Sterotype -JEAN KIM

Stereotype is a certain assumptions people make about other people due to a few known/visible facts. For instance,when an individual hears the term "Black American", it is most likely that he/she will immediately think of the words gangster, tattoo, hip-hop, and basketball. Likewise, people have stereotypes of Asians that all Asians must be good at math. Stereotype is such a dominant factor in our daily lives that nearly every individual holds a stereotype about each other, whether negative or positive.

People call me a girl with a multi personality. Day students, who do not get to see the "real Jean" often holds a stereotype of me, assuming that I am an extremely timid and shy girl who can never speak up. I can say that the dorm students, who have seen my active and humorous sides definitely know a larger portion of who I am, however they still have a certain sterotype about me. Since I ate more than most of the guys back when I was a freshman, they still think that I always eat a lot. The stereotypemy friends have about me is not as offensive as the ones with the black Americans. However, it could still have a negative effect on my life in ceratin circumstances such as a cheerleading tryout. If I had not yelled from my gut, I could have been disadvantaged, since the judges knew that I was known as a reserved person at school.

While other people have that stereotype about me and my personality in general, I find myself having stereotypes about other people as well. Just because I saw a few blond girls in Colorado who were fascinated by a British guy at the same camp, I have a stereotype of blond girls that they all get fascinated by a guy with a British accent. Though this kind of stereotype is not exactly "harmful", it can neither be considered beneficial, as I am most likely to make irrational judgement about girls with blond hair from my biased perspective of them.

Examining the two types of stereotype and some examples, I have come to conclude that stereotype has either neutral or negative effect on others. It may be harmful/negative when a person is receiving unfair treatment due to the stereotype other people have about him/her. It may simply be neutral if it does not have a direct, insulting, or threatening effect on an individual.