Examples Of Stereotypes In African American Culture

Boys prefer blue, and girls prefer pink (The tempest). All African Americans run fast (Phillip). Asians are good at math (The model minority). These three generalizations of certain groups are considered your typical stereotypes (Neuberg). Whether they are gender or racially based there is a swarm of stereotypes constantly popping up in our culture today, both good and bad. Notice the examples I gave above were either neutral or positive, thus appearing to exhibit a “feel good” atmosphere. However, many take offense to stereotypes, regardless of the intent because they are often times derogatory and assumptive. (The case against). Although stereotypes can be considered a humorous way to enhance comedy, it must come in moderation, and such remarks

Whether they are portrayed as positive or negative all comes down to the audience and the delivery. Nicole Byer, both a comedian and a feminist, finds herself standing on both sides of the fence (Byer). She herself uses such tactics to connect with and entertain her audiences, but the African American female has also found herself a victim to stereotypes (Byer). As a teenager she was often called derogatory names and teased for her gender (Byer). When it gets to the point that everyone assumes all Asians cannot drive and all African Americans drop out of high school it is harmful (Byer). A prime example of this is in our law enforcement in the form of racial profiling, which is what some believe is a logical response to patterns of criminal behavior (The case against). Allegations are based on stereotypes and assumptions. The most common being that most drug-related and street-level crimes are the result of Hispanics and African Americans, however, empirical data shows that crime rates involving such activities happens just as much with whites (The case against). As Byer believes when certain stereotypes become “the norm” that is when it becomes

In our society today, it is almost impossible to go a day without seeing some sort of subtlety involving stereotypes. Our reaction is what will determine whether they will be continued to be shown in the extremity they are in this day and age. Stereotypes do have the ability to teach others of how things might have been in the past, but that does not mean they are true now. We must be mindful of their effects and remember that people are hurt from them despite how funny someone else thinks it