Stereotypes and Their Impact on Society

Stereotypes can be created from past experiences, reading books, watching movies, or through talking with friends and family. "In many cases, these stereotypical generalizations are reasonable (believed to be) accurate. " Current Stereotypes Even in this day and age, people of different cultures, religions, appearance, education, sexuality, and history are Judged based upon stereotypes that often have no connection to the person standing in front of them. An example of a culture that is limited within society based upon stereotypes within the Spanish culture, usually are only given T.V. And movie rolls as thugs, gangsters, maids, gardeners, or the sarcastic over drinker, in the film industry illustrating character traits of dishonesty, undereducated backgrounds, and very traditional appearances and customs. For a long time African-Americans were described as lazy, violent, and unintelligent which have limited chances of advanced employment and have been shown negatively in the media. Blonds have been portrayed as limited both physically and mentally, which can be heard in stereotyped Jokes, in film, and in literature.

Christians are seen s uptight and Judgmental of others without any connection to their actual belief.

Recently with world affairs, Americans of Middle Eastern descent are being treated poorly based upon culture, appearance, or religious views because of terrorist attacks. Those without a high school diploma are seen as uneducated and shamed as they struggle through life with limited Job opportunities. Even people from the same country living in different areas such as mountains, rural, suburbia, and cities are Judged differently without any other facts about who they are.

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Comments such s connected to the earth or backwards based on living in the county and cultured and non-caring or rude living in the city. Historically In the sass's Native American were forced into slavery or forced to assimilate to European cultural norms because of living very differently from the colonists. Forced to assimilate the way they lived, dressed, and religious beliefs and many were forced into slavery. Similar stereotypes defining this cultural group such as lack of intelligence, dependency, and misunderstood cultural acceptance continue to affect Native Americans today thousands of years later.

Through the sass's and sass's, hundreds of thousands of Irish citizens, from northern and western Europe, fled from their homeland to find a better future in America. Most of these immigrants were skilled workers with a high rate of literacy, who were easily incorporated into American society. Near the end of the century, many Jewish, Catholics, and Greek Orthodox immigrated from southern and eastern European countries. A high percentage of them were illiterate and poverty-stricken. These particular immigrants mostly settled in major cities along the coast, maintaining their language and customs.

In the early 20th century, groups were formed to segregate the first wave of immigrants from the second. The purpose of these groups were meant to prove that the immigrants from the south and east were racially inferior to those from the north and west. The activities of such groups led to laws such as the Quota Act of 1921 which was the first law in effect that would restrict the number of immigrants allowed to migrate to the United States. A prejudice in America today is that all people of Mexican descent are Roman Catholic.

Roman Catholicism

While Roman Catholicism is the nominating religion amongst the Mexican population, that statistic clearly does not mean they all follow that religion. Catholicism first became an important aspect of Mexico culture when the Spanish invaded as conquerors and embarked on an aggressive push to convert indigenous populations. Since Catholicism shares similar beliefs with the with the indigenous religions- such as the Aztec, Catholics both believe in pilgrimages, fasting, and the idea of a divine mother figure- missionaries were able to capitalize on these similarities when converting the population.

The influence of Catholicism was furthered when the Federal Constitution of the Mexican States of 1824 was enacted on October 4th, 1824, which made it illegal for any Mexican citizen to practice any religion besides Catholicism. As a result, you can find in many horror films (Paranormal Activity, Devil) Mexican maids or priests having the ability to perform religious exorcisms, repeating catholic beliefs and shunning those who never "believed. " Examples of stereotypes effecting people day to day in their social, emotional, and educational lives are to many to name.

To dismantle stereotypes the key is to understand that, "There are many biological and genetic differences between the races. "But there are no 100% facial statements that can define a group of people either by social, intellectual, topographical, appearance, religion, or histories. We must first stop believing such outlandish statements. Dig deep and really think, "Could one blank statement really apply too whole group of people? " We must stand together and stop all stereotypical Jokes, comments, and misinformation and lead the next generation of people into a world hat Judges each individual by their actions and their actions alone.

Don't partake, encourage, or enable others in spreading stereotypes. In the work place we must work against what we've been told and our prior experiences and give people a chance to stand up as the person they are. Not be Judged by others actions that could of happened thousands of years ago or thousand of miles away. We need to think about why we have the feelings we do and where they are coming from. Ask ourselves if we are allowing stereotypes to influence our decisions. The more we think through our actions and disprove the stereotypes that surround us the more e will influence change.

When others speak about stereotypes we need to speak up against such actions and encourage a change in the culture we live in. The last step is to fully understand that everyone lives with stereotypes. Some people may be more aware then others but we all carry the effects of stereotypes with us. By connecting with others, the negative effects that stereotypes have played in our, lives we are better able to battle against this invisible enemy. Take a stand and fight against stereotypes, no longer be silent and allow such ignorance to hurt another person again.

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