People believe many stereotypes about other cultures, races and genders. But stereotypes are generalizations. They cannot explain how complex a person really is.

Often, we make assumptions about groups of people. This means we already have ideas about what those people are like. But we don't have proof that our ideas are true.

These kinds of assumptions are called stereotypes. They are often ideas that are based on race, religion and culture. They can also be based on whether people are gay or straight, or what country they are from. For example, you might meet a few people from a certain country. You might find them to be quiet and may spread the word that everyone from that country is quiet.

Stereotypes ignore the fact that people in the same group can be very different. They can lead to discrimination or give certain groups a bad reputation.

Stereotypes Vs. Generalizations

Many great basketball players in the U.S. are African-American. But this does not mean that all African-Americans are basketball players. This is a generalization.

All stereotypes are generalizations. They are simple ideas about groups of people, and they ignore how complex these groups really are. In the U.S., racial groups have been linked to stereotypes like being good at math, sports and dancing. These stereotypes are well-known. Most Americans would give the same answer if they were asked which race in the U.S. is known for being the best at basketball. Stereotypes are myths that get repeated by a society.

But not all generalizations are stereotypes. Say a woman meets people from a certain ethnic group and finds them to be great cooks. She might think that anyone from this ethnic group has to be a great cook too. This would be a generalization, but not a stereotype. No ethnic group in the U.S. is known for being better at cooking than others.

They Can Be Complicated

Stereotypes can be based on gender, race, religion or country. But often they link various aspects of a person together. This is known as intersectionality.

Asian-Americans are just one of many racial groups in the U.S. Stereotypes often see people in a group as the same. But there are many differences within a racial group. These differences are based on religion, sex and culture.

For example, stereotypes based on race and gender might say that women of a certain race are attractive, but men of that group are not. Or, it might be the other way around.

Stereotypes about a certain race might not match when comparing people from different countries. For example, the stereotypes about African-Americans are different than stereotypes about black people in other parts of the world.

Can They Ever Be Good?

Positive stereotypes exist, but they are still harmful. For example, say a student belongs to a racial group that is known for being very smart. That student might have a learning disability and struggle to keep up with his classmates. But the teacher might think that this student should do well in class because "his people" are smart. The teacher might assume that if he is not doing well in class, it's because he's being lazy. The teacher might never find out about the student's learning disability.

Is There Truth In Stereotypes?

It's often said that stereotypes are based on truth. When people say this, they usually want to make it OK to use stereotypes. The problem with stereotypes is that they make it look like groups of people naturally have certain behaviors. But science doesn't back up this idea.

There are other reasons why a group of people might seem naturally good at something. Maybe society only let that group have certain jobs. Members of this group might become known for those jobs. But this is not because they don't have the skills to do anything else. It's the only job they were allowed to have.

The next time you catch yourself stereotyping a group of people, try this. Think about the groups you belong to. Make a list of the assumptions people make about those groups. Do all of these stereotypes really describe who you are? You might find that these stereotypes are not true about you. That is why it's important to judge specific people, not the groups they belong to.

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