The Value of Stereotypes, and Why We May Need Them

Stereotypes all come from somewhere. That is just their nature. It comes from widespread behavior displayed by a certain group of people in most situations. They are trends we notice and then hold onto in order to generalize our understanding of people that can be described by that stereotype, which are formed by our interactions with other people that are repeated enough for our minds to group them together. 

You have likely been taught that stereotypes are bad. That is generally the basis of many bullying awareness presentations, media studies, and common attitudes. However, I want you to think about why stereotypes are seen as a negative thing. It isn’t as if stereotypes are completely ridiculous lies, because if they were, we would be able to figure out that they are untrue based on experience. If they are not reasonable, then why are some believable? And, does this idea of stereotypes being bad apply to all situations?

We make all sorts of generalizations about the world, people, objects, actions, and ideas all the time. It is how our minds can take in information without going into overload. If we made sure to specify everything we come into contact with, we would probably run out of brain room to learn important things. Stereotypes are a form of generalizations used to explain human behavior to us. We interpret the world largely through the use of stereotypes. So, we cannot necessarily claim that all stereotypes are bad. They are useful for learning about the world as children, they are sometimes necessary for explaining common human behaviors to children, and they are circulating in our heads as we go about our day so we can understand what is happening around us.

However, the employment of stereotypes is negative in some situations. It is not the fact that they exist, for that means nothing. The stars existed long before we did, but they did not exist to us yet. Existing does not automatically mean that something has meaning or is known to all other things. This same logic can be used to explain the existence of stereotypes and the value we associate with them. Stereotypes can exist without our interpretation and use of them to understand the world. However, we associate all objects, ideas, people, and actions with a meaning and a value. We can use stereotypes to aid in our valuing of other people. One could think of stereotypes as a tool for assigning values to people, such as the price gun is a tool for assigning a value to cereal. This price gun is a tool for assigning value to cereal, but we need to remember that not everything is a cereal and not every cereal is the same.

If we use stereotypes to deliberately put someone down, such as calling someone an “angry feminist lesbian” to imply that they have no value, then we can probably assume that the intentions are not the best. It would probably also be an inaccurate employment of that stereotype. However, we know that stereotypes come from somewhere. So where does this particular stereotype come from? If we think about the origins of feminism, the majority of participants were either unmarried or were lesbians who wanted equal rights as men. They were treated as less than for their entire lives, so of course they were angry. There we have it. Some people could interpret this as a negative stereotype, but others could take it as a positive one. The “angry feminist lesbians” did create a lot of positive change because of those parts of their identities. So, the stereotype isn’t necessarily the villain in this situation, nor is it the person being called an “angry feminist lesbian.” The real villain is the person interpreting that stereotype as being a bad thing. We could say that their price gun is shooting a bit lower than the actual value might be.

Value is also an abstract concept. As with all abstract ideas, everyone’s understanding of that concept and the use of it in everyday life is going to be different. The same cereal may show a different number on the price gun depending on where the cereal ends up. If it ends up in a place where cereal is seen as divine or where cereal is rare, each individual cereal is going to be valued higher than in a place where cereal is common and a nuisance. This is the same with stereotypes. In one culture, it may be seen as a disgrace to be a trans man, but in other cultures trans men could be seen as an exemplification of God itself. Stereotypes can be harmful when used in certain contexts, but can be valuable when used in others. Value depends on cultural norms, and every culture has different norms and values they assign to actions, people, and even the stereotypes themselves. 

So, why does Western culture constantly warn us not to use stereotypes and to avoid them at all costs? Especially when in practice, stereotypes benefit people in Western culture quite a bit, as long as they are using certain stereotypes. We are told not to discriminate against black women, but the fashion industry makes clothing and has models that directly show that there is no place in fashion for their bodies or minds. We are told not to become rich, exploitative business people… Yet white men are put down for being a garbage collector and not using their privilege. We are told not to become a bully when we are bullied, but then they show that it is more rewarding to be a bully than the victim. Society wants to give the impression of acceptance and justice, but only when that acceptance and justice benefits them. If true acceptance and justice means that tax evading international corporations are forced to shut down, there is “an exception” because they contribute to our economy. If true acceptance and justice means conceding that gay people can practice religion and that people who don’t want kids are not going to change their mind, then we make excuses and call it “logic.” 

We are cautioned from using stereotypes, but we cannot be seen by other people outside of a stereotype. We have been understanding the world around us using stereotypes for so long that it becomes almost impossible to wire our brains to subconsciously be aware of it. We are taught to understand the world through stereotypes, but to never let other people know that we do. We are unable to escape being understood through the lens of a stereotype, but we are told not to believe other people’s perceptions of us.

Stereotypes are valuable, but our use of them is what makes them seem bad sometimes. Our understanding of the stereotype comes from cultural and social norms, which guide all human behavior. We cannot escape stereotypes because they are the main way we can understand people and the world. However, we can think about when, why, and how we use stereotypes in our lives and try to use them in a better way. We can try to challenge being seen as a stereotype, but when you rebel against one generalization you just fall into another. People are not going to stop seeing you through the lens that was created by their interactions with other people, but you can try to see yourself through your own lens. After you find happiness in how you see yourself, the stereotypes don’t matter anymore. We need to question why we feel the need to use certain stereotypes in specific situations, and then decide if it is really constructive to do so.

Until next time, keep thinking outside the box, and keep reading in between!