Are We Trapped By Stereotypes?
Posted: Monday, August 10, 2009
by Alisa Miller
http://alisa-miller.com
In a thinking person's world stereotypes make about as much sense as non-alcoholic beer or decaffeinated coffee and seeing how we have now both of these with choices to spare it goes to reason that stereotypes are also here to stay and perhaps serve a purpose.
The blonde bimbo, the sleek exec, the well-meaning matron, the bespectacled librarian, are all mental shorthand employed to serve a specific purpose: it helps us assess the world we live in at a glance so we can prepare a response which does not require tying up our mental resources for long periods of time. In terms of evolution this makes perfect sense. Most of the people our cavemen ancestors were likely to meet outside the safety of their cave would fall into stereotypes which would allow a fast assessment to be made and a fast response to be at hand. Speed ensured survival. After that, with closer acquaintance, would come the cultivation of more refined relationships.
In a modern setting stereotypes tend to cause more problems than they solve which means that probably it is time we made the effort to get past them. The issue is clouded a little by the fact that many of us are quite happy to project stereotypical behavior because it gets us faster results than actually trying to really be ourselves.
I have female friends who have degrees in physics, can talk knowledgeably about the dilation effect in time travel and the warping of the space-time continuum and can, over a latte pick holes in Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. Yet those very same friends will butt their eyelids, simper helplessly and cry over a broken nail when a guy is around. The topic of conversation will then rarely rise beyond Brad and Angelina's latest relationship phase or the trend for the current fashion of wearing thongs higher than the waistline of your jeans.
The apparent drop in IQ is as instant as is the effect it has on guys who fall over themselves to help them open doors, reach difficult to get boxes and help carry packages.
In a way the two sexes, as different as we may appear to be, are linked through an intricate feedback loop which conditions one half to behave in ways which make the other half respond. Women may be disinclined to act like helpless, brainless females when guys stop fawning over apparently clueless' women and stop feeling threatened by a woman who can use her brain.
This means that the way ahead' lies in mutual development and a sense that both sexes begin to mature in the way they behave towards each other. It is gradually happening but the pace is glacial which means that in the short-term at least when a guy is around girls revert to stereotype and guys still respond.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Loved it!!! Why can we not get a few more of this quality on the subject? !
Great article. Well done.I would love to say I never do and never will stereotype. But I'm sure I do - a psychologist said it would take half an hour to choose a seat on the bus without them.
Unfortunately stereotypes are used as a pre-programmed response as evidenced by the ladies change in demeanor over a broken nail.Good job here!
The use of stereotypes between the sexes is probably part of the mating ritual which we have created. As such, it will probably be almost impossible to get past it.
Alisa; interesting subject. Along with the concept of sterotypes comes profiling, which many of us use in problem solving--not to be mean. Do you think that as we write for different audiences, we can have different mannerisms for different groups of people? For instance; a part of sales is being able to quickly make some general assertions about your prospect. That includes a bit of profiling; i.e., Business school grad may invoke a different vocabulary than a freshman college student.Suzi, thank you for your comment and you are absolutely right. Profiling is a logical extension of stereotypes. Because it is officially backed and leads to certain emotive decisions it is also highly controversial. I suppose stereotyping would be too if it was used in choosing careers for people. Writing and selling are not quite on the same par mainly because the focus is much more narrowly defined but, as you point out, the line does tend to get blurred and where well-intentioned 'targeting' becomes profiling with the negative connotations of that word really depends on the application and outcome. Definitely food for thought in your comment.
Interesting take on the subject. I am surprised that apparently so many men are actually threatened by women using their brains. A walking talking, smart woman is as cool as I would imagine on the flip side, a similar man is. Women may want to ponder if they really want to be around someone who is looking for such a limited human being and men might want to consider that dumb gets boring quick. Again, interesting article and great points brought up.
I have a preconceived idea about Reese Witherspoon, but it's a good one.
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