Discrimination and Stereotyping

Essay by puzzlerfHigh School, 12th grade July 2006

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An important issue facing the US today is discrimination and stereotyping. People of different religions, sex, race, and any form of social grouping are affected by discrimination and stereotyping. Discrimination and stereotypes affect the US by people making life difficult for others because of a personal prejudice. Discrimination is caused by many different reasons though most commonly from stereotyping. A stereotype is an idea of a group of people based on few but taken as true for the whole. Stereotypes can come from a personal stereotype or a cultural stereotype.

A personal stereotype comes from a person making a judgment on a whole group of people based on an encounter with a single member of a group. For example, Bob is short changed by a woman at a fast food restaurant and then decides that all women who work at fast food restaurants are going to short change him, in so doing he makes up his mind to discriminate them.

A cultural stereotype is a judgment on a whole group that's based on a subgroup. For example, Bob hates Nazis and Germans are associated with the Nazi image so Bob decides he does not like Germans. Both men and women can be discriminated against and discrimination against a sex is called sexism. The common idea of sexism is men discriminating women and this in its self is a stereotype. Discrimination against a race is called racism. The common view of racism is a white person hating someone other than white. This is a stereotype that in its self causes the opposite of what it states.

Discrimination and stereotypes are forms of ignorance and intolerance that are over looked by society today. They are excuses in them selves to do what they argue against. To dislike another group...