Stereotypes By: Dane Bell Jamie Miller Alicia Shiue Lizzy Yesakov

Guiding Question: How do stereotypes affect the mental health of teens, and how can students at the IA cope with these barriers?

What is a Stereotype? A fixed idea of a thing or a group Prejudice and false assumptions of a group of people. –including the members of different ethnic groups, social classes, religious orders, opposite sex, etc.

What Kinds of Stereotypes Are There? Gender Age Religion Culture (Ethnicity) Location Sexual Orientation Appearance In General

Gender Female –Supposed to stay home and clean, take care of kids, cook, and do laundry –Weak –Gossipy –Gold diggers –Not as smart as males Males –Money-maker of household –Tough –Loud –Insensitive –Players

Age Teens –Often stereotyped by older generation –Ex. When a teenager walks into a store, he is more likely to be watched by the clerk than a mother and her five year old. Stereotyped as: –Ungrateful –Rude –Annoying –Dangerous –Lazy –Careless

Age [cont.] Old(er) people [senior citizens] often classified as: –Smelly –Slow –Helpless –Boring –Grouchy

Culture/Ethnicity Some common cultural/ethnic stereotypes: –Arabic, Middle Eastern = terrorists –Asian = smart/nerdy, terrible vision –Hispanic, Latino = lazy, play songs like “La Cucaracha” on guitar –Eastern European = primitive, drink strong liquor

Location Some are classified by where they live or are from (similar to cultural/ethnic stereotypes) –Detroit = ghetto, a lot of crime –Orange County = preppy, rich

Religion Some religious stereotypes: –Jews control the world’s wealth –Muslims are terrorists –Christians are hypocritical –Buddhists spend all their time studying and meditating

Sexual Orientation Feminine men and masculine women Being gay is a “phase” Gay men will die of AIDS Stereotypical “gay jobs” include fashion designing

Appearance In General Someone’s personality is characterized only by what they wear/how they look –Ex. Glasses & braces = nerdy/geeky Some try to live up to stereotypes by changing appearance –Some only wear certain brands because they think it will make them “cooler”

Here are some common high school stereotypes:

How Do Stereotypes Affect Us? “Stereotype threat” – Dr. Michael Miller of Harvard University explains that this “stereotype threat” is distracting, anxiety- provoking, and may get in the way of the achievement of goals A study performed by researches from UCL (University College London) showed students of a certain ethnicity underperformed on tests because they were too worried about living up to the negative stereotypes the ability of their ethnic group

How Do Stereotypes Affect Us? [cont.] Can get in the way of one’s achievements – distracting, anxiety- provoking Can make one closed-minded toward meeting new/different people One’s self-image and self esteem can change for better or for worse

Time to Break Negative Stereotypes! Always keep in mind: breaking negative stereotypes is mainly up to the individual Individual awareness that the problem is not one’s self Counseling can help one break out of any generalizations and establish a status as an individual Show respect to those who are different, even if you disagree with their views

Time to Break Negative Stereotypes! [cont.] Take a stand against people who use stereotypes to degrade others Getting to know people personally can break down negative stereotypes You don’t have to deny that stereotypes exist, but remember that there’s nothing wrong with being different

Going Beyond… The four of us set out into the world and talked to/interviewed people about stereotypes…

Works Cited "Arab Culture And Muslim Stereotypes." 17 June "Mental Health - Stereotyping - Stereotype Threat." Harvard Health Publications.. "Peaceful turmoil: Buddhism in Stereo (-type)." 3 Jan Stereotype. Digital image.. "Stereotype.". "'Stereotype threat' could affect exam performance of ethnic minority medical students." E! Science News. 18 Aug "Students Discuss Religious Stereotypes." The Occidental Weekly. 19 Nov