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Stereotype

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Stereotypes are ideas held by some individuals about members of particular groups, based solely on membership in that group. They are often used in a negative or prejudicial sense and are frequently used to justify certain discriminatory behaviors. More benignly, they may express sometimes-accurate folk wisdom about social reality.

Explanation

Often a stereotype is a negative caricature or inversion of some positive characteristic possessed by members of a group, exaggerated to the point where it becomes repulsive or ridiculous.

Stereotype production is based on:

  • Simplification
  • Exaggeration or distortion
  • Generalization
  • Presentation of cultural attributes as being 'natural'.

Stereotypes are seen by many as undesirable beliefs which can be changed through education and/or familiarization. However, stereotypes need not be confined to negative characterizations about individuals or groups, and can thus have positive characterizations, for example many African-Americans are now seen as giving advice to whites or other groups.

Stereotypes of groups

Common stereotypes include a variety of allegations about groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, or religious belief, along with profession and social class (see social stereotype). Stereotypes can also be based on an individual's physical size, handicaps or other characteristic.

Stereotypes within groups

A variety of stereotypes usually exist within major social groups, and relate to the variety of identified sub-groups that exist within their own group. For instance, the western urban lesbian sub-culture has strong sub-group stereotypes regarding butch and femme lesbians; bisexuals; granola dykes; and many other sub-groups within the lesbian subculture.

Stereotypes in culture

Stereotypes are common in the world of drama, where the term is often used as a form of dramatic shorthand for "stock character". In literature and art, stereotypes are clichéd or predictable characters or situations. For example, the stereotypical devil is a red, impish character with horns, bifurcated tail, and a trident, whilst the stereotypical salesman is a slickly-dressed, fast-talking individual who cannot usually be trusted. The Italian Commedia Dell'arte was known for its stock characters and stock situations, which could be considered drama stereotypes. Throughout history, storytellers have drawn from stereotypical characters and situations, in order to quickly connect the audience with new tales. Sometimes such stereotypes can be very complex and sophisticated, such as Shakespeare's Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.

The instantly recognisable nature of stereotypes mean that they are very useful in producing effective advertising and situation comedy. Media stereotypes change and evolve over time - for instance, we now instantly recognise only a few of the stereotyped characters shown to us in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. The teen sitcom, Saved By The Bell features a typical group of high school stereotypes such as a "prep" (Zack Morris), a "jock" (A.C. Slater), a "nerd" (Samuel "Screech" Powers), a cheerleader (Kelly Kapowski), a feminist (Jessie Spano) and a superficial fashion plate (Lisa Turtle).

Etymology

The word stereotype was invented by Firmin Didot in the world of printing; it was originally a duplicate impression of an original typographical element, used for printing instead of the original. American journalist Walter Lippmann coined the metaphor, calling a stereotype a "picture in our heads" saying "Whether right or wrong, ...imagination is shaped by the pictures seen... Consequently, they lead to stereotypes that are hard to shake." (Public Opinion, 1922, 95-156). To note, cliché and stereotype were both originally printers' words, and in their literal printers' meanings were synonymous. Specifically, cliché was an onomatopoetic word for the sound that was made during the stereotyping process when the matrix hit molten metal.

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