Break off the Stereotypes

Funny is the way it has been rolled out. Stereotypes. And funnier is how unconsciously you are following one.

Many times we have talked about the world and our perception of the world, how the two differ. The gap is beyond capture. In the space lies hell lot of stereotypes that regulate your thought process.

The definition of a stereotype is "any commonly known public belief about a certain social group or a type of individual. "

Some common types:

• Racial Profiling: saying that all Blacks are good at sports is a stereotype, because it’s grouping the race together to indicate that everyone of that race is a good athlete.

• Gender Profiling: Widespread! Some examples:
  • Men are strong and do all the work.
  • Men are the "backbone."
  • Women aren't as smart as a man.
  • Girls are not good at technology.
  • Guys are messy and unclean.
   
• Cultural: Like, Italian or French people are the best lovers. All Blacks outside of the United States are poor. All Jews are greedy. All Arabs and Muslims are terrorists.

• Sexual Stereotypes: suggest that any feminine man is gay and any masculine woman is a lesbian.

Source: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/stereotype-examples.html

These are just the most prevalent ones, the air around us is full of stereotypes. Society specific, field specific stereotypes.

Stereotypes not only hurt, they degrade the quality of your life and corrupt the way you conceive any notion/ incidence. Anyone who breaks the stereotype becomes a subject to scrutinize over the munching hours by people blindfolded by stereotypical notions. Though we have a relatively liberated thought process now , and we understand the notion, somehow it always lacks the much needed stand when it comes to masses. When one's own people support a belief, that eventually becomes a stereotype, one's "consideration" for a possibility of exception for that stereotype fades and one tends to join the herd. 

Situations for gender stereotypes become worse in a patriarchal setup. Watching one's mother working in the kitchen for so called "unproductive" work (that still lacks the due consideration of what we mean by "work") , children are raised admiring the jobs of their father or uncles or brothers, who earn and are respected for bringing money to their families, perceived as the "backbone". 

I am not saying there has been no improvement but this is the example most of us can relate to in India because we have seen such things happening at our home/ neighborhood sometime.

Being brought up in free air, I feel suffocated when someone "informs" me my gender roles, be it anyone. There were no roles at the first place, you collectively defined them with a corrupted thought process and  now you expect me to follow that! With due regards I'd like to ask "Are you out of your wits?"

"Yes, I may like to cook but that is not what I am meant for, I may love kids but its a choice whether I would like to conceive or not. I may suck at art. I may love riding bikes. I may not need a man to depend on for the rest of my life. I may have completely different interests than you would have thought with your stereotypical mindset." - A woman

 

It has a cause-effect relationship. Its not that individuals affect creation of stereotypes, sadly, it is the other way round too. It is the time when any individual tries to modify or regulate one's once "free" lifestyle to fit into the skewed parameters of being what is "expected" out of her/him and sadly this happens unconsciously while growing up. I won't be amazed if someone comes to me and says "You are not the true version of yourself", funnier part is neither the person who said would be.

Nobody is. We all are driven by stereotypes unknowingly at certain points of our life. If they simply cease to exist, you can't pretty much imagine how the world would look like.

I went in dilemma when a van driver once proudly told me, that "I allowed my wife to teach at school". It is nice, you would have, might be because of the need for money or for the sake of her interest. But what at the first place made you think that she owes a permission from you? 

I did not know how to react, neither do I know presently how can one solve this issue. But one thing am damn sure is it is making a huge, mostly negative, impact on our lives.

Why not just consider the world as a collection of souls? A person is not just what his/her color is or gender is or race is...a person is much beyond that. A deep compiled version of experiences, stories, skills, interests, opinions, choices, tastes, deeds , potentials, faith and what not. Why are we even trying to label this being every now and then despite being aware of the existent complexities.

I know its difficult but next time when you see/ converse with anyone, try keeping the stereotypical notions aside and let the conversation flow smooth. You might be amazed. :)

So, that is all. Though a lot of it is still untouched, I believe the topic is always open for analysis at critical angles.

Keep being yourself !

Adieu.

Amateur Critic