HC BC Challenge: Exploring and Debunking Stereotypes

The HC BC staff has come up with challenges not only for ourselves, but for all students at BC, making sure that we are on track to be bold, kind, and ambitious people.

The Challenge
Everyone has preconceptions about groups of people.  Whether these preconceptions are about a cultural, ethnic, religious, or socioeconomic group of people, they are engrained within us and we often do not even recognize that they are there.  The problem with this is that these preconceptions are essentially stereotypes. Without recognizing our individual stereotypes about different groups of people, we inhibit knowledge-enhancing communication and personal relationships from developing between ourselves and individuals in the groups we have stereotypes about.  Her Campus BC challenges you to explore and debunk your stereotypes annd make some new interesting friends in the process!
 
What exactly constitutes a stereotype?
Stereotypes are overgeneralized and oversimplified beliefs that are used to categorize groups of people. Stereotyping mentally organizes experiences with a particular group of people into these categorizations and largely guides your behavior towards this group of people.  This mental organization and categorization becomes a way to represent an entire group of people, no matter what each individual’s personal characteristics are within that group.
 
Essentially, once a person is classified into these categories that you mentally created based on past experiences and beliefs, you begin to expect the person to be exactly what this category describes.
 
Here are some examples for clarity:
All black people are good at sports.
All Asian people are good at math.
All white people wear preppy clothing.
All Americans are fat.
All women can’t drive.
All BC women own Uggs and all BC men own boat shoes.
 
How are stereotypes formed?
Stereotypes are learned; we are not born with them.  They are a social construction.  We typically acquire them through what intercultural communication theorists call “the socialization process.”  This process begins with our parents and their influence on the development of our opinions and beliefs.
 
Example:
When Johnny, a Caucasian, was 5 years old, his mother would take him grocery shopping. Whenever she encountered the Chinese man who worked at the deli section, she would get angry.  Johnny would experience her anger with the man who was physically different and spoke with an accent.  His mother would curse about Asian immigrants.

When Johnny starts school, his perception of Asian people has already been influenced by his mother.  This negative perception could be reinforced or even exacerbated if his classmates have similar perceptions.  Johnny and his peers could begin to alienate themselves from people who they consider different.  Eventually these perceptions are reinforced through other social or religious groups that Johnny participates in.
 
There are two other ways that stereotypes are created.  One way is through advertisements, TV shows, music videos, and other media outlets that convey images of society and the people who are a part of that society. Media basically represents the roles that society attaches to certain groups of people and what society dictates to be the behaviors and attitudes exhibited by people of these classified groups.  Media does not create stereotypes; it represents the dominant perceptions existing in society and reinforces them.  Another, and possibly most detrimental way, of acquiring stereotypes is through the fear of people that are different from you and the group you associate yourself with.
 
Why do we have them?
Everybody has them.  It’s a human thing to categorize.  We like to groups things with other things that are similar in nature.  We do this with everything, not just people.  The problem is that we categorize so much that most individuals don’t even realize that they have stereotypes.
 
It is important to note that there is some truth behind each stereotype.  We do not invent stereotypes; they are created based on our experiences.  A perception can actually be true of an individual, or even a large amount of individuals, in that particular group.  The problem occurs when that person represents the entire group in an individual’s mind.  For example, I am a BC student and I own Uggs.  My roommate is a BC student.  She does not own Uggs.  The stereotype that all BC women own Uggs is therefore false.  For you to have an idea about a particular group of people, you must be exposed to this idea in a person of that group.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is that even though a stereotype may seem positive (i.e. Asians are smart), they aren’t truly positive and are as detrimental as a negative stereotype (i.e. BU students are stupid).  Positive stereotypes create expectations so that if, for example, an Asian student receives a good grade, he or she will not get the congratulations that often goes with an achievement.  The student will simply be fulfilling the expectation.  This creates an immense amount of pressure and no reward, and may even cause a counter-effect. An Asian student trying to debunk the stereotype may intentionally do badly in school to show people that not all Asian students are “A+” students.
 
Dangers of Stereotyping
Stereotyping is the greatest barrier to intercultural communication.  It therefore inhibits any possible gains from an exchange with someone of a different background.  Different cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, etc, groups have ideas and knowledge to bring to a conversation that could provide you with new insight or perspective on an issue or topic.
 
In a multicultural country like the United States, stereotypes separate people living within a community and inhibit harmonious coexistence.
 
And the gravest danger is that stereotyping leads to prejudice, discrimination, racism, ethnocentrism, and worst of all, violence.

Challenging our Stereotypes and Proving them Wrong

1. Recognize that you have some stereotypes (ask yourself questions and make lists).
2. Know how these stereotypes were developed (i.e. a bad encounter with one person of that cultural/ethnic group, familial influence, or social influence).
3. Understand that these stereotypes are developed based on incomplete knowledge of a specific group of people, but that they are based in some truth.  Also understand that it is wrong to classify an entire group of people based on select experiences and knowledge.
4. Learn to keep an open mind when meeting people of a group of which you have a stereotype.  Most importantly, do not impose this stereotype on the person.
5. Get to know members of the group you have a stereotype of on a personal level.
6. Lastly, sensitivity is key.  And dialogue is the solution.

Sources:
Samovar, Larry A. Communication Between Cultures. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning,
2010. Print.
Professor Xyeujian Yu’s Intercultural Communication class in the Communications Department at Boston College

Photo Sources:
http://movieretrospect.blogspot.com/2011/12/movie-stereotypes.html