[Ben N.]

Do people think that someone who has openly made a ‘positive’ generalization about an ethnic group by stereotyping tends to make ‘negative’ generalizations about the same or other ethnic groups? For example, someone says: ‘Italians are so musical. All the great bands in Europe have Italians, and when I was in Europe, the Italians were the best musicians and cooks.’ Would this statement indicate that this person tends to make (but not necessarily openly express) ‘negative’ generalizations about Italians or other ethnic groups?

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Name : Ben N., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 24, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : HR Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[K.N.]

The problem with generalizations and stereotypes, positive or not, is that they reduce people to caricatures. It’s dehumanizing when a group of people are stripped of their natural human complexity to fit into a simple ideal (blacks are the best athletes; Asians are great students), even if the comment is meant to be a compliment. Buying into stereotypes indicates the willingness of a person to accept preconceived notions about people who are different from themselves, and just as some expressed are positive, others will be negative.

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Name : K.N., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : Atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan27287]

I can’t speak for Italians, but I can speak for Latinos at least from my own perspective. Some ‘positive’ Latino stereotypes are as follows: ‘The Latin Lover,’ ‘The Lambada Dancer,’ ‘The Wealthy Plantation Owner,’ ‘The golden-throated pop star,’ ‘the fiery, voluptuous woman,’ ‘the talented flamenco guitarist,’ etc. Well, I can’t dance, but I do pretty good in a mosh pit. I sing like a toad, and I can’t even strum a ukelele. What I’m saying is that such positive stereotypes set up a sort of ‘expectation effect’ that most average Joses can’t live up to. There’s a girl who lives in the middle of Idaho who would be shocked that I can’t mutter love poems in Spanish (well, I can talk trash in Spanish), dance Salsa or sing like Marc Anthony. I know that most folks know these are mere generalizations, yet I’ve been suprised quite a few times by peoples’ pre-programmed expectations.

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Name : Dan27287, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : LOS Angeles area, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Cheryl S.]

A stereotype is a stereotype, regardless of whether it is a positive or negative one. Either way, they are misleading, detrimental and just plain incorrect. Using your example, how would a person of Italian descent feel if he/she wasn’t a talented musician? Wouldn’t it tend to make that person feel less worthy than other Italians? Does the stereotype mean Italians aren’t good at anything but music? The comment may not be meant to be derogatory, but unfortunately may have that effect.

User Detail :  

Name : Cheryl S., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 51, City : Atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technical, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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