To answer this questions first of all we need to understand what is a stereotype. Stereotype is a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people. By stereotyping we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, such as when various nationalities are stereotyped as friendly or unfriendly. We often find people stereotyped around characteristics of age( “All teenagers love rock and roll and have no respect for their parents.”), sex (“Men love football.”), race (“All Japanese look and think alike.”),religion(“All Catholics love the Pope more than their country.”), profession(“All lawyers are greedy.”) and nationality(“All Germans are Nazis”).
Objects can be stereotyped around characteristics of places (“All cities are corrupt and sinful.” “Small towns are safe and clean.” “In England, it rains all the time.”) and things (“All Korean cars are cheaply made.”).
It has it’s advantages and disadvantages. One advantage of a stereotype is that it enables us to respond rapidly to situations because we may have had a similar experience before. One disadvantage is that it makes us ignore differences between individuals, therefore we think things about people that might not be true.
As we can see stereotyping is neither good or a bad thing and it’s impossible to get rid of. Stereotyping goes way beyond race and gender. Consider conversations you have had about people from the next town, another department in your company, supporters of other football teams, and so on. The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world, since they reduce the amount of processing (thinking) we have to do when we meet a new person.
So after truly understanding what are stereotypes, I have come to a conclusion that I am not against or for them.
Տիգրան Արզումանյան 