Stereotype

Who do you see in this photo?

I know that now there will be many expressions in the comments … I am ready for this, so be honest with me;)

Although maybe not, I will try to guess:

• “husband’s wife” – most often right :))?
• WAGS – the wife of the football player
• sportswoman
• trainer
• motivation coach
• just Ann – smiling, valiant, muscular … sometimes talking  too much 🙂
• confident woman
• celebrity

Or maybe you have other ideas?
Nicer, sharper? I know that you have a lot of them … but I hope you do not judge the book by the cover, and the person from the photo through the prism of stereotypes – I actually mean every person.

What stereotypes are?

It often happens that we don’t know the person, group, situation, history, context, and only the opinion, experience and emotions of other people influence our opinion. In this way, a stereotype arises. The vast majority of stereotypes is pejorative and hurtful. These are inevitable thought mechanisms and unfortunately they are not difficult to surrender to …

• Gypsy sits next to you on the bus and you become more vigilant.
• The messy man is lying motionless on the street on a Saturday night and you think he is drunk.
• Indecently rich, because he probably stole.
• Pretty blonde, she’s probably stupid.
• The guy who cleans and takes care of the children is a wimp.
• The muscle man from the gym is not very smart.

You see a person who is working hard on their development – you think that it is ambitious – it is definitely a fact! 😉

How often before you speak about a given person or social group you are sure that you are telling the truth about this person? Do you know her past and motives for action?

It is easy to stereotype people … and very often duplicate the opinions of others. We repeat offensive comments, we turn our own and others’ reluctance, we build a wall. Let’s break this chain of mutual dislike.

Negative statements make negative comments. Stereotypes reveals the lack of openness and complexes.

When we are born, there is a chaos around, no predictability, and this causes uncertainty. We need time to find order. When I was a small child, I asked my parents about all the spheres that interested me. Each of us has asked older people many questions 🙂 The knowledge acquired depends on the source of our messages. Also, the formation of stereotypes is created from an early age: we learn from the environment, and how we are brought up is also a science.

Creating stereotypes gives the order of reality. It allows you to “dress” individuals or groups into specific categories with common features – this makes it easier for us to draw conclusions … to assess.

„Stereotype” – a construct of thoughts with cognitive, emotional and behavioral components containing some simplified conviction about various phenomena, including other social groups ”

What are the stereotypes resulting from? This are the “shortcuts” in thinking, going for the easy way, building prejudices and wrong patterns, duplicating the film and the template, which may differ significantly from the truth. We create stereotypes when we do not have the will or the courage or the opportunity to meet the other person or group. This only preserves the simplistic image, often malicious and hurtful.

We refer to the stereotype when we feel fear, reluctance or something is too distant for us to get to know it well. The stereotype has a protective function, defends us from fear of what is different and mysterious. We divide into “our” and “foreign”. We are building an invisible wall between us and people who differ from us … Maybe only seemingly? Is it really enough to divide us from others? We set ourselves limits, and by duplicating stereotypes, we limit our cognitive abilities at our own request. When we are negative about a person, we do not want to approach her, we prefer to assess from a safe distance …

Someone wise said that the inability to break out of the stereotypical way of thinking is a testimony to the action of violence that inhibits development, the violence inherent in ourselves. this is the hidden enemy …

Do you like this sentence?

I guess no one likes to be stereotyped, right? Let’s have more understanding and tolerance for ourselves and let’s not get carried away by this wave of hatred!

Do not judge a book by its cover, you must read it first 🙂

Photo for Women’s Health by Iza Grzybowska