Stereotypes are not a part of reality. They are cognitive constructions affecting our relationship with reality.
In social psychology, a stereotype is a fixed, over-generalized belief about a particular group or class of people(Cardwell,1996). These beliefs can be both positive and negative.
It is about mind shortcuts leading to fast conclusions and “helping” us avoid consuming energy into thinking. Gender stereotypes, Beauty stereotypes, Ethnic stereotypes, and so on.
These shortcuts are born, grow and flourish in the human brain while their existence is reproduced through the interaction between our implanted stereotypic beliefs and media visualization. The more we see women with specific characteristics on social media (I don’t say you can name the top three) or the current dominant medium, the more we believe that this is the definition of female beauty.
When in fact, what you and I define as beauty is a result of our interaction with the visual stimuli within the society and era we belong to. Some are pretty much the same, some are totally different and others are in the middle.
What happens when the stereotype comes true?
Oh yeah, this can happen, or at least we think it does.
The confirmation or not of the stereotype does not change the fact that the only place it exists is in our heads. The truth is that information supporting the stereotype, doesn’t really confirm it. We make the confirmation ourselves because we embrace this stereotype as valid.
The naked and unfiltered reality entails men, women, white races, black races, and any other taxonomy your eyes have met. It doesn’t entail over-generalizations without
context and fallacious deductions. This is our creation. Another truth is that stereotypical thinking lacks logical structure.
What about this: “Women are good housewives because it is part of their identity”. And this “The man with the X ethnicity is dangerous because all the people coming from this race are dangerous”. Not fallacious at all huh?
Being good at something depends on the factors of genetics, nurture, and development. In other words what your DNA says, how you were nurtured as a kid, and what skills you develop through your life. The women being good housewives in the 21st century are good because first of all, they want to, and secondly because of their surroundings. And this is not linked with their sex but their personal goals and what they have built as their identity.
Similarly, a man’s dangerousness is a result of complex combinations between his neurological functions, his external environment, and the ongoing interactions of these two. Certainly, the cause is not the color of his skin or the colors on his country flag.
I personally understand that stereotypes are hard objects to break, but if you process and not just consume information, it is an easy concept to unmask.
