The message that the story of The Outsides is trying to convey is stereotypes don't define people. The first example is Sherri “Cherry” Valance. She shatters all the stereotypes of a Soc, by being kind to Ponyboy and Johnny. The stereotype of a Soc is a rich troublemaker t hat slaughters and brutally beat up Greasers for fun. But Cherry does not conform to this, as she talked and watched a movie with Ponyboy, without threatening him. Furthermore, She also states, “Not all of us are like that” when hearing about what happened to Johnny. She also helps the Greasers by becoming a spy, because she feels responsible for the gang war. If she matched the stereotype of being a Soc, then she would have used her connections with the greasers to hurt