Stereotype and American President free essay sample

Stereotyping in America Today Society can be broken up into many groups by gender, race, or even traits. The world is made up of males and females, whites and blacks, and liberals and conservatives, all with a particular way of life. People are stereotyping others all the time without even noticing it, because of race or color. This trend in human thought is called stereotyping. A stereotype can be anything from women being considered better drivers or labeling French people as rude, but one thing that is in every stereotype is the designation of a group as a whole. Stereotypes are judgments based upon a person’s appearance or action; it can also be an over exaggerated view on a person. A stereotype can be also interpreted as a shortcut to a person’s character development. Gender and race have been categories used to stereotype a person in the past, whether they are negative or positive. Stereotyping was present when To Kill a Mockingbird was based in the nineteen thirties and still is present in the twenty first century whether it is in society, schools, or the workplace. People get stereotyped because they are of a different race, lived in a poorer part of town, or have come from bad parents. Many stereotypes are influenced through two ways, media and society. This can end up with a person having racial profiling used against them and causing a negative impact on their life. People in their society tend to stereotype others because they come from different backgrounds then them. The most popular reason people get stereotyped in their community is because they are of a different race. An example of this would be when the nation received an African American president. Many people thought that racism was over because of this election. But according to Bill Wanlund, â€Å"despite the re-election of America’s first African American president, recent surveys reveal that racism still exists among Americans, along with a general perception that race relations have not improved since Barrack Obama was first elected in 2008† (â€Å"Race† 2). Instead of this helping the nation with racism, it has made the nation worse in this area of stereotyping. Stereotyping can happen at any time in any place. However, the classroom is one of the places students of color are subjected to racial stereotypes by other students as well as by teachers. Racism is the belief that a particular group or race of people is better than all others because of the color of their skin. A classroom, a place of learning, is supposed to be a place where every student is able to concentrate on studying and receive an education. In the classroom, every student should have an equal opportunity to learn. Unfortunately, distractions take away from the learning process. When the topic of race comes up, students of color can quickly become the odds ones out. Teenagers who belong to a racial minority can suffer from racism on a daily basis. Much of this racism these teenagers are subjected to happens in school. There are many teaching aids and materials which assist in this, textbooks being one of them. If the textbook does in fact display stereotypes, this could lead to children stereotyping in a racist way. For this reason teachers need to take the responsibility of ensuring that while teaching or working on materials, the learners are not encouraged to take part in racism or stereotyping in anyway or form. If children are not exposed to racial slurs or context, they most likely will not use it towards other children of a different race. Gender equality is a major issue when it comes to the workplace where both men and women are involved. Women have experienced a historic situation of inequality in the social as well as professional aspects. Women are normally the ones that would take care of the children, do the household chores, and in rural areas; they would work in the field with the rest of the family. Just like how the Breaking Barriers article states, â€Å"from an early age, girls are dressed in pink boys in blue. Boys are given trucks to play with while girls are offered dolls [..] girls are assigned household duties like washing the dishes and doing laundry, while boys are relegated to mowing the lawn and talking out the trash† (18). Gender inequality in the workplace is becoming less common; yet, gender is a factor that affects both men and women. Also, in Breaking Barriers article it says how â€Å"females and males often choose career paths that are traditional for their gender† (18). Females are usually seen in jobs such as nursing or paralegals. Males are typically doing jobs that have to do with welding, carpentry, or engineering. Women could have the same capabilities and maybe even higher  qualifications than a men going for the same position, but because of gender inequality the male is more likely to get the job then the female. Men and women should be offered the same job opportunities no matter what gender they are; it should be based on their ability to complete the job. Stereotyping is present in the twenty first century whether it is in society, schools, or the workplace just like it was when To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the nineteen thirties. The effects of stereotyping can be devastating for the person receiving or giving it. As long as there are different races and cultures, stereotypes will never go away. This is because humans fear what they do not understand and thus, must categorize behavior in order to better understand the world around them. But if everyone stopped stereotyping others the world would be a healthier place to live.