Why is it so easy to beleive in stereotypes? Are there really enough examples of say the “drunken Irishman”, “penny pinching Jew”, "dumb Polack"etc., etc. to make them beleivable?
The whole point of a stereotype is that the group associated with it has generally recognizable traits. That’s not to say that all members of that group do, or that you should use stereotypes. Methinks this belongs in another forum though…
It’s human nature to categorize and seek patterns. It’s faster to assume you “know” what someone is like rather than get to know them.
Favorite stereotype line, paraphrased from a Gore Vidal book review:
“‘They shared all of the Latin weaknesses with none of the strengths.’
In other words, shiftless but not musical.”
There can be as many examples to refute a stereotype as there are to support one, if one takes the time and makes the effort to look. I grew up in an area with few white people, few black people and few Jewish people, so the ones I knew were real and individual. Stereotypes are like clipart—a shorthand, a symbol.
Some of these stereotypes arise from deep-rooted cultural differences. EXAMPLE: Americans tend to view time as a sequential straight line, you can only do one thing at a time, and being on time to a meeting is important. Mexicans tend to view time as synchronous, rubbery, you can do many things at a time, and building up relationships with people is important even if that means you’re late to a meeting. The different concepts of what “time” is all about leads Americans to think of Mexicans as lazy, and Mexicans to think of Americans as anal-compulsive and unfriendly.
Often stereotypes are built around a “cultural norm” of behaviours. But you have to remember that there is almost always a bell-curve around that norm, and that just because a behaviour may be the “median” of a group doesn’t mean that all members of the group follow that behaviour.
There are certainly Americans who have the “Mexican” view of time, and Mexicans who have the “American” view. But if we could graph where a thousand people were on that continuum, the median for the Mexicans would come out here, and the median for the Americans would come out there.
Some stereotypes are rooted in a distortion of history. For example, in the Middle Ages, Jews were banned from many professions, but they were allowed to lend money. Hence, many Jews went into that profession – which was viewed as inappropriate for “good Christians.” Any successful money-lender is going to be exacting about money, and so the image of Jews as bankers, controlling the money, or as “penny-pinching” or “miserly” easily sprung up.
Similarly, for black slaves on the plantations, there was not much to do in the way of entertainment at night except sing. They couldn’t go to the theatre or entertain guests in the parlor. Hence, the image of blacks as having “natural rhythm” sprung up.
The stereotypes about New Yorkers, however, are true, there’s just no way around it.