Let’s fight it together

Plan What are stereotypes and how do they affect people’s lives? Are certain groups more subject to stereotyping than others? If so, why? What are the consequences of stereotyping? How do people learn to make stereotypes? How might they unlearn them? What can an individual do to help reduce bias and stereotyping?

Categories Gender-related Age-related Social stereotypes Ethnic and racial Religion-related Language-related

What stereotypes lie behind this joke?

Rigid logic of stereotyping If you are…, then you must ...

How? When we make assumptions about an entire group of people, those assumptions are referred to as stereotypes. When assumptions and stereotypes influence our attitudes, we may find that making a fair judgment about someone or something is difficult. This influence on judgment is called a "bias."

Rationale behind stereotyping ‘’In brief, it has been ascertained that stereotyping occurs when two groups are treated as polar opposites, when characteristics, taken to have some exaggerated either negative or positive value, are overgeneralized in order to apply to each member of the group. Although they can offer a positive picture of a group of people, stereotypes cannot be said to contribute anything to the promotion of intercultural communication and understanding. Their character is inherently limiting, for they constrain our view of human activity to just one or two salient dimensions, do not allow exceptions to the general rules, and consider those to be the whole picture’’ (Scollon, Scollon 1995 : 155-156).

Language-related stereotypes ‘’I speak in Latin to God, French to Women, English to Men, and German to my Horse.’’ Charles V, king of Spain (1500-1558)

Gender-related stereotypes in jokes Q: Is Google male or female? A: Female, because it doesn't let you finish a sentence before making a suggestion.   Q: How do you know when a woman is about to say something smart? A: When she starts her sentence with, "A man once told me..." Q:When can women make you a millionaire? A: When you're a billionaire. Q: "Where are all the kind, considerate, loving men who can show their feelings?" A: "They already have boyfriends."

Nationality-related stereotypes in jokes Q: What does the Loch Ness monster eat? A: Fish and ships Q: Did you hear about the winner of the English beauty contest? A: Me neither. Q: Why do the French say “to go to the toilets” whereas the Belgian (the French speaking ones) say “to go to the toilet”? A: Because in France, you need to try 4 or 5 to find a clean one   Q. Why do Italian men have mustaches? A. So they can look like their mothers.

But when it comes to us? How can you tell when a FAX had been sent from a Serbian? A: There is a stamp on it. Q: Why does a Serbian have little holes all over his face? A: From eating with forks.

Personal experience Describe a situation when you or someone you know were discriminated because of a group you/ that person belong to? What words or actions were directed at you because of assumptions or stereotypes? Why do you think those assumptions were made about you? How did the experience make you feel? How do you think you should have been treated in that situation?

Where do stereotypes come from? Media Language Family Personal experience History and cultural background

How can we break stereotypes?