Boys play with monster trucks and girls play with Barbie dolls, right? As a child, perceptions of gender, race and wealth class are instilled into our brains, and as we grow older, we build on these opinions based on our personal experiences. In our generation, we are slowly beginning to see people explore options outside of their normal stereotype, but many individuals seem to be stuck in the judgmental stage our ancestors were in. The world needs to understand that no matter what color, age or gender you are, we were all created equally.
First off, let me say that I am a male, but I am a trained dancer. I am Caucasian, but my favorite genre of music is rap. I am from a middle-class family, but I am a member of a fraternity here on campus. Because I do not fit into the perfect stereotypes we were taught, I’ve had my fair share of verbal abuse from many of my peers. Because of them, I’ve grown stronger and learned to never let anyone get you down. Honestly, the only reason someone tries to degrade someone else is because they are lacking confidence in themselves.
Yes, we are all entitled to opinions, but most of the time our opinions should be kept to ourselves. I think individuals should realize that these crimes of judgment inflict pain both mentally and physically. It’s true; words can cut like a knife, and sometimes even take a life. If the recent, tragic events of the young men and women taking their lives because of bullying still don’t open the eyes of the insolents, I’m not sure what this world is coming to.
Recently, I heard a famous teenage star, Demi Lovato, checked herself into a rehabilitation clinic because she had a problem with abusing her own body. She stated it was due to problems in her past where her school peers would bully her. We can not let people reach this point anymore. Just think of all the young girls who look up to this celebrity as a role model. Because of all of the bullies at Demi’s school, millions of girls are now confused as to why the person they look up to is in rehab.
The fact that the media these days sticks to these stereotypes doesn’t help this cause whatsoever. For instance, MTV broadcasts shows such as “My Super Sweet Sixteen”, “The Hills” and “Jersey Shore”, which do not let our generation really see how everyone in these classes or races act. Many people drawn to these television shows now assume that all wealthy people act like spoiled brats and the entire Italian race has Dorito colored skin. Even the Disney Channel has a character named London Tipton who comes from a wealthy family and acts like an incoherent heiress. The influence on our generation is vast and needs to come to a halt before it gets any worse.
Even those that don’t tune into these television shows are already influenced as children to degrade themselves because that is what society want. In my psychology class, we have been discussing something called a stereotype threat. Basically, a group of people has negative stereotypes about themselves because they are minority. This causes the group to doubt their own abilities and perform poorly on tests in comparison to another group who has the stereotype of being more intelligent. It baffles me that these people can go through life believing they are inferior to others.
The hateful words that this generation has mixed in with common slang are also a contributing factor to the scorn nowadays. For example, when people don’t like something, they call it “gay,” or when someone is deprived, they call them “ghetto.” In my opinion, these words are identical to words like “stupid” and “worthless” If individuals would think of the hostile words before they say them, maybe people wouldn’t be impacted as much and deem it necessary to hold back how the words really make them feel.
Coming from a small town, I have witnessed and experienced bullying. I think that as the times change, so should our outlook on society. Make it a mission to eliminate the word “stereotype” from your vocabulary. Make a friend that normally wouldn’t fit into your clique. That person might just become one of your best pals. Lastly, never let anyone get you down. Just remember the famous words of Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., “confidence is a stain they can’t wipe off.”