Stereotype

Types of stereotypes

Stereotypes can be social (according to the social class from which they come; for example: chetos or snobs), cultural (according to the customs or traditions they have, such as conservatives) or racial (according to the ethnic group of the person). that are part. Example: Jews). In any case, stereotypes are usually formed by uniting these three characteristics, so it is very difficult to completely separate them from each other. It should also be noted that there are stereotypes linked to religion , such as that which defines Jews as misers.

In the artistic or literary environment, stereotypes appear as obvious scenes or characters that abound in clichés . North American films, to cite one case, usually present various stereotypes, such as those related to people from abroad: the villains used to be Soviet and today they are Arabs. Marginal characters, likewise, tend to be Latino.

Simplification and prejudices

The most frequent use of the term is associated with a simplification that is developed about communities or groups of people who share some characteristics. This mental representation is not very detailed and usually focuses on supposed defects of the group in question. They are built from prejudices regarding the person who comes from a certain area of ​​the world or who is part of a certain group. These prejudices are not exposed to experimentation and therefore, most of the time they are not even faithful to the identity background of the group to which they are linked.

For example: stating that Argentines are arrogant or that Spaniards are ignorant is to reproduce a stereotype that only serves to discriminate and attack people of said nationalities. When such thoughts are widespread, the only way to reverse them is through education .

Stereotypes to tell the story

Throughout the history of countries, stereotypes are created that serve to understand the different stages and transmit a linear version of history. In Argentina , to mention one nation, some of the historical stereotypes are:

The Native American : a stereotype created from the vision of the conquerors, where the native peoples were illiterate (despite the fact that in some cases they had their own writing), savage (their customs, so far removed from those brought by the conquerors, were impossible for them to to understand) and uncivilized (lacking cities, they were considered rudimentary and unprepared for life in society, when in reality the facts show that this stereotype was very far from reality).
The gaucho : also from the view of Europeans, the stereotype of gauchos was made up of attributes similar to those of the natives. In fact, thanks to the dissemination of these stereotypes, this group was used to fight for ideas that certainly did not represent them.
Immigrants : From the arrival of huge contingents of people who came in search of a more prosperous land to live in (second half of the 19th century), a new stereotype was created in the country, that of foreigners, who were differentiated from according to their place of origin. Immigrants from Spain, regardless of the exact place where they left, were called "Galicians" and were described as unintelligent and stubborn . Italians were called "tanos" and were considered noisy and not very hardworking . Those from Anglo-Saxon countries were called "gringos" and the blondes, whether Swiss, Russian, German, Belgian or Polish, "Russians" .

Its use in advertising

An element that considerably affects the way in which one group looks at another (that is, it allows the creation of stereotypes ) is advertising or propaganda: what is attempted to be instilled in collective thinking through the media. An example of this is sexist advertising that tries to convince us that cars are for men (as if all men like vehicles and women don't care) and that body creams are for women ( reflecting that women are very interested in their physical appearance and that men are not concerned about theirs).

In sexist advertising, the image of a woman is presented as someone who is heterosexual , married to a man, who does housework and takes care of the children they both have in common. Their professions or jobs are usually nurses, teachers or secretaries (always with a boss, mostly men). And if this is not the case, they present her as a frivolous, superficial, tender being, an object of men's desire ( homosexuality is never mentioned), guilty of divorces and with great emotional instability.

For his part, the man is a strong, balanced being, an unequivocal father, who is overwhelmed by the problems at home (of which his wife is often guilty) and takes refuge in the "Saturday beer" with his friends or at work , to avoid situations that cause stress.

Two stereotypes of the same society where the role they play is to divide it : men on the one hand, women on the other; or the elderly, children, people from the city, those from the countryside, etc., all on their own. Thus we find a society absolutely fragmented by this human intention to label and separate everything.

Although over the years attempts have been made to give a more open image , it is enough for us to sit in front of the television for about an hour to find that things have not changed that much and that, in reality, we are still so smeared with the stereotypes imposed by sexism like centuries ago.

Examples of stereotypes

Stereotypes contribute to discrimination . They appeal to supposed hallmarks of a group that arise from a limited and distorted social perception until they become a stigma that reflects classism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and other reprehensible attitudes.

In Argentina , Galician jokes constitute an example of a stereotype. In them, the Spaniards (regardless of what region they come from, as we already indicated) are brutish, clumsy and easy to deceive. They always star in absurd scenes and provoke laughter due to their incompetence.

National stereotypes , of course, are also oriented towards other countries. Argentines, in fact, are also burdened by the stereotype that marks them as petulant or presumptuous.

Examples of ethnic stereotypes are found in the cinema. As we mentioned above, Arabs (regardless of whether they are Iranian, Afghan, Pakistani, etc.) are the villains of countless movies and Latinos (from Colombians to Peruvians, including Ecuadorians and Mexicans), who live in poverty or outside the law.

Intercultural education is key to promoting inclusion and respect for diversity. Without empathy and awareness, stereotypes will continue to exist and exert a negative social influence.