The Effects of Stereotyping

Stereotyping is something that is encountered each and every day. stereotype

Is something that I try not to do, but sometimes I catch myself stereotyping unconsciously. I have been stereotyped before and I did not like it, so I tried think of how I felt when I do it. In this paper I will discuss three specific examples of stereotypes that I come across on a regular basis. I will also explain the arguments that are used to support those stereotypes and any mistakes I find with those arguments.

Recently I read an article on a student who did a design (lines) on his eyebrows and was suspended from school because members in a local gang were designing their eyebrow to be know around town, so administration automatically assumed that he was part of the gang and it turned out he wasn't he just did it because he was following a trend. In the beginning of the school year we had a new student and had lines on his eyebrows, as soon as the teacher I work with saw him she went on a rampage saying he was in a gang and that is where he behavior comes from because I work in a PBS classroom with children with behavioral issues. When I heard her I remembered the article I had read and I began sharing it with her. I explained to her how a good kid was missing school because of his eyebrows and that the school was just stereotyping all kids who have their eyebrows shaved as being affiliated to a gang. I told her that is what she was doing with the student in our class, she was connecting his behavior to him being in a gang because of his shaved eyebrows. She was stuck on her beliefs and continued to state that only gang members do that so there was no changing her mind on what she was thinking.

This incident saddened me to see how she was stereotyping so quickly without even getting to know the student and learn more about him.

I remember when I was 18 I got pregnant and I was not married, I had just graduated high school and I still needed to learn a lot about becoming an adult nonetheless a mother. When people would see me they would stereotype me in being a drop out and not pursuing college, continuing to have children, and work a minimum wage job. When I had my son, my entire aspect on life changed. I wanted to do better for my son and myself. I started going to college, and was also working a part time to get the things I needed to support him. I did not want my son to lack in anything so I strived and worked hard to continue my education. My education was put on hold after getting married and having two more boys but that has not stopped me from continuing to graduate and earn my BA in education. But during this time a lot of people would assume that I was going to be another statistic in life and my son would too, I remind myself daily that my family and help from up above is what has kept me going and the day I graduate will be one of the happiest moments in my life.

Lastly, another stereotype that I come across is thinking that all young African American teenagers are part of a gang or bad. I am a youth leader