Conformity and sterotypes

[jdecolt]

So, this is something that has bothered me for a while. Has anyone noticed that people have a tendancy to conform to their sterotypes? For example, Most of the black kids in my school try to be "gangsta", the poor whites try to do drugs and booze and such, while the smart kids do everything they can to be "nerdy". There are few kids in my school that dont voluntarily conform to the stereotype of their race, religion, Ect.... This is especially annoying when you get to know the person and realize they really arnt that way at all. People are incredably offended by stereotypes, yet they follow the pre-set stereotypes for whatever group they fit into as if it were law. This confuses me. And its not just my school, this occurs everywhere. From the teachers pet cliche to the gangsta to the loner artist kid to the emos, people refuse individualism and cling to pre-set sterotypes. My main question is, why? do They really believe that is how they HAVE to act to be "themselves" or what?

[TheCancer]

It's very hard, if it not impossible to define 'self' and even if you make an attempt not to define yourself under certain parameters if you're conscious of it you're defining yourself by being outside of those parameters which is just using another side of the same measuring stick so most people just go with the flow and don't think about it too much. Still, I believe the most interesting, and radical, and non-comforming thinkers I've met maintain a conservative appearance and people who look really radical tend to be boring conservatives. Not always, but usually.

[Faby]

There is truth to stereotypes, otherwise they wouldn't be called that.

But in the end, does it really matter? I'm pretty stereotypical myself. Basement dweller, spending all my time on the PC, listening to stuff some people would find distasteful, reading fantasy, and so on.

And I really couldn't care less. Changing yourself just because you resemble a stereotype too much is like reinventing yourself to please others. Just be and do what you enjoy, and fuck thinking about whether you fit a pattern or not.

[.Manicrose.]

I see a lot more stereotypes, or cliques of jocks/nerds/artsy people at public schools. Or non-super exclusive private schools. At schools like mine, where 85% of the people are rich white bitches, most everyone subscribes to the same stereotypes.

[Miller0700]

Faby Wrote:There is truth to stereotypes, otherwise they wouldn't be called that.

But in the end, does it really matter? I'm pretty stereotypical myself. Basement dweller, spending all my time on the PC, listening to stuff some people would find distasteful, reading fantasy, and so on.

And I really couldn't care less. Changing yourself just because you resemble a stereotype too much is like reinventing yourself to please others. Just be and do what you enjoy, and fuck thinking about whether you fit a pattern or not.

This

[Geeksta]

This so sums up people I know. I get called weird, just because I see things differently than most people, and take no effort to be stereotypical in any way. Odd how people use that as an insult

[magikarp]

As cliche as the phrase is, it takes two to tango--the way you see people is never in perfect correlation with the way they are, and your mind tends to emphasize or de-emphasize characteristics in order to make sense of people. And with emo kids, for example, the things that would make you call them an emo kid in the first place are exactly the things that make them a stereotypical emo kid, so in that sense the idea of following stereotypes isn't even meaningful.

[jdecolt]

Faby Wrote:There is truth to stereotypes, otherwise they wouldn't be called that.

But in the end, does it really matter? I'm pretty stereotypical myself. Basement dweller, spending all my time on the PC, listening to stuff some people would find distasteful, reading fantasy, and so on.

And I really couldn't care less. Changing yourself just because you resemble a stereotype too much is like reinventing yourself to please others. Just be and do what you enjoy, and fuck thinking about whether you fit a pattern or not.

I totally agree, thankfully, i have been able to keep that mindset, i suppose it just bothers me though that, because i am aware there are pre set stereotypes, i find it odd that people conform to that which they find most offensive just for the sake of conformity itself. Not saying everyone should be a radical, but surely not every group is that easily sorted into the cliched cliques that make up your average group of students/people in general

[Blobthe15]

Maybe society makes stereotypes?

For example, if you listen to pop,normally it's because you're too stupid that doesn't include the same word in a paragraph 50 times and not get bored, so normally these are the jocks/girl type thing that I can't think of right now (back stabbing bitch?) they also seem to be the ones who don't realize popularity is stupid.

The people who are nerds found something they enjoyed that might help them in the future, and know not to buy into that crap.

Just my

[tututoto]

I think people subscribe to stereotypes because it's convenient. It makes interaction easier : If you see a jock, you know he probably enjoys sports, and you have a ready set of conversation starters.
And people feel safer when they belong to a group.

[Story and Myth]

Stereotypes do make it easier to form ties with people. Human nature likes to compartmentalize, but then it's really hard for people like me. I fit into:
Nerds, because I'm in honors classes.
Musical artist, because I play bass in both orchestra and jazz bad
Japanese obsessed, because I'm taking Japanese, do origami and love Pokemon
Nature girl, because I still go outside and climb trees
Computer geek, because I type on my laptop a whole lot
Bookworm, because I am never without a book
Crazy cat lady, because I am
Freak, because I masturbate
Christian, because I searched the whole Bible and couldn't find a single verse against girls masturbating. Also I go to church on Sundays.
I mean, seriously, I could go on. You know that ad with the girl twirling, and it says if she looks like she's twirling one way you're right-brained and if she twirls the other you're left brained? She switched direction every few seconds.
Sometimes I wish I could find a stereotype to fit into, but I wouldn't want to give up any of my friends. I have at least one in every single clique in my grade. (Jocks, because a couple played bass but dropped out, popular girls because I did color guard one year and that's a big deal here, music because I play bass, nerds because I read all the time, Japanese because of my origami, emo because I've slit my wrists and tried to commit suicide numerous times, Christian because God basically told me, "NO." and sent me to spiritual time-out, go green because I love the outdoors and have hiked over a mountain. Again, I could go on.)
Stereotypes. Just an easy way to keep track of who I'm friends with.