When we think about stereotypes, our minds often jump to small, insignificant ideas like how people with blonde hair are not supposed to be smart or how people of Asian descent are supposed to be good at math. But what actually is a stereotype? As defined by James A. Forbes, being stereotypical is, “when people rely on surface appearances, rather than in depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind and spirit, [In turn,] their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised.” So we can see that stereotypes and being stereotypical as a whole (more specifically stereotypes like racism and sexism) can be much more than about how you look but your “surface appearances”. This includes how you talk, or behave around