Obviously a very one-sided post but whatever, stereotypes all came from somewhere. Some of them are downright unfair
OOH reminds me. Stereotyping =/= sexism or racism and shit. Like Asian people have small eyes. That's not racism, it's an observed, physical fact. And stereotypes are true - they're just not true for EVERYONE. But if they exist (eg men will refuse to stop for directions), just because an INDIVIDUAL may not conform and object and lah di dah, a good deal of the male population would conform to that fact. Because nobody made this up for fun.
Or if we said women can't read maps or can't park their cars, there will be plenty of women who can, obviously, read maps and park well. But I am certain that there is a good deal of the female population who would rather use a GPS or get someone to teach the route, or would rather search the whole carpark for a wider spot than reverse park between the car and the pole.
I would pull a huge list of male/female stereotypes and shit but I can't be bothered so that's all you get today. Basically - stereotypes didn't appear from nowhere. Just because they're not nice or they don't apply to you, doesn't necessarily mean they're untrue.
6 comments:
I agree that some stereotypes are useful, but I think most stereotypes are based on anecdotal (read: unreliable) evidence and are therefore most likely useless. Also, some stereotypes seem to be social rules in some communities so they're also useful but only in that specific context.
Most of that 9gag stuff - if that's the kind of shit you expect, I seriously think you need to raise your standards.
Hurh I swear I posted a reply last night but evidently it is not here.
I reposted this for its value as a demonstration of why a penis is not a get out of jail free card, as opposed to using this to emphasise any douche behaviours in women.
However I would like to hear any examples of "anecdotal" and hence "unreliable" stereotypes. I am quite interested for what you may come up with. Also, if you have any stereotypes that have transcended the community boundaries and wrongfully invaded on the attitudes of another society, I would like to hear that too.
I disagree that this is an unrealistic view of the world. As George Carlin so wonderfully said: "Think about how stupid the average person is. Then realise half the world is even stupider." If you read this as "scumbag male" and "scumbag female", it does have quite an accurate portrayal of say, white trash America.
Sorry for not commenting on the issues that you intended to demonstrate. I think it's obvious that a penis is not a get out of jail free card - for example both females and males are subject to gender stereotypes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_stereotypes#Gay_men
This page has stereotypes that have been shown to be untrue for the majority of gay men and which have gotten out of hand due to the media.
Obviously this doesn't prove that most stereotypes are unreliable, but I'm not going to use a stereotype until it has been reliably shown to be true. Although it's true that stereotypes don't have to apply to be true, the onus is on you to prove that the stereotype is true (for a majority of the population in question) before using it.
Social etiquette for the gentry and upper classes during the Regency era were explicit. Would it be incorrect to say that adherence to these rules is stereotypical behaviour? Does this change in societies where etiquette is not explicit?
"I disagree that this is an unrealistic view of the world."
I don't think it's an unrealistic view either. However we're lucky enough to be able to choose who we hang around with - we don't have to associate with people that choose to ensure these kinds of problems continue to exist.
Based off some (extreme but still prominent) feminist arguments, it does not seem clear that it is understood that both genders need hard work to gain socioeconomic status.
I think stereotypes are based off the logical fallacy that "because we have seen lots of [group] doing [action]", it must be true for all [group].
Now I don't know any gay people well enough, nor have I read many (if at all) reports (if that's the right word to describe anecdotal style writings such as blogs, tweets, etc), to comment on the LGBT stereotypes you have linked to me.
In addition I find it amazing that HIV/AIDs is not under that subheading for that article. That's gotta be up there, right under "effeminate behaviour"
And sorry I don't understand your Regency argument. I'll see what I can make of it - Adhering to Regency rules is stereotypical in the Regency era; it is insanity to adhere to them today.
I'd say etiquette isn't very explicit today. However the stereotype that women, say, were expected to say "yes" to a marriage proposal if a dude was rich, has not transcended into society today. In fact, she is probably likely to be frowned upon as a "gold digger".
I can't make a concluding statement because I don't understand the question - feel free to correct my interpretation based off what I wrote above =)
I agree whole-heartedly with your last paragraph. I think we have reached common ground wrt the 9gag post itself. I am, however, confused as to why you thought I posted this to describe my (esp. female) peers.
I don't understand what your first paragraph is in reply to. Additionally, I didn't think that you posted this to describe your peers, I simply couldn't think of a unambiguous way to bring up the idea in the last paragraph of my previous comment - sorry. (x
About the Regency era: The Regency era had social rules, and we have social rules now (in some communities) as well. These social rules were extremely explicit in the Regency era, but they aren't now. However, both societies adhered strictly to these rules - I think this would create a legitimate stereotype because there's a causative relationship between 'membership' to the society and some personality trait.
The first paragraph is expressing my doubt as to how obvious it is to everyone that a penis does not mean free opportunities in life.
And sorry the Regency thing is still not clear to me - could you describe which social stereotype you are talking about?
Also, in "However, both societies adhered strictly to these rules" - are these two societies Regency era and present day?
From your concluding line I am getting the idea that you're saying "Being a member of a Regency society, and obeying its rules, makes you stereotypical of Regency era society", which makes me think I must've misinterpreted :L
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