What are stereotypes?
A form of shared knowledge in which it oversimplifies the image or idea of a certain group of people or things. There are quite numerous things that are being stereotyped in the society, but commonly it covers racial groups “Black people often commit crimes”, gender groups “Women are bad at driving a car”, demographic groups “Chinese Indonesians are richer than the natives”, and situations “Australia beaches are the most dangerous in the world”.
How does stereotypes affect the way we communicate with each other?
When we stereotype, we draw conclusions regarding a group of people or things based on the common assumption which exists in the society. Sometimes, we do not even know that the existing stereotypes are even true, and we tend to believe that it is true because there are so many people who think that the stereotypes are true. Therefore, this may cause disruptions within a communication when we judge people based on the stereotypes.
For example, when we just meet a random african-american guy on the street and we think that all of them are criminals. Hence, I would just avoid him. First of all, it is very disrespectful and dehumanizing to think that all black people are criminals. Secondly, we do not know this guy’s story in which he might be a successful businessman and I might see him as a potential business partner. Last but not least, we are restricting ourselves from gaining more knowledge from people who come from different backgrounds and cultures.
Therefore, it is clear that stereotype is a barrier to having an effective communication, and it is best to avoid using stereotype to draw conclusion out of a group of people or things. Some people think that there are a few stereotypes which are “good” for example, “Asian people are good at math”. However, I personally view this as incorrect and a form of derogatory generalization because I find that everyone can do math no matter what is your skin color or race.
What are the implications of such stereotyping occurring in your social life?
On November 2012, I had a study tour to Sydney, Australia and my school visited a local australian school with a goal to learn more about their cultures and the way they study. The moment we arrived at the school, they gave us a warm welcome and the students from my school were assigned to different classes and it happened to be that I was assigned to the Physical Education class. It was all okay at the moment I stepped into the class, until one of the students (Australian Moslem) asked me “Where are you from, mate?”. I answered, “Indonesia”. Right after I replied, he immediately yelled “Wow, Assalamualaikum mate, me and you are brother you know?”. I honestly did not know how to reply him and I was trying not to make things awkward for him therefore, I replied “hahahaha, yes yes”.
Ever since that day, I knew how some Australians see Indonesians in their mind. They perceive that all Indonesians as Moslem due to the fact that Indonesia is a Moslem country. It is indeed correct that Moslem is the main religion in Indonesia however, there are other minorities such as Christianism (myself), Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism.
Conclusion
Any form of stereotypes should be avoided in order to prevent any sort of conflict or misunderstanding within an interaction. This applies to any form of communication (one-to-one or one-to-many). By avoiding stereotypes, it could help us in gaining more knowledge about the world we are living in and it also helps in making a better society. Eventhough it is not possible to completely break the stereotypes that have existed in the society because they have been planted in the society’s mind for a period of time. However, we could do our job by neglecting any form of stereotypes and not jumping into conclusion when it comes to judging a group of people or things.
Michael Lazuardi 
Hey Micheal!
I like the examples you gave for stereotypes as well as your attempts to bring humour into an otherwise rather negative post, and I agree that stereotypes can seriously disrupt effective communication and form barriers against open and effective communication between certain categories of people. I however disagree with the statement that it is ‘impossible to completely break the stereotypes that have existed in the society because they have been planted in the society’s mind for a period of time’. It is my belief that any idea, any concept, any belief can and will fade with enough time, and with enough conscious effort to suppress the ‘wrong’ beliefs and to promote the ‘right’ type of beliefs. It may be the work of years, maybe even generations, but stereotypes can be broken.
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Hi Michael,
I agree with you that a stereotype is a barrier to having effective communication as some conclusion drawn from stereotypes are wrong. by stereotyping people we are restricting ourselves form gaining more knowledge from people from different background and cultures. The experience you shared was relatable to me as well as I am often assumed to be a Malay due to my skin colour when I am in fact a Chinese. Although in your case, you were thought to be of a certain religion because of your place of birth. It was an interesting read, looking forward to your next post!
Lynne
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Hi Michael, cultural stereotype is the most typical stereotype and it can be happened are when someone has an opinion on another person based on who they are, where they’re from, or the language they speak without getting to know the individual. I agree with how you said that we should not stereotype people based on what we perceive the person to be based on what we observe and avoid stereotype to prevent conflicts. We should try to get to know them before making any judgement about them if not we could indirectly hurt their feelings trying to perceive them to someone they are not.
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Hi Michael, your way of explaining stereotypes by giving examples makes it really easy to understand and the examples given was also funny even though they are not true. I do agree with you that stereotyping people can affect communication as it was just your own presumptions about the specific group of people. What you have experienced in Sydney, I may not have experienced it myself, but I have seen it happen to my friends in NS. No matter what, stereotype will be here to stay even if there is negativity in it as I think that stereotyping is human nature.
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Hi Michael
As always, your explanation really allows me to understand stereotypes easily. The writing and the wording choice are also a small extra effort that I’ll highlight:D. I agree with you that we should avoid any form of stereotypes, in order for us to see the world in a better viewpoint. I can’t agree more with you about the Indonesian stereotypes because I’m also from Indonesia! Overall, great post and great effot by you. Keep up the good work!
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Hi Michael,
I really enjoyed reading your post, I especially enjoyed how you brought in humour into a somewhat negative post. I think that your explanation of stereotype is really well done it clearly explains the effects of stereotypes and how it affects effective communication. I think people’s option on a particular group shouldn’t lead to us treating one another differently. I don’t fully agree with your conclusion where you said stereotypes can’t be broken. I think although stereotypes have existed for a really long time, I would like to believe that any mindset or belief will be able to change given due time. Overall I a great post and I look forward to your next post !
Cheers
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Hi Michael, agreed with you that stereotyping is a barrier to effective communication and we should try not stereotyping to draw a conclusion. I fully understand your situation regarding your overseas study tour as people tend to think Singapore is from China. I liked that you gave a classic example that African-American are criminals and Asian people must be good at math. Great post and I look forward to your next post.
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Hi Michael!
Love the examples you shared about you going on a study tour to Sydney, due to stereotyping, it has changed the perception of the majority which causes most people to lead to assumptions to certain individuals on racial, gender or religion. And it creates barriers to having an effective communication like your study tour to Sydney case. It is certainly an interesting read on your post as it clearly explains to me what are stereotypes and how does it affect the way we communicate with each other.
Cheers mate,
kelvintty
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Hi Michael,
Great post! Thanks for giving the examples that make it easier to understand stereotyping. It is really fun and easy to read with all the humor and examples! I agree that we should avoid stereotyping to draw conclusions out of a group of people and your examples with Asians with are good with math isn’t a good stereotype reflect myself very well as I was never good in Math. I also agree that stereotyping existed because they have been planted in society’s mindset. However, I think it is linked to human nature as well. What do you think?
Once again thanks for sharing with us your views on stereotype!
Larry
Once again thanks for sharing with us your views on stereotype!
Larry
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Hi Michael,
This is a very detailed post in helping us how stereotypes affect communication. Some of the points I really liked are that we should not let stereotypes restrict ourselves from gaining more knowledge and that skin color or race can not restrict us from doing something. After reading your personal experience, I emphasize with you as I have gone through something similar. However, I feel that you should corrected him instead of building on the stereotype that he already has. I know that it can be hard to change someone’s perspective but we should do what we can to fight for our own stereotypes.
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Hi Michael,
very detailed explanation on stereotyping , totally agree with you on how stereotyping restricts ourselves from gaining more knowledge from people who come from different backgrounds and cultures. We should all be open mind and mindful of our actions and thoughts as these stereotyping which to us might seems harmless could actually be harmful to someone else. I felt that you should have corrected him , even though a small actions could do not much in changing a deep rooted stereotype , but small mini step could slowly change such stereotypical views
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