African-Americans. Mexicans. Fat people.
Simple phrases can elicit immediate visual or conceptual images. The images can be either positive or negative and often reflect strongly held notions about who people are or what they're like. Simply put, they are stereotypes.According to Webster, a stereotype is a standardized mental picture that represents an oversimplified opinion, an uncritical judgment and a prejudiced attitude. It is a myth in the making, an unfounded or false notion.
So why do we accept stereotypes?
"Stereotypes are a means of categorizing a group. We need to sort the world, to order the world," says Theresa Martinez, a University of Utah sociology professor. "You can't take all information in individually or you'll be overwhelmed. We need to be able to look at things and say `These are chairs. These are bookcases. These are books.' We need to do that with people, too."
While stereotyping is not necessarily bad, Martinez says the harm comes when one starts to see the stereotype and not the reality.
"The harm is in when you say `all,"' said Martinez, who specializes in the study of race relations and deviance. "Generalizations don't work. They need to be qualified. It's not a case of always and never. The word `all' should not be in your vocabulary."
Martinez says we live in an increasingly prejudiced society. A slowly recovering economy, coupled with the uncomfortable feeling of losing control of one's life, contributes greatly to the stigmatization of people perceived as different.
Some stereotypes, like the hard-drinking, hot-tempered Irishman or the Italian Mafioso are long-held. Some, like the border-busting Mexican, are new.
Do stereotypes get recycled?
"Absolutely," Martinez says. "There's fertile ground for it to grow during shaky times. When we're prosperous, we don't think of others. But when we see the pie as limited and only some of us can get a piece, then other people become more threatening. It's all based on `We don't want you/We want you.' An economic boom means (ethnic minorities are) a contributor."
The image of Latinos, for instance, evolved from the dozing, sombrero-wearing symbol of the early 20th century to the blissful, babaloo-ing Ricky Ricardo of the 1950s to the desperate Cuban cokelord of the 1980s portrayed in "Scarface." The current portrait paints them all as Mexican illegals.
One can create a slur for any ethnic group, Martinez notes.
The same is true for perceived deviants, misfits and assorted other stragglers-on in society.
When the Deseret News approached Chip Lindberg and Preston Burrup, both 19 and from Layton, and asked them to say the first words that came to mind about a short list of groups, the young men had fixed notions about each group in question.
A heavy person was perceived as unattractive and associated with fish (smelly). Tongans were associated with grass skirts and fire torches, while Latinos were coupled only with low-rider vehicles. Blonds were equated first with sex, then "good-looking girls."
Were the subconscious ideas adequate descriptions?
"No, there are so many different kinds," Burrup volunteered, both he and his friend looking equally sheepish.
Take, for instance, Johnny Peck, a 17-year-old from Salt Lake City. Peck, who's adopted a hip-hop style and appreciates "pretty hard core gangsta rap like the Ghetto Boys," says he's regularly ridiculed about his dress and music by his friends and brothers.
"They say I try to act black. It doesn't really bother me, but I think it's stupid that your race should make any difference (as) to what you . . . wear or what you . . . listen to," Peck said matter-of-factly. "I just like rap music and fashionable clothes. I think popular culture . . . is ahead of stereotypes."
Negative and unfair
Some stereotypes are positive (brainy Asians; the strong black woman). The vast majority, though, are negative, unfair portrayals.
"I don't run around wearing a dress. I don't run around snapping my fingers every five minutes. And I don't hate women," Charles O'Brien, a 25-year-old gay man says, rattling off a list of suppositions imposed on him.
"It's hard being gay in Utah," the Ogden native says. "People try to knock me over, and they don't even know me. It really hurts. I really do like Utah, but the people here are really close-minded."
Mary, 62, a white woman who asked that her real name not be used, believes contemporary American culture is fixated on beauty.
"People ignore you as you get older. You're not as important," Mary said, rehashing a conversation she'd had with both her mother and sister. "Youth counts. If you're young and beautiful, they listen to you. They definitely treat you differently (if you're not)."
People of color are the global majority. But in most Western U.S. cities, they are the clear minority. Because of America's decided Anglo-European slant, people of color continue to feel the subtle and not-so-subtle nuances of how differently they are treated.
Diversifying
"Sure I have (had difficulties in Salt Lake City)," says Gregory Williams, a black man from Phoenix. "Crossing the street is a thing. Whites get across the (crosswalk all right), but I have to go behind and in front of cars (to pass). It happens quite a bit with me, and I know they see me."
Williams, 33, said in these instances his first thought is to walk over the car, but he never does.
"I just give them a crazy look," he said. "I have a bad temper, so I have to watch myself.
"I'd like to ask `Did you see me?' to see if they would lie or not. And `Why did you do it? What type of satisfaction did you get doing it?' "
The voices of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States are growing louder. Twelve to 16 percent of all Americans are black and 9 percent are Latino. Martinez said that by 2002, the nation will have a "minority" population of nearly 40 percent.
Still, despite greater visibility, increased mobility and a more financially viable minority community nationally, issues of place and belonging still exist for people of color.
"Last year me and a group of African-American friends were in Ogden to watch the NCAA basketball regionals at Weber State. We were dressed casually, but the group had bankers and university professionals," said Jeanetta Williams, an African-American and president of Utah's NAACP. "As we were walking to our hotel, a couple of older white women - who were sitting in their car - lunged over and locked their door. We just started to laugh. We said to each other, `Did you just see that?' I guess the people really felt threatened. We're still dealing with ethnic stereotypes."
Less visible
In some communities where minorities are less visible, stereotypes are prone to fester.
"Sometimes if (white) people don't know any African-Americans, they associate what they see on TV or in the movies to reality: black people in MTV videos who are in gangs or (television) shows with blacks on drugs. Then, there's the story of the woman who saw Karl Malone at the Salt Lake airport and thought he was a baggage man," Williams continued. "I think he thought it was funny, but it shows a stereotype."
According to Yousuf Khanani, the recently elected student body president of Salt Lake Community College, television - sometimes for better, but usually for worse - also shapes the conventional wisdom about people from the Middle East.
"Many people's perceptions of Middle Easterners and Muslims are formed by what they see on TV. You don't see many stereotypes about Muslims until something's going on in the world involving people from the Middle East," Khanani, a Pakistani, said.
"Some people I know saw the movie "Not Without My Daughter" and assumed the ideas in the movie reflected my beliefs about women. I was offended when I saw the movie, after hearing their comments," Khanani, 20, said. "People need to understand that your religious practices are often dictated by your culture. Most of my friends are LDS. When we sit down and talk it's evident that we think alike on most things."
So why do we cling to stereotypes, despite a wealth of information that should convince us to give them up?
"It takes a long time to change history," said Bill, a 66-year-old white male from Salt Lake City, who also asked that his real name not be used. "I don't know how the myth about white supremacy got started. I guess it's bred from one generation to the next."
O'Brien, the young, gay man, asserted that stereotypes are fueled by one's own fear.
"It's their own weaknesses. Their own misconception of themselves. They think these sick, wicked things about another person because they don't understand themselves," O'Brien said. "It's just easier for people to hate."
Tony Allen, a white male who is a cook in a downtown restaurant, said experience is the key. He advised the prejudiced, the discriminating, those prone to stereotyping, to get out more.
"The person who gets out and travels has a better understanding than people who are locked up all day. Everything scares them," said Allen, who's lived in a half-dozen cities in his 20 years.
"People need to stand back and look at what's going on around them. These are the '90s. Things are changing."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
COMMON STEREOTYPES:
Asians are smart and excel in math and science.
American Indians are slow drunkards.
African-Americans are inarticulate and prone to theft. Black males succeed only in basketball and football.
Blonds are dumb.
Homosexual men have limp wrists and a lisp. Homosexual women hate men and want to be men.
Overweight people are sloppy and lack self-discipline.
Evangelical Christians are usually poor and have lower educational levels.
Jews are stingy and neurotic and will do anything to make a buck.
Mormons are best at making money and having kids.
Muslims are all terrorists.
Pacific Islanders are all Tongan. Tongans (in Utah) are all gang members.
Latinos are all from Mexico. Mexicans are lazy, stupid and dirty.
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Social distance scale
Think you're progressive? Answer the following questions, insert each of the listed groups and determine your level of prejudice.
1. Are you willing to allow ....... in your country?
2. Are you willing to allow ....... to live in your city?
3. Would you welcome ...... neighbors in your neighborhood?
4. How would ...... workers on your job affect you?
5. Would you date a ......?
6. Would you marry a ......?
Types of people:
African, African-American, American Indian, Anglo-Saxon, Asian, Caribbean, French, Irish, Italian, Latino, Middle Eastern, Scandanavian, Indian, .....?
II. How would you describe .......?
Insert any of the following words in the blank: poor, black, disabled, homosexual, quiet, talkative, women, men, ....?
*The social distance scale is one of sociology's most accurate measures of prejudice. The scale determines a person's willingness to share intimacy with people of different groups.