On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Stacy Olivas wrote:
> Is it right to stereotype? No. However, taking what could be considered
> to be a stereotypical portrayal of a a group and turning it into something
> that is totally non-derogatory can be a good laugh by everyone.
While agreeing with the gist of this paragraph I do not agree that
stereotyping is "bad" - its a valuable tool. It's a survival tool, its a
thinking tool, its a memory tool. It is imporant that we be able to move
past sterotypes when necessary but they are required to live. You have to
have a reference point from which to base evaluations of new situtations.
Telling children to be wary of strangers sets up a stereotype, and I hope
most would agree that it is a valuable one.
One downside of stereotyping is the vast monstrosity of marketing it
allows. Demographics, product surveys, etc all lead to "stereotypes" that
allow them neatly drop us all into buckets of desires and tastes.
______________________________________________________________________
Darren Henderson darren@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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