The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world because they reduce the amount of processing we have to do when we meet a new person. By stereotyping, we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. Stereotypes are advantageous in that they enable us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had similar experiences before. Unfortunately, by stereotyping we ignore the differences between individuals.
Why am I blabbing about stereotypes? College is a stereotype free place you think in your head. It is a place where you can forget about your fears of what others think and enter into a judgment free zone. We are all given the speech that we can “be who we want to be” and “define ourselves” in the four years we are in college. But do we really define ourselves? Or do others define us?
Since being at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a month now I have encountered all the “typical college stereotypes.” For example, I’ve sat in lectures with the silly sorority girls with their noses in their phones, I’ve glanced at the boys wearing Adidas clothes and immediately thought “athlete.” I might be stereotyping right now, but we all do it. At a school of 40,000 plus you have to narrow people down into groups. But I am calling for an end to this practice immediately.
Recently my friends and I have been discussing the boxes, or stereotypes, that society places us within. In particular, sexual and gender stereotypes. Sexual stereotypes suggest that any feminine man is gay and any masculine woman is a lesbian. Gender stereotypes suggest that women can’t do as good as a job as men and men are messy and unclean. While these might be true for some, they are not true for all.
This is how we are hurting others, even before saying anything out loud. We simply glance at someone, make a generalization in our head, and the damage is done. What my friends and I have come to realize is that it is difficult to become your own person due to society’s constant attempts to force you into a labeled box. And while we complain of being in a box, we like it because there are people there who share the same interests and likes. But nobody can share the same things 100 percent, and that is why these boxes need to be destroyed.
How can it be expected that an 18-year-old is able to chase their dreams within a box? How can a woman be expected to become successful when she is being stereotyped as bossy? How can a man be expected to become “the perfect boyfriend” when he is being labeled as gay for showing his sensitive side?
To rid society of these harmful ideas and labels we must acknowledge that we are human and that we do harbor stereotypes. Next, we should work to become more aware of our inner thoughts and feelings and how they affect our beliefs and actions. When we have a stereotypical thought about someone, we should follow it up with an alternative thought based on factual information that discounts the stereotype.
We can obtain this factual information by leaving our comfort zones and exposing ourselves to people of different races, cultures, genders and sexualities. In doing this, we work to create a better campus and society in which all people are valued, appreciated and embraced.
Do you think that stereotypes negatively effect our student body and our society as a whole? Can stereotypes be positive and serve a purpose of finding individual identity? Let us know how you feel and please send all of your feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
