How Does Nurture Affects Stereotypes

A piece of cloth placed on my head for the past year representing obedience, honour and dignity. A cloth that depicts the greatest of my struggles but also shows continuous strength. A cloth that is seen as oppression by many, but signifies freedom in my eyes. I feel burdened as I am an automatic representation of all other Muslim women. When I go out in public it is burdening to know that I look slightly different. When someone talks to me, I see their mind filled with thousands of thoughts about me even before saying “hi”. Just because I wear a hijab it does not mean there is a physical barrier that dismisses me from harm and ignorant comments. It does not mean I am a pearl in a shell that has never made mistakes. It does not mean I am a …show more content…
Global events such as the 9/11 attacks perpetuate these discriminatory comments as they attach a label to everyone who belongs from that race, religion or ethnicity. This form of ignorance is most commonly formed from nurture. Nurture denotes the environmental influences surrounding us which usually refers to our experiences. The idea of nurture affects the stereotypes mentioned in the video as he refers to the woman as a “terrorist” while treading over her privileges and rights. He refuses to serve her due to the “towel” on her head as he is blinded by a biased image as he groups all Muslims as the same. The worker at the bakery publically defames her as he injures her reputation and character by laying false accusations about the religion of Islam. Hence, the base of his unawareness and lack of knowledge comes from nurture specifically the events he has …show more content…
In our predominantly Caucasian society, it is indeed a great advantage to be white over many other ethnicities. As illustrated in the video, the man was serving his goods to all Caucasian men and women but as soon as a women wearing hijab entered the bakery his guards went up with refusing to serve her. His ethnocentrism was depicted as he spoke to her in an attitude showing superiority of his culture and values compared to the women. Something as little as white people immediately being served and given the importance of a customer is a significant example of white privilege. The idea that skin colour and faith can asset someone is disappointing considering the ‘open-minded’ society we claim to live in—with education that continuously teaches us to not move forward with a racist