When we see other people of different ethnic backgrounds and races, we tend to pass our own almost involuntary judgment on them. Our society has formed such a stereotypical view for each race and even gender. The evidence in the smaller details that we believe just "are". It's in our advertising, other forms of mass media, and everywhere in our day-to-day lives. We draw conclusions about other people by observing their clothes, material possessions, style, and their behavior. Sometimes, our judgments can be malicious even when that isn't our intention. We don't know everyone's story, but it's our instinct to size up the people around us, those who we are competing with for our scarce resources in this world.
Being on the opposite side of stereotyping, as an Asian-American, I don't let people's stereotyping me impede me from living. However, it does become annoying after a while of being asked, "Are you related to Jackie Chan? Are you a ninja? Do you know karate? You're Asian, so of course you're good at math." Firstly, no, I am not in any way related to Jackie Chan. He is Chinese, but he is from the deeper south, and we don't have the last name. That's like me asking a white person if he or she is related to Chuck Norris. That is obviously not so. Secondly, just because I am of Asian descent, it does not mean that I have hidden ninja skills, know karate or any other kind of martial art. Lastly, I absolutely am not good at math. In addition, I do not spend my entire existence with my nose crammed in a textbook. Sorry to let you down, guys. I do play the violin, but I am not amazing at it, so there goes your Asian stereotype out the window... It's really quite funny how Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans, and other races have been perceived in the U.S. over the years.
The following images are ones in which you would pass judgment based on what you immediately see.
Just from looking at this picture of this girl, I immediately notice her mixed race. Then, her appearance seems to be of a cleanly nature, so I can assume that she is not poor. Plus, the guys in suits behind her lead me to make the assumption that she is at a social function, which also supports my thought about her socioeconomic status.
What do you see?
I would immediately look at her clothing, noticing that she seems to have come from perhaps a middle class, well-to-do family that might live in the suburbs. She seems like she is pretty happy, like any other average, white teenage girl would be. She looks intelligent and bright-eyed. Her appearance is nice and neat, a good school-girl type of vibe.
What do you see?
I can immediately assume that she is from the Middle East, but her eyes are peculiar, which perhaps tells of a mixed race. She is slightly dirty, so I am guessing that she works a lot, is from a poverty-stricken place. She looks like she's wanting something or just thinking hard. Some would perhaps ask why she has a nose piercing, wondering if it is a cultural norm.
However, so many Americans associate an entire people with the deeds of an individual that happens to be of the same race or ethnicity. For example: Almost everyone stereotyped and treated people from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East countries, etc. as terrorists after 9/11. We generalized, and that unfortunately brought out a darker side of our human nature.
What do you see?
I know immediately that she is of either Hispanic, Pacific Islander, or maybe Indian descent. She is dressed scantily, so I assume that she is perhaps a "sex symbol", either a model, celebrity, etc. She has nice attire (however little), so I am guessing that she is pretty well off, nothing close to poverty. She looks like she parties a great deal and dances.
What do you see?
This man is obviously from an earlier period in history. He looks like a well-to-do guy. He seems like a very pensive person, very stolid. He is a Caucasian, heterosexual, young, HIV negative, typical male from what I see.
What do you see?
The first image is of Lucia Micarelli. She is the violinist that plays for singer Josh Groban. She attended Julliard, and she is of Italian-Korean heritage.
The second image is of Rachel Scott. She was only 17 years old when she was murdered in the Columbine shooting. She was very talented, driven, and a devout Christian.
The third image is of an Afghan girl. She is poor, and yes, this is her true eye color.
The fourth image is of Nicole Scherzinger. She is the lead singer of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls as well as a solo artist. She is very well-known, and she is of Hawaiian-American heritage. She dances and she sings, and she is well-to-do, economically and socially.
The last image is of Edgar Degas. He is the famous French artist that lived from 1834 to 1917. Some of his very recognizable work is of ballerinas. His family was moderately wealthy, upper middle class to upper class, probably. His work and reputation as an extremely diverse artist precedes (or technically, "succeeds") him.
All these images, like people all around us, are capable of being judged; however, one's assumptions may not always be correct, so always try to find the truth, the real story before seriously passing judgment.
-Kelsey
I love this! You said it so well, it is our instinct to size up people. Try as we may to say that we don't stereotype, we've all done it sometime. But you never trully know a person's story until you've spoken to him or her and befriended them enough to get his or her side of the story.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Exactly!
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