Social Issues 68.1 (2012): 97-111. Print.
UK Feminista,. "Facts And Statistics On Gender Inequality. UK Feminista". Ukfeminista.org.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
Ward, Martha C., and Monica D. Edelstein. A world full of women. Routledge, 2015. Print.
