Are you a Victim?

A lot of people around the world are victims of stereotypes. Nevertheless, the issue is still around because people still practice it. Stereotypes define as overgeneralized beliefs that people have on other groups based on their skin color, ethnicity, beliefs, and looks. The term stereotypes comes from the 18th century, specifically from the French language and derives the the Greek words ‘στερεός‘ and ‘τύπος‘, which mean solid typos. The meaning of the word stereotypes today is similar to the Greek words that were developed and used in the French language, and is highly held and used today.

Stereotypes are not fixed ideas. Rather, stereotypes are different from one person to another. Not all humans believe in the same stereotypes. Stereotypes is an important term because it defines a process that has been practiced for a while and will continue to be practiced. This word is important because when defined, it is clear that it is an overgeneralized idea that is not true. In addition to so, stereotypes are misconceptions but people believe in them and therefore, they practice it. Due to so, stereotypes are greatly generated through shared ideas from one person to another and through the media. Bias through newspapers and similar platforms such as television broadcasts have a great role in generating stereotypes since they have an audience.

One of the main consequences of stereotypes is that it separates humans from each other as it promotes segregation. It widens the gap and creates social hierarchies which people practice and believe. This does not bring any positives, rather, it promotes discrimination and prejudice. As said by Mr. Ilias Mohammed, a Bangladeshi British science instructor at the Academic Bridge Program, “stereotypes lead to prejudice, which is an opinion not backed up. Hence, faith prejudice only results in negatives. They also create more stereotypes and conflict in society”.

Another consequence of stereotypes is that it lowers the self esteem of people categorized within a specific stereotype. For example, some people practice the stereotype that African Americans perform worse in comparison to white Americans in school. This stereotype reflects on African Americans when told to take an intelligence test, and they usually perform worse.

Many people acknowledge the fact that the negatives of stereotypes overcome the positives. Henceforth, they create awareness campaigns are support it through their social media accounts. One of the main awareness campaigns is “Black Lives Matter”. This campaign started from the African-American community, however, it went viral and was supported internationally from different groups. The purpose of this campaign is to raise more awareness on racism towards dark skinned people and to showcase the struggle they pass through.

Black Lives Matter

Stereotypes are harmful as they lead to prejudice. However, it is very common and  the issue requires immediate care and should be minimized. People should act better towards each other and respect the theory of the mind, which is the acceptance of that different people believe in different things.

What do you Think?

Racism is being aided through stereotypes. Everyone faced racism at least once in their life, as people usually tend to think that they are superior to others. On a sunny morning, specifically in the 17th of March, I conducted an interview at 9:20am with the science instructor, Mohammad Ilias about stereotypes. Instructor Mohammad Ilias works at the Academic Bridge Program in Doha, Qatar. In his grey science lab, I decided to use the time in between his classes to carry an interview about his experience with stereotypes, since he mentioned in class before that he has faced discrimination due to his ethnicity and background. He is originally from Bangladesh, however, he grew up and lived in the United Kingdom. Due to his background, some people stereotype him and think he’s a technician rather than a science instructor. The purpose of carrying an interview with instructor Mohammad Ilias is to get a further insight through the issue and see his past experiences in the different countries he visited and lived in.

The interview went as the following:

1. What do you believe stereotypes are?

Overgeneralized beliefs that people make and practice on different groups based on what they observe or hear.

2. What stereotype are you a victim of?

Racism

3. What are the long term consequences of stereotypes?

Stereotypes lead to prejudice, which is an opinion not backed up. Henceforth, prejudice only result in negatives. They also generate more stereotypes as they are all related in one way or another, and it also increases conflict in society.

4. What generates stereotypes?

Stereotypes are usually generated through people's interpretation of what they observe, hear or see other people do. They base assumptions on unsupported opinions.

5. How are stereotypes spread in your opinion?

I believe that stereotypes are practiced which makes them spread from one person to another. People share their knowledge and ideas, people believe or continue spreading it, and the cycle keeps going on.

6. Are stereotypes practiced more in some countries?

Stereotypes are not practiced more in some countries in comparison to others. Stereotypes are practiced everywhere by many people. The location has no influence on the amount of stereotyping within a country.

7. How can we minimize stereotypes?

There are several ways where we can minimize stereotypes. One of the ways could be teaching people to be open minded and accepting of other cultures and people through education and campaigns.

The ongoing problem of stereotypes is not limited within one country. People practice stereotyping everywhere, which makes this issue highly complex and difficult to minimize. Stereotypes lead to prejudice and conflict between people, and creates social hierarchies. It spreads hatred between the people and makes different groups compare themselves to others. Stereotypes are not fixed thoughts that are true, rather, it is unsupported opinions people spread about other groups in order to feel superior.