Stereo types wouldnt be stero types if they werent true right?

Question

People dont just make of stero types they come from observation. Ok not all of the ppl in that stero type is in that category, but the majority right? So why get a hissy when ppl catergorize most of the time its fairly true.

Example: gay men talk girly, this is usally how you can tell if a man is gay. But not all gay men talk that way most.

Mexicans live like sardines 10 ppl in 1 house.

Black ppl love chicken

Most Men are cheaters:

i guess also generalizing.

Answer 1

Stereotypes are a lazy man's way of dismissing individual people without taking the time to get to know them. This is due to being fearful of opening oneself to new ideas and experiences that might change the everyday routine that has become comfortable to them. Most people want to stay blanketed in their comfort zone, and accepting stereotypical observations about a person as fact makes it easier for them to live blissfully ignorant of what people are really like.

Answer 2

Stereotypes are usually always false because they are based on limited, biased, and non scientific observations. For instance, I see a boy in a red hat kick a cat, therefore most cat kickers must be boys with red hats. See how foolish this sounds.Now if people were two use the scientific method, and statistics, there might be some truth. However, we need to look at the context of that situation. For instance, I can look at the relative position of women in the US 50 years ago and based on that observation say women were inferior. But my observation would be limited because I did not look into the cultural and historical contexts of the society, which held a big part in the deciding of women's position. So it would be more truthful to say, women were in an inferior position because they were limited by societal norms, not because they were inferior.

By the way, to the first poster, your statement,"[stereotypes] aren't a positive representation of any group" is false. There are a barage of stereotypes that are seen as positive, yet still hurt people because they create certain expectations that may not be achievable, or may not be desirable to that person. For example, Asians are good at Math and The Jews are business savy.
I had a good friend who was Asian, and an art major. She was terrible at math, which is no big deal, many people are bad at math too, but she was made to feel stupid because people kept assuming she was a human calculator and asked her questions. That really hurt her.

Answer 3

WRONG. Stereotypes are made up from a grain of truth and a ton of invention. I know because I came to live in a country which was loaded with stereotypes about my people, most of them incorrect but pushed by the print media because sneering at other groups makes people feel better about their own group (for 10 seconds, before they need another "fix"!) and therefore sells newspapers. Don't we just love to point the finger at someone else? If we don't do that it's because we have more self-respect and don't feel the need to!
Most of what is said about other people is an invention of somebody's, or an embroidery of the truth. I always take with a pinch of salt, anything I'm told. When Georgie decided to invade Iraq for weapons of "mass destruction" I remember saying to my husband, "That sounds like a fabrication to me" I mention this, not to claim to be smarter than anyone else, I'm sure that many people felt the same, but to point out that we need to be aware that our strings are being pulled all the time by people who know how to manipulate us to make themselves a lot of money. If we refuse to accept at face value, the stuff we're told , but think for ourselves we will eventually make the world a better place.
So the next time someone tells you something bad about another person or group, ask yourself IF you want to believe it, and if so WHY? Is it because it makes YOU feel superior in some way? And is there some way you can find, to verify the truth or otherwise of what you've been told?

Answer 4

Stereotypes are NOT based in truth, which is what what makes stereotypes different from facts.

A popular stereotype is that black people love chicken. So youre telling me that you dont like chicken? I mean we black ppl, eat chicken yes, but we dont LOVE it. Chicken is not our national food, and we dont celebrate it and have some everyday no. We eat chicken just about as regularly as you do.
So its not 'fairly true' and if you made a joke to me about loving chicken I would slap your dumb ***.

Im sorry but now you will know why people get offended when presented with a stereotype because they are usually NOT TRUE and they are usually RACIST.

I wonder if you dont get hissy when people asume that you that you cant dance, or insinuate that your 'daddys credit card' pays your way, or say that you smell like wet dog when it rains.

Stereotypes are offensive, just because of their nature, based on racism & myths, not individuals or facts. Even the ones which are not vulgar and openly racist are still very offensive. Try opening your eyes.

Answer 5

Because they are often negatively aimed - E.G. All gay people will die from HIV/AIDS, they aren't a positive representation of any group.

Answer 6

Stereotypes are based on ignorance. Period.