Comprehending the world around and coping up with the ambiance get governed by the perception of the individual about those things. With time and age a person gets to understand things around him or her better and tries to decipher the intricate details of the world. However, the threat of resorting to stereotypes lurks all the time in our lives. Stereotypes simplify the understanding of the world and communities. It is, however, tagged along by the grave danger of fallacious comprehension. Stereotypes come in the garb of logical reasoning of extreme sort of fallacy. Hence, to the common mind, it remains quite incomprehensible and the person gets swayed by the sheer flawed notion. Stereotypes also exhibit popular beliefs regarding things and tend to curb subjective understanding.
In close scrutiny, it is easy to identify quite a few stereotypes which get supplemented by the surmounting public opinion and past references. A very common form of such stereotype is that imposed on the women folk of the society. Women are taken to be submissive, passive and are expected to uphold ‘correct femininity’. This notion finds its root in the maternal duties of the women folk and also the history of dependence or allegiance to the male folk of the society. It is taken for granted that all women must be passive and give in to the transcendence of the male.
In the present era, in the wake of feminist movements, women actually have been proven not to be submissive to the triumph of hierarchical patriarchic societal norms. An acquaintance believed that women are weak and vulnerable and should remain safe from the drudgeries and brutalities of the outer world. The logic behind this was that women are innately emotionally weaker in comparison to men and cannot deal with tough situations. Supposedly, they always need a shoulder to cry on and need the support of the male, economically and emotionally. Also, that a woman is also a child-bearer makes her all the more tender and she should be protected. This person in context propagated his logic and belief to his sibling who got very subversive to his beliefs over time. The sibling now has decided to prove that she is no less in comparison to the male folk and is determined to work hard and surpass every barrier, social or familial, which would come in her way of transcendence.
It is indeed very erroneous to believe that girls are weaker than boys and so on. In fact, it has to be understood that these beliefs are actually the resultant of the stereotypical representation of female by the patriarchal societal system which balefully aims to keep the women folk under subjugation by the male. Women are economically successful and are competing with male in every field. Rather, their excellence along with their role in reproduction testifies to the immense capability among the women folk which can be taken as far greater than that of male.
In another introspective revelation in regard to a North Korean immigrant from our locality, it became extremely clear how the white race stereotypes the identity of the people belonging to the Mongol race. Based on the facial features of the Mongol race, the people are stereotyped. Firstly, these people are believed to be unwilling to mix up with the Western culture in a bid to uphold their native cultural identity. Secondly, their national identities are left in oblivion. Instances of this particular person being addressed among the whites as ‘The Chinese’ are the blatant proofs of the stereotypical attitude nurtured by the people. People speculate about his eating habits and conclude that he must have an appetite for insects as the people from region all do.
Nobody seems to take into consideration the fact that this person has been living in this nation for many years and it is quite possible that he might have tastes very different from those of the people of his race. The reference as ‘The Chinese’ is not only insulting, but it also brings into question the notion of identities of these people who are being constantly stereotyped. Referring a North Korean immigrant as a Chinese person is the clear testimony to the notion of identity of the person among the whites based on political or geographical hegemony of China over the other nations where the Mongols inhabit.
A very alarming issue in the present day is that of sexuality and gender discrimination. In reminiscence, this person at a departmental store was taken to be gay by me sometime back. This inference was based on the fact that this person came across of feminine, he was wearing skinny clothes, of which his tee was pink in color. It was a subjective belief that all gay people are feminine and hence his femininity seemed to be the tell-tale sign of his sexuality. Minutes later he was joined by his girlfriend, which left me embarrassed in my own mind at the sheer idiocy of logic and stereotype.
In retrospect, it is quite evident that the person was either straight or bisexual. However, the conclusion of taking him as a gay was nothing but erroneous on my part. Also, the association of femininity with the color pink seems to be a social construct and has nothing to do with the gender in reality. However, such stereotypical outlook should not be nurtured by any and any sort of gender discrimination must be eschewed under every circumstance.
Thus, it can be concluded that the effect of stereotypes can lead to flawed outlook toward life and can occlude the path of comprehension. Also, it must be kept in mind that these stereotypes are socially constructed and they are not like axioms. There are bound to be individualistic differences and hence the very basic logic behind any stereotypical view gets shaken to the core.
References
Mosser, Kurt. (2011). An Introduction to Logic. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Kemick, April. Stereotyping Has Lasting Negative Impact. In News Science. Retrieved from
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/08/12/
stereotyping-has-lasting-negative-impact
How Pre-existing Beliefs Distort Logical Resaoning. Podcast retrieved from
http://searchcenter.intelecomonline.net/playClipDirect.
aspx?id=E22DB555B562B463C0F5EE35DE315BCB5CA9621ED0132E182
3264876125E799D1789474455514F32C8FEA4B7688954B4
