Stereotype Definition Essay

The definition of stereotype is: “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing” (Oxford Dictionary). Stereotypes surround our lives without us even knowing what is going on. Stereotypes are turning into a lifestyle, and not an ideal of a person anymore, but when the definition of stereotypes is broken down, is not it a lifestyle? When it says “a widely held”, does not that mean what everyone thinks about a certain group when the “widely” is emphasized? That is the part that is misunderstood by so many people about stereotypes. Often, people will just say, “Oh, that is just a stereotype, it does not mean it is true, and I certainly do not believe that it is true.” but the problem is that people actually do believe that these stereotypes are true. For example, when a survey of 17 Hope College students were asked “If you needed a math problem done, who would you ask?” 94% of the students picked an asian man over a white man. Now some of the most famous mathematicians were white, including maybe the most famous scientist of all time, Albert Einstein, but the students did not pick the white man, they picked the asian man. Another example is that when the students were asked “If you were to create a golf team, who would you want on your team?” 100% of the …show more content…
From left to right, there is a beaker resembling society, racism, laws for equal rights, color blind mentality. Society is poured into the volumetric flask, the middle piece of glassware, and then racism is mixed with society. After these solutions are mixed, the solution turns into a deep red color. Then, the solution labeled “Laws for Equal Rights” is poured into the volumetric flask. The solution becomes lighter, but still very red. Lastly, the solution labeled “Color Blind Mentality” is added to the volumetric flask. When this is added, the solution becomes completely clear, like it looked at the beginning of the