Hello Jason,
I had the “pleasure” of learning a lesson in stereotyping. My first retail job was at women’s ready to wear designer clothing store where a basic black suite would cost $300- $500 depending on whether or not it had black buttons or shiny silver ones. I was about 21 years old, wide eyed and excited about starting my first “high profile” retail job. One afternoon two ladies came in, well dressed “looking expensive”; a term my co-workers and used to describe person who looked like they had a lot of money. They looked and conducted themselves as though spending $400 on a plain white t-shirt with a small logo was reasonable. They “looked expensive” and “behaved expensive” so I thought, I would definitely make my sales goal for that …show more content…
Stereotyping, characterizes particular subgroups of persons as unruly, needing authoritative control to ensures order and safety (Bernstein 2013). The reality is different characteristics make people unruly, and so unruliness takes different manifestations in stereotyping. Bernstein identifies 5 traits used to stereotype individuals.
Stupid.
This stereotype classifies members of certain groups as “inherently devoid of the intellectual strength needed to guide their behavior” (Berstein 2013, p.666). Variations on this type of stereotyping include suggesting that a person is naïve, hard to educate, or incapable of understanding material that requires deep thought or quantitative analysis. Women with blonde hair are often times associated with this stereotype.
Crazy
This one is similar to stupid in that it makes a generalization about the mind of the stereotyped person, but differs in what stereotypes are imputed. “The crazy stereotype lands with particular force on women” (Bernstein 2013, p. 666). Women are often times stereotyped as being hormonal or PMS-ing, and delusional. Even when women making decisions are thinking empathetically or sympathetically, they are often times stereotyped as being weepy, and emotional rather than …show more content…
667). Similar to the crazy stereotype, this one associates “brutish” persons with cognitive deficiencies, asserting that certain groups of people are not intelligent enough to be given opportunities, placed in positions of power, or entitled to elite higher education. The thought in this context is that they appear dangerous and are less articulate and intelligent. Athletes are almost always placed in this category and are often times heard referred to as ‘dumb jocks’.
Bernstein definitely identifies the fact that wrongful stereotyping places a stigma on some groups of people more than others; women who are label in derogatory ways and African American men who are angry violent thugs, homosexuals as pedophiles and predators, and persons because of their size are viewed as vacuous. Bernstein argues that stereotyping is “wrong to the extent that it functions to deprive individuals of their freedom without good cause” (Bernstein 2013, p. 659)
I had the “pleasure” of learning a lesson in stereotyping. My first retail job was at women’s ready to wear designer clothing store where a basic black suite would cost $300- $500 depending on whether or not it had black buttons or shiny silver ones. I was about 21 years old, wide eyed and excited about starting my first “high profile” retail job. One afternoon two ladies came in, well dressed “looking expensive”; a term my co-workers and used to describe person who looked like they had a lot of money. They looked and conducted themselves as though spending $400 on a plain white t-shirt with a small logo was reasonable. They “looked expensive” and “behaved expensive” so I thought, I would definitely make my sales goal for that …show more content…
Stereotyping, characterizes particular subgroups of persons as unruly, needing authoritative control to ensures order and safety (Bernstein 2013). The reality is different characteristics make people unruly, and so unruliness takes different manifestations in stereotyping. Bernstein identifies 5 traits used to stereotype individuals.
Stupid.
This stereotype classifies members of certain groups as “inherently devoid of the intellectual strength needed to guide their behavior” (Berstein 2013, p.666). Variations on this type of stereotyping include suggesting that a person is naïve, hard to educate, or incapable of understanding material that requires deep thought or quantitative analysis. Women with blonde hair are often times associated with this stereotype.
Crazy
This one is similar to stupid in that it makes a generalization about the mind of the stereotyped person, but differs in what stereotypes are imputed. “The crazy stereotype lands with particular force on women” (Bernstein 2013, p. 666). Women are often times stereotyped as being hormonal or PMS-ing, and delusional. Even when women making decisions are thinking empathetically or sympathetically, they are often times stereotyped as being weepy, and emotional rather than …show more content…
667). Similar to the crazy stereotype, this one associates “brutish” persons with cognitive deficiencies, asserting that certain groups of people are not intelligent enough to be given opportunities, placed in positions of power, or entitled to elite higher education. The thought in this context is that they appear dangerous and are less articulate and intelligent. Athletes are almost always placed in this category and are often times heard referred to as ‘dumb jocks’.
Bernstein definitely identifies the fact that wrongful stereotyping places a stigma on some groups of people more than others; women who are label in derogatory ways and African American men who are angry violent thugs, homosexuals as pedophiles and predators, and persons because of their size are viewed as vacuous. Bernstein argues that stereotyping is “wrong to the extent that it functions to deprive individuals of their freedom without good cause” (Bernstein 2013, p. 659)