Comments on: Are positive stereotypes detrimental?

By: kw237335

kw237335 — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:55:30 +0000

This post and Michela’s response really got me thinking about the negative consequences of “positive” stereotypes. Honestly, before coming to Muhlenberg I went along with the stereotype that Asians are smart and endorsed. Now I realize how detrimental endorsing these stereotypes can be. Rather than assuming that someone is smart and someone is Asian, people are assuming that he or she is smart because he or she is Asian. This totally discounts that an Asian person is smart because he or she studies a lot. I wish that I had understood this before and had not endorsed the stereotypes. I wish I had understood sooner how detrimental associating an Asian as being smart simply because he or she is Asian.

By: Michela

Michela — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:48:37 +0000

I actually got into an argument with my boyfriend’s old roommate, Carl. Carl began complaining about the stereotype, sarcastically stating: “oh so rough on them that everyone thinks they’re smart, what a terrible thing.” What was even more frustrating about this response was that he explained this in front of his girlfriend who is Asian American. What’s detrimental about any stereotype—even “positive” ones—is that that it not only minimizes the success of an individual by attributing it to a racial characteristic, but it also fails to acknowledge the cultural values, as Chris referred to. Additionally, it minimizes the implications of the internalizations of these stereotypes. I don’t think people who refer to that stereotype think about how much pressure it puts on an individual to fit into a mold. Anytime we stereotype, we’re essentializing a cultural identity to an often, inaccurate perception.

By: Tory Mansolillo

Tory Mansolillo — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:05:57 +0000

The question that asked “what might be other negative consequences to a ‘positive’ stereotype” really got me thinking. I think that one of these negative consequences is to use positive stereotypes in a way to support that racism is over and everyone is equal (which as we all know is not the case). If individuals can use these positive stereotypes to support these untrue ideas, they are able to convince themselves that racism is over. This I believe only sets back individuals and our society even more and keeps them farther away from acknowledging the existence of racism.

By: nashkrod

nashkrod — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:11:56 +0000

As with all stereotypes, there are people who “fit” the stereotype, and those who don’t. This academic association with Asians is part of the larger “model minority” stereotype, which is just that a stereotype. To answer your question I think one negative consequence could be the unfair expectation that all Asian people perform exceptionally well in school.

I think that it’s easy for us to recognize people who fit into our preconceived notions of a group as belong to that group than it is for us to notice the people who do not. In this case, we see academically successful Asian and attribute that to their Asianness, but we have a harder time associating the academically struggling Asian student as a member of the group. Instead, we acknowledge the people who do not fall within our expectations as outliers, or exceptions to the rule. Why is it so easy for us to dismiss people who “disprove” the stereotypes as exceptions as opposed to dismissing the stereotypes themselves?