Stereotyping - a Causal Aspect of Racism - Essay Example

Section/# Stereotyping: A Causal Aspect of Racism Although the events of the past several decades have meantthat minorities have been able to achieve a degree of legal equal protection and equal rights under the law, the reality of the fact is that the very same stereotypes that have repressed individuals such as minorities and/or when they are still very much alive within the current world. Even though it is frowned upon within society to make overarching judgments with regard to people based upon their background, these judgments are nonetheless be made and have a definitive impact on how certain groups are seen and engaged with stop as a means of understanding the stereotypes in the effect that they still have upon society, this brief analysis will utilize three specific stereotypes that this student comes in contact with all too often. Ultimately, the question that the individual researcher is faced with is contingent upon whether or not all stereotypes are inherently racist. As will be discussed at length within this brief analysis, it is the understanding of this particular author that the answer to this query is affirmative. By very nature of the way in which stereotypes seek to explain the world in terms of simplistic, narrow, and uninformed interpretations, it is the understanding of this author that all stereotypes based upon race, ethnicity, or cultural background are indeed racist and offensive. It is the hope of this author the following analysis will be able to provide a discussion and understanding which will be useful in providing a rationale for this particular point of view. Firstly, it must be understood that one of the main reasons for why stereotypes based upon race, ethnicity, or cultural background are inherently racist has to do with the fact that they ultimately look for the least common denominator. For instance, an individual from a Hispanic background, regardless of what that might be, is instantly assumed to have a cultural affinity to Mexico (King, 2014). Even though this might not be true, the underlying reason for an individual who engages in a stereotyped as this is predicated upon this “least common denominator. Ultimately, the majority of Latino individuals that a person might come in contact with, at least within the United States, come from a Mexican cultural or ethnic background. However, this should not be understood to mean that all Latinos and/or Hispanics are necessarily Mexican (Mugg, 2007). This obvious example presents the reader with an understanding for why racial stereotypes, such as the one which is been discussed above, are ultimately harmful in helping to explain the world and/or understanding unique nuances of background information and personal approach that would otherwise be reflected in a more open-minded engagement with the world. Another reason for why stereotypes are inherently racist is predicated upon the fact that they diminish the “personhood” of the individual that is being judged and reduce them to expected level of behavior, likes, dislikes, talents, and viewpoints. As such, the opportunity for the person who is being judged to reflect and represent a nuanced individual is inherently reduced. Furthermore, an additional reason for why stereotyping can be considered as a tacit form of racism has to do with the fact that stereotyping by its very nature involves a level of “labeling” (Perez, 2013). As can be seen with respect to the way in which racism has been exhibited over the past several decades, a core and fundamental aspect of this particularly flawed approach and worldview is predicated upon the fact that incorrect, oftentimes harmful, labels are placed upon individuals from a specific ethnic background, cultural understanding, or racial heritage. This labeling is not always beneficial and oftentimes creates a situation in which poor expectations or the bad behavior of certain individuals is judged to be reflective and indicative of the behavior, attitude, and approach that all people within a specific community or population reflect. One aspect that connects stereotyping to racism is the fact that when an individual uses a stereotyped to define, group, and oftentimes disparage another person, they are inherently placing themselves above them. For instance, as has been discussed previously within the analysis, stereotyping inherently reduces the overall level of personhood or respect that an individual from a particular background might have within the worldview of the person who is judging them for discussing them. However, at the same time, invariably the individual that uses the stereotype understands that they are an individual, distinct from a faceless group, and represent their own ideals of personhood and individuality (Werbner, 2013). Accordingly, by robbing the individual of their ability to represent a distinct person and judging them based upon the activities of others similar to them, the overall understanding that can be had is one that reduces the worth of the individual or individuals that are being stereotyped and places the individual that is judging on a false moral high ground that is synonymous with the form of racist judgment (Appel & Kronberger, 2012). Further, delving into the actual definition of racism, the reader can clearly see that a level of parallel in connection exists between racism and stereotyping. According to Merriam-Webster, racism is “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races". As can plainly be seen, the differential between stereotyping and racism is in fact quite small. Ultimately, this differential is one that serves to remind of the reader that both racism and stereotyping oftentimes go hand in glove with one another. Further, it must be understood that without a degree of stereotyping, racism in and of itself would be virtually impossible. The underlying reason for this has to do with the fact that stereotyping serves as the backbone through which hasty generalizations and incorrect conclusions can be drawn concerning entire groups or populations of people. Accordingly, without these hasty generalizations that stereotyping provides, racism would not thrive and could not utilize misinformed and myopic understandings of the nuances between people to draw incorrect assumptions. For instance, one type of abusive and racist stereotype is with regard to being judged negatively for being a Hispanic. When stereotypes are engaged based upon this particular example, the individual that is being judged is oftentimes judged upon the most simplistic and naïve interpretations of what Hispanic origin necessarily details. With regard to some of the stereotypes that exist with relation to Hispanics, it can be said society at large understands them to be passionate, driven, and oftentimes engaging in physical labor (Spittle et al, 2012). With regards to arguments against such a stereotype, this author would point to the fact that there are hardly any immigrant groups which come to the station that do not start out by engaging in as a labor of various kinds which the native inhabitants of the United States at either become too lazy or uninformed to perform themselves. It is doubtless that there are many individuals that would point to the fact that stereotyping is much different than racism due to the fact that it does not necessarily condensate a level of hatred. However, such an understanding is flawed due to the fact that racism by its very nature is not required to represent hatred for abject derision of a particular group. Instead, racism must be understood in terms of derogatory thoughts, feelings, or expectations that can be projected onto a different group. Within such an understanding, stereotyping serves as a fundamental way through which many nuanced shades of feelings, besides merely hatred, can be conveyed. In effect, the type of careless “grouping” that stereotyping encourages is very much can to derogatory understandings and interpretations of the way in which people reflect their own ethnicity, culture, or national origin. Sadly, as long as stereotyping is understood as separate and divorced from racism, the overall hope that it can be reduced is also diminished. Whereas it is true that society has seen a great deal of reduction in tacit and overt levels of racism over the past several decades, the degree and extent to which stereotyping is understood as part and parcel of the problem is something that is still struggled with even within the current era. However, it is the interpretation of belief of this author that even though certain shades of meaning and nuances between these two terms exist, they are inherently involved with the way in which individuals judge the world around them and come to faulty and incorrect conclusions concerning it. At such a point in time as racism is understood to involve both hate filled and derogatory language directed towards another, stereotyping can be included within this rubric and derided accordingly. Yet, in order for this to happen, individuals must be aware of the fact that even though they might not consider themselves as racist, they inherently stereotype much more often than they would wish to admit. References Appel, M., & Kronberger, N. (2012). Stereotypes and the Achievement Gap. Educational Psychology Review, 24(4), 609-635. KING, C. (2014). Looking Back to a Future End: Reflections on the Symposium on Racist Stereotypes in American Sport at the National Museum of the American Indian. American Indian Quarterly, 38(2), 135-142. Mugg, J. (2007). What are the cognitive costs of racism? A reply to Gendler. Philosophical Studies, 166(2), 217-229. Pérez, R. (2013). Learning to make racism funny in the ‘color-blind’ era: Stand-up comedy students, performance strategies, and the (re)production of racist jokes in public. Discourse & Society, 24(4), 478-503. doi:10.1177/0957926513482066 Spittle, M., Petering, F., Kremer, P., & Spittle, S. (2012). Stereotypes and Self-Perceptions. Australian Journal Of Education, 37(1), 19-42. Werbner, P. (2013). Folk devils and racist imaginaries in a global prism: Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the twenty-first century.Ethnic & Racial Studies, 36(3), 450-467. doi:10.1080/01419870.2013.734384 Read More