Are you bothered by particular stereotypes?

[Pink Jazz]

I don't know if this is the right forum, so please feel free to move if possible.

I was wondering, are there any particular stereotypes that bother you?

One particular stereotype that seems to bother me is that men who wear pink are automatically gay, which is false. This unfortunately seems to be heavily promoted on television, where gay male characters are often shown as wearing pink.

 

[Judge]

I wore a pale pink dress shirt to work for many years. Wore it with a mauve pastel tie and beige sport jacket. Very nice. No one suggested it was "gay". Not even my gay friends that I worked with every day.

I've never thought my sense of color had anything to do with my sexuality. And that what others might think in this regard may or may not pertain to them- just not me.

Stereotypes are based on supposition- not fact.

 

[Progster]

Some of the stereotypes associated with Asperger's/ASD annoy me, the one that annoys me the most is:

People with Asperger's have no empathy.

It is based on a misconception that people with ASD have no feelings or don't care at all about people.

 

[VioletHaze_03]

Being Canadian. *loud sigh of rage* So many fricking stereotypes (Although i have apologized to the many chairs i bump into along with almost every person i talk to for everything, sometimes i've apologized for apologizing so much) though that one is actually true. But we're not maple syrup chugging, hockey stick slinging, igloo-building hosers! Though i will admit i keep a stuffed "pet" polar bear around just cuz.

 

[Gracey]

Aimed at me personally, not so much.

At others with intentional mockery just for amusement,
I have to remind myself I don’t have to stick up for or protect those who the comments are directed at.

Sitting on a bus hearing three teenage boys loudly mocking and giggling at the teenager in the wheelchair, with his carer, who isn’t reacting to any of the comments.

I’m guessing the three teenage boys have decided the guy in the wheelchair is stupid.

That bothers me.
But I’m learning not to react.

 

[the_tortoise]

I'm bothered by stereotypes, generally. They misinform people and get in the way of understanding others.

 

[Streetwise]

that all christians are homophobic

 

[Gritches]

The whole "Sheldon Cooper" idea of autism that's sprung up. Never dealt with a positive stereotype before, but it ended up putting a lot of pressure on me to succeed beyond my limitations. It's good to push your limits, but you also need to understand them, and it's even harder to make other people understand what those limitations are when they're expecting Rain Man and they get a socially awkward version of everybody else vis-a-vis capabilities.

 

[Mr Allen]

That everyone with a Learning Disability is allegedly retarded.

@Streetwise, I'm a non practising Christian and I'm not homophobic, I just appear to be because I object to being called a gay purely because I watch pro wrestling, which according to some people, is all sweaty men in tights hugging each other.

 

[Mia]

Which is funny because perceptions change over time:

Ladies' Home Journal article in June 1918 said, "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."

 

[Lichi]

I’m not bothered by them. I am one of those who believes in most stereotypes. If I know one person who doesn’t fit with them, I assume they’re the exception. If I meet two or more, I enquire about its origin and get an explanation as to why it was made.

Most stereotypes are exaggerated anyways, so there is some truth to it. A lot of gay men wear pink, but I don’t believe all men who wear pink are gay. For me the only stereotype for being gay is that you prefer to engage in an emotional and/or sexual relationship with a person of the same gender as you.

The whole "Sheldon Cooper" idea of autism that's sprung up. Never dealt with a positive stereotype before, but it ended up putting a lot of pressure on me to succeed beyond my limitations. It's good to push your limits, but you also need to understand them, and it's even harder to make other people understand what those limitations are when they're expecting Rain Man and they get a socially awkward version of everybody else vis-a-vis capabilities.

I tried explaining AS to someone and couple of hours later I get the reply “you’re nothing like Rain Man or Forrest Gump!” I replied with “Think Sheldon Cooper, only not a genius.” I’m glad he came along to loosen up that stereotype.

 

[Pink Jazz]

I’m not bothered by them. I am one of those who believes in most stereotypes. If I know one person who doesn’t fit with them, I assume they’re the exception. If I meet two or more, I enquire about its origin and get an explanation as to why it was made.

Most stereotypes are exaggerated anyways, so there is some truth to it. A lot of gay men wear pink, but I don’t believe all men who wear pink are gay. For me the only stereotype for being gay is that you prefer to engage in an emotional and/or sexual relationship with a person of the same gender as you.


I tried explaining AS to someone and couple of hours later I get the reply “you’re nothing like Rain Man or Forrest Gump!” I replied with “Think Sheldon Cooper, only not a genius.” I’m glad he came along to loosen up that stereotype.

And in truth, I don't think gay men wear pink any more often than straight men at least in the real world.

 

[tducey]

Where I'm from many people are stereotyped as lazy, that bothers me when it's far from the truth.

 

[the_tortoise]

For me the only stereotype for being gay is that you prefer to engage in an emotional and/or sexual relationship with a person of the same gender as you.

That's not a stereotype.

Every homosexual prefers to engage in sexual relationships with people of the same sex/gender -- that is the literal, factual definition of homosexuality.

As far as I know, most people's sexual and romantic/emotional attractions are identical as far as gender preferences so I'm fairly sure that that bit isn't a stereotype, either.....so if you met a homosexual person and assumed that their romantic/emotional orientation was also towards people of the same sex/gender, you would not be stereotyping them (at least not if you would make a similar assumption about hetero-sexuals being hetero-romantic, bi-sexuals being bi-romantic, pansexuals being pan-romantic, etc...in which case your ideas would be based on your factual knowledge of how sexual and romantic attraction works for human beings generally, rather than singling out people from one group as compared to others).

A stereotype is an over-simplified or over-generalized idea about what a specific group of people is like, as compared to other groups of people.

 

[Gekko2508]

Interesting question! I used to be bothered with stereotypes when I was younger, but soon realised that you are the only one who can break a stereotype to whomever holds it against you.
I understand it's rough when a group of people will judge you a certain way, and I do not underestimate the hurt one can get through such mindsets.

 

[Gritches]

I tried explaining AS to someone and couple of hours later I get the reply “you’re nothing like Rain Man or Forrest Gump!” I replied with “Think Sheldon Cooper, only not a genius.” I’m glad he came along to loosen up that stereotype.

I had never thought of that, maybe you are a genius

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

I had never thought of that, maybe you are a genius

Think of an idiot, only smarter.

 

[SunnyDay16]

That lesbians are lesbians because they can't attract any men or that they are manly/ugly.

I'm a lesbian myself so I guess I'm a bit biased because it will of course sting me more when people use this stereotype to be homophobic.

 

[Lichi]

Think of an idiot, only smarter.

I think that’s the first time I have found a description that fits.

 

[pjcnet]

It annoys me when we see English stereotypes in American movies that are nothing like most English people, sometimes they're posh and well spoken for instance and the British accent is ridiculously false.

I double the stereotype of autistic people which many people get from movies, for a while most people thought every autistic person was like Raymond Babbitt who was played by Dustin Hoffman (not autistic in real life) in Rain Man (1988) and I suspect a lot of people still think we're all like this, or they think we all sit there in a daze, rocking back and forwards unable to communicate properly, partly because they don't understand the difference between high and low functioning autism, these people will often talk down to you like you're some sort of wally if they're told you're autistic. Some people probably now think that every autistic woman is like Wendy played by Dakota Fanning (not autistic in real life) in Please Stand By even though this wasn't even realistic. Another misconception is that all autistic people like Star Trek which this movie only made worse.