When and how did stereotyping start?

Question

im doing an assignment 4 my english class and we have 2 write a persuasive letter to the government about what we most care about. Of course it's not real but it's 4 my final first quarter grade and i'm doing stereotypes. Does anybody know when and how stereotypes started?

ps: can somebody tell me if i were to write this letter about stereotyping, exactly who should i write it too?

4reals this assignment really is kinda stupid! I'm in the 8th grade and right now our teacher is losing his sense of skills to relate 2 us!

Answer 1

I'm sure you already know this, but that is a ridiculous assignment. Many English paper topics are, though...(and I wanted to be an English teacher!)

Stereotyping has been a part of human existence since the beginning of time. According to Christianity, Eve ate the apple. For the rest of the Bible, there are references to the Sin of Eve that is in all women. Race has always fought race, religion has always fought religion, because they assume that everything they believe about a particular group is true. There is no specific time in which stereotyping began; it is an innate part of humanity.

Write it to someone on the local level, like your governor.

Answer 2

Fact is, that stereotyping has some truth to it. That's where it actually came from! Does not sound politically correct, but it is true.
Address the letter to an organization such as a church committee or even to a Senator and make it about a political statement.
Another good idea is to write it as a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

Answer 3

Stereotyping is a human trait, which evolved to make recognizing things easier.
It is an extension of pigeon holing, of applying types to people and things, grouping them to make the memory task of keeping track of them easier.
Unfortunately it has huge drawbacks, in that it often keeps us from recognizing finer details, because we cover them with the generalities of the process.
The whole thing is a tool of our filters, which keep certain information from us in order not to overwhelm our senses and our brain's capacity to understand and coordinate all that info.