This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: We’ve spent some time together of the past couple of weeks and have established a few things:
1. Unconscious bias exists. We all have some.
2. Race is a social construct. We have more in common across racial groups than within.
3. Culture is the stuff that makes us who we are. It gets transmitted not only by our parents and families, but our society, media and other institutions.
4. Privilege is something we each have to varying degrees. Acknowledging that doesn’t mean we asked for it, nor does it mean we are bad people.
Recall, our hope is to unpack some of the baggage we have around race and these related concepts. They trip us up in our notions of self and identity and in our attempts to connect with others. Unpacking will hopefully grow awareness, facilitate authentic relationships and, possibly, inspire us to action.
This week we’ll discuss stereotypes and their role in our racial baggage. Stereotypes are short cuts that we use to approximate and assume understanding. For example, I have a stereotype of what it means when I get to the airport and don’t have a seat assignment. I assume they have oversold. I prepare myself for battle. I’ve been through it enough times to know the cues. In that regard, the shortcut might be helpful. I don’t waste time wondering what it all means. I go directly to the desk and request a seat!
Shortcuts can also lead us astray, down dead ends. We need to be willing to scrutinize them.
Self-fulfilling stereotypes, for example, are the ones where we easily see all evidence that supports our stereotypes and dismiss the body of evidence against it. We literally can’t see that we are wrong, because we are so quickly shoving in information that fits our stereotypes. That’s dangerous at worst and unnecessary at best.
Take, for example, this poem written by Bao Phi about a stereotype of an Asian woman.
The lines are long and my mom insists the final amount is wrong. The cashier looks at the receipt, and insists that it's right. My mom purses her lips, looks worried, says, it's not right. The line of white people behind us groans. My mom won't look back at them. We both know what they're thinking. Small woman with no knowledge of the way things are in America. Though year after year she makes flowers bloom in the ghetto, this land that doesn't want her here. Finally a manager comes, checks, and tells the cashier she rang up 22 plants instead of just 2, overcharging us by 40 dollars. The line of white people behind us suddenly gasp, their sympathy won. If only I was old enough to tell them to keep it because maybe it's not my mom's English that's broken.
The stereotype does not physically harm, but the hurt and anger caused by people assuming they won’t understand, or asking, “Where are you from …. No, where are you really from?” is significant.
Stereotypes can be lethal. Take Trayvon Martin for example. It was the stereotype of a Black male “thug” being up to no good that transformed this young man’s hoodie and skittles into a gun. Amadou Diallo suffered a similar fate.
Psychologist, Beverly Daniel Tatum discusses these common errors - omissions, distortions and misinformation - in her book “Why are all the Black Kids Sitting together in the Cafeteria.” For example, many people assume African Americans have a special muscle or gene, which helps them excel in sports (misinformation), and others perceive black male domination in certain sports as inherent (distortion). In the media you would be hard pressed to find extensive coverage of Black males conducting scientific experiments (omission). And you certainly wouldn’t expect to see Jewish men predominate on the basketball court(omission) . This week’s task is to become more aware of the stereotypes that surround us.
Goal: To recognize stereotypes of omission, distortion, or misinformation.
Challenge: Pick one of your favorite TV shows, movies, or magazines.
Be on the lookout for stereotypes and who plays what role.
Think about the story line. What does it say about standards or norms?
Who are the heroes?
Who are in positions of power?
Who is considered beautiful?
Who are the troublemakers? Or portrayed as deviant?