Stereotypes about the Representation of Ethnic Groups - Essay Example

There is a lot of debate surrounding the extent to which ethnic group representation draw upon stereotypes due to the fact that all language and concepts have to use the previously shared meanings. This paper attempts to evaluate too which this argument is true. An ethnic group is a group of human beings who identify with each other along the basis of common or presumed ancestry, genealogy, culture, religion, linguistics or behavioral traits. Ethnicity is a fundamental and inherent factor in human life which is learnt through socialization. Socialization refers to the process of learning one’s culture and how to love within it. Socialization provides individuals with resources necessary for acting and participating within their society. For the society, inducting all individuals and members into its social norms, attitudes, values, motives, social roles, language and symbols is the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained. Socialization on one hand prepares the individual for the roles the is to play, providing him with the necessary repertoire of habits., beliefs and values, the appropriate patterns of emotional response and the modes of perception, the requisite skills and knowledge. On the other hand, by communicating the contents of culture from one generation to the other, it provides for its persistence and continuity. Socialization is important in the process of personality formation. Much of the human components are the result of genes, the socialization process can influence particular formation by encouraging specific attitudes and behavior. Socialization practices vary markedly from society to society and the socialization practices are generally similar among people of the same society. People of the same society; with the same culture and of the same community are likely to share core values and perceptions. People generally socialize their children in remarkably similar ways to the way they themselves were socialized by their parents. Ethnicity comes as a result of a subjective belief on a common descent of similarities of physical type or customs or of both. It may also be as a result of memories of colonization and migration; this belief is important for group formation and it does not matter whether an objective blood relationship exists. Members of an ethnic group on the whole, claim cultural continuities over time – same values, practices and norms. Ethnicity and race are related concepts in that both are usually defined in terms of shared genealogy. Ethnicity often connotes shared cultural, linguistic, behavioral or religious traits. In contrast, race refers to some concentrations, as relative to frequency and distribution, of hereditary particles (genes) and physical characters. These characters appear, fluctuate and often disappear in the course of time by reason of geographic and or cultural isolation. National, religious, geographic, linguistic and cultural groups do not necessarily coincide with racial groups; and the cultural traits of such groups have no demonstrated genetic connection with racial traits. Serious errors of this kind are habitually committed when the term race is used in popular parlance and it would be better when speaking of human races to drop the term ‘race’ altogether and instead, speak of ‘ethnic groups’ (Fenton 1999). Ethnic stratification is a system of classification where in some relatively fixed groups’ membership such as race, religion or nationality. It is utilized as a major criterion for assigning social positions. Ethnic stratification is one of many different types of social classification, including classification along socio-economic status, race, gender and so on (Noel 1968). Ethnicity is learnt through socialization. The following forms of socialization. 1. Primary socialization. This is the process by which people learn the attitudes, values and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. For instance, if a child heard their mother express a discriminatory opinion about a minority group, then that child may think this behavior is acceptable and could continue to have this opinion about minority groups. 2. Secondary socialization. This is the process of learning what is considered appropriate behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society. It is usually associated with teenagers and adults and involves smaller changes than those occupying in primary socialization such as what colleges apply for, entry into a new profession, relocation to a new environment and so on. 3. Developmental socialization. This is a process by which an individual acquires or learns behavior in a social institution or developing social skills. 4. Anticipatory socialization. This refers to the process of socialization in which a person rehearses for future positions, roles, occupations and social relationships. 5. Re-socialization. This refers to the process of discarding former behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. This occurs throughout the human life cycle (Schaefer and Lamm 1992). Re-socialization can be an intensive experience, with the individuals experiencing a sharp break with their past and needing to learn and be exposed to radically different norms and values. An example might be the experiences a young man or woman leaving home to join the military. There are a number of agents that bring about ethnicity. Agents of socialization are the people and groups that influence our self concept, emotions, attitudes and behavior (Henslin 2006). They include: The family; the family is responsible for among other things; determine one’s attitude towards religion, establishing careers goals and it is in our family that we learn our languages. The school; the school is the agency responsible for socializing groups of young people in particular skills and values in society. Peer groups; peers are people who belong to the same age groups or share social characteristics. E.g. Students in a college, class. The mass media; the media can teach norm and values by way of symbolic reward and punishment for different kinds of behavior as represented in the media. An alternative view is that it is a learning process whereby we all learn how to behave in certain situations and the expectations which go with a given role or status in society. Thus the media are continually offering pictures of life and models of behavior in advance of actual experience (McQuail 2005). Minority ethnic groups, such as the immigrants from Mexico to the US tend to feel intimidated and looked down upon by the larger society. While this may not be entire so, there is a truth to it, especially considering that they always tend to have low caliber jobs, mostly due o their lack of qualification of anything else. There is also the aspect of being illegally within the boundaries of another country. This inferiority tends to encourage them to communicate in their own native language, so as to hold own to a sense of identity. It has been observed that people belonging to minority groups prefer to communicate in their native languages as a way of making up for their inadequacies. Some sociologists have recognized the power if mass communication as a socialization device. The pace of cultural change has been accelerating. As members of society, we need to continually refresh our repertoire of habits, beliefs and values, the appropriate patterns of emotional response and the modes of perception, the requisite skills and knowledge (Chinoy 1961). The media has been playing an important role in socialization in the century. There is a concern about the link between television, the education and the socialization of children. It continues today but when it comes to adults, the mass media is merely regarded as a source of information and entertainment, rather than molders of personality. Therefore, the mass media is important in continuing to transmit the culture to adult members of society. The term total institution was coined by Erving Goffman back in 1961. It describes society which is socially isolated but still provides for all the needs of its members. Total institutions have the ability to re-socialize people either voluntarily or otherwise. For example, the following are considered as total institutions: prisons, military, mental hospitals and convents. All these institutions have four things in common: 1. All aspects of life are conducted in the same place and under the same single authority. 2. Each phase of a member daily activity is carried out in the immediate company of others and members are treated alike and they do the same thing. 3. Daily activities are tightly scheduled. 4. A single rational plan exists to fulfill the goals of the institutions. According to Floya Anthias (1999), it is important to evaluate the concept of ‘Diaspora’ beyond ethnicity as a way of thinking about transnational migration and ethnic relations to those ways that rely on race and ethnicity. It determines the heuristic strength of the concept as a descriptive typological tool and as a social condition and societal process. It is argued that although very different in emphasis and has different strengths and weaknesses, both approaches are problematised by their reliance on a notion of deteriolized ethnicity which references the primordial bonds to the ‘homeland’. Also, both approached do not attend fully to the inter-sectionality that is to issues of class, gender and trans – ethnic alliances. The concept of Diaspora therefore does not wholly overcome some of the problems identified with the ethnicity. Diaspora refers to the transnational movement and ties it with arguments around globalization and the growth of non- nation based solidarities in the contemporary period. Globalization has identified the economic and political dismantling of national borders as well as the growth of transnational cultural formations. Diaspora draws part of its impetus from the difficulties identified with existent ethnic and race paradigms, particularly with regard to identifying highly differentiated transnational population movements and synthetic or hybrids form of identity. The race paradigm, one could argue, is no longer as dominant as it was a while ago. Race as a biological marker of difference has no genetic basis as it constitutes taxonomy of groups in racist discourse but it also enables the identification of population groups that are subjected to forms of prejudice, discrimination and other forms of racially constituted violence and subordination at the individual, systematic and institutional levels. Race may be important as a component of identity. So although race does not exist as a scientific category nor is it representational of the real, it is none the less a discursive category with the real effects. The concept of Diaspora however cannot replace a concern with racialized social relations. Diaspora turn the analytical gaze away from the dimensions of the trans-ethnic relations informed by power hierarchies and by the cross cutting relations of gender and class. Diaspora has turned gaze to broader social relations that can encompass politics, economy and culture at the global, rather than the national level. It pays close attention to the dynamic nature of ethnic bonds and to the possibility of selective and contextual cultural transition and negotiation. Lack of attention to the issues of gender, class and generation and other inter-group and intra-group divisions is a major shortcoming. Ethnic stereotyping is the generalization of an ethnic group along the basis of what is generally assumed to be characteristic of that group. This can be positive or negative, though it is always demeaning and a deprival of one’s uniqueness. A certain Dutch professor made a joke that was absolutely stereotypical. He said that “heaven is where the innkeepers are Swiss, the cooks are French, the policemen are English, the lovers are Italian, and the mechanics are German. Hell is where the lovers are Swiss, the innkeepers are French, the cooks are English, the mechanics are Italian, and policemen are German.” Does this mean that a Swiss man can only keep an inn? That only the English are good policemen? There was yet another hilarious but sad stereotype by Charles Barkley when he said “You know the world is off tilt when the best rapper is a white guy [Eminem], the best golfer is a black guy [Tiger Woods], the tallest basketball player is Chinese [Yao Ming, 76"], and Germany doesnt want to go to war [in Iraq]. Does this mean that all Germans love war? That white people cannot be successful rappers? Prejudices and stereotypes are often discriminatory and despite the fact that we all want to seem like we do not hold stereotype, deep down, we secretly harbor some stereotypes against others. Despite the fact that we have even come up with a fallacy of reasoning called hasty generalization, we often generalize and it becomes impossible to know in advance what is hasty or otherwise. This can is attributable to the problem of induction, which basically question the methods we use to come up with conclusions or universal statement s about others. However, it is literally impossible to operate without some level of generalization. Life the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Without this previous knowledge, it is impossible to make a reasonable decision. The human mind after all, can never be in complete state of clean slate.. An important part of socialization is the rearing of culturally defined gender roles. Gender socialization refers to learning of behavior and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls to be girls. This learning happens by way of many different agents of socialization. The family is certainly important in reinforcing gender roles, but so are one’s friends, school, work and the mass media. Gender roles are reinforced through countless subtle and not so subtle ways. Introduction to Sociology” narrated the quote of G. H. Mead, in his words, “the child achieves an understanding of being a separate agent by seeing how others behave toward him or her in social contexts. At a later stage, entering into organized games, learning the rules of play, the child comes to understand "the generalized other "-general values and cultural rules.” This means that a child is taught how to behave at an early stage in life by the members of his family. Later on, his behavior is so internalized that a divergence from what he considers as right or wrong seems out of place for him. In some contexts, we often see people getting into conflicts with others over different issues and this can be attributed to the already laid down values. This is no one’s fault really though it is important to be accepting of our diversity. Hensiin (1999), these behaviors are consistent with the aggression and competitive stereotyping associate with being a man while mothers speak and keep physically close to their girls, behavior that is consistent with the more emotional dependence stereotyping associated with femininity. The society teaches boys to be aggressive and ambitious while girls are expected to be clean, submissive and less ambitious. It is the society that reconditions people and gives their behavior. Modernization and the media have played a vital role in assisting individuals to be more accepting of others as these two instruments have led to a lot of exposure. While some may argue that they have led to a society that is devoid of identity, this exposure has enabled individuals to learn to be more accepting and more patient with others. It is no wonder that our institutions are vibrant with diversity and we often see friendship blossom in the most unlikely of places. When society eliminates stereotypes, individuals are then able to co-exist with each other. In conclusion, it is therefore true to say that ethnic representations draw upon stereotypes because after all, all language and concepts have to use previously shared meanings. This is because at all levels of society, there are norms that we have to adhere to and these norms dictated how we conduct ourselves. These norms were established in earlier times and they consequently stratified society. Within these various social strata, the rules were further defined to be exclusive to the society. Some of these exclusive characteristics included concepts and language. For example, the native red Indians had their own dress code, language and culture, which were passed form one generation to the next. To date, the role of ethnic stereotyping plays a major role in the determination of how different people are perceived. For example, African women are considered dexterous while Asian men are regarded as highly entrepreneurial. In most ethnic groups, roles are divided along gender lines, with men expected to do the more laborious tasks and assume leadership roles. Those individuals who go against the norm are regarded with a lot of skepticism. Up until recently, the thought of women like Rice, Bhutto, Clinton, Thatcher, Oprah and many more strong headed women was shunned. Reason being that they were not conforming to the predetermined stereotypical role for the female. The role of the woman in society seems to be in accord all over the world and this role is one of submission. These women have broken these stereotypes and have paved the way for women globally and have allowed women to spread their wings and realize their full potential. Should those who perpetrated demeaning stereotypes be condemned? Should they be held accountable for snuffing out others in society and deciding who was superior to whom? Should they be punished? In my opinion, they should not. This is simply because they were acting out of the rules and regulations that they believed to be true. After all, they found them already laid down and were simply victims of previously shared meanings. However, with the passage of time ethnic lines are becoming more and more unclear, as it is very hard to keep track of one’s origin. This can be attributed to intermarriages, which make it difficult to clearly state what on really is. This is a good thing because it will eventually lead to a society that is devoid of stereotyping. People will strive to develop their own identities, those that are in sync with whom they are and are an actual representation of their uniqueness. This is more appealing to any individual as they are now able to measure how they perceive themselves, rather than how some ancestor who lived a million years ago and had a totally different life decided. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chinoy Ely (1961). Society: An Introduction to Sociology. NY; Random House. Fenton Steve (1999). Ethnicity, Racism, Class and Culture. London; Macmillan Press Ltd. Floya Anthias (1998). Evaluating ‘Diaspora’: Beyond Ethnicity. Sociology, Vol.32(3) Hensin James (1999). Essentials of Sociology: A down to Earth Approach. McQuail Dennis (2005). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory. London; Sage. Noel Donald (1968). A theory of the Origin of Ethnic Stratification. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0037-7791(196823)16%3A2%3C157%3AATOTOO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N on 6th February, 2008. Read More