The Effects of Stereotypes and How to Cope with Them

English Synthesis Essay Dec. 18, 2019 The effects of stereotypes and how to cope with them A way that people treat foreign cultures is to build stereotypes on them, and apply it to most of the individuals related. So how do stereotypes affect a culture or a person? Alex Deng, as a Vietnamese, Chinese, and American, wrote a slam poem called “What kind of Asian Are You?” and reveals that even though he experienced hardships because of his identity, he still feels the sense of pride. In the another poem “Knock-Off Native” by Winona Linn, she speaks about the confidence she felt as a First Nation, Meskwaki, and the anger and indignation that emerged after she encountered the comments of offense such as “knock-Off Pocahontas” from a drunken racist. Even though the two slam poems are about different cultures – Asian and First Nation culture, they both convey the same message: stereotypes may emphasize an insulting history and may lead to misjudge from others due to their lack of understanding, yet it is still important to feel the sense of pride based on the connection to their culture. Despite the differences in topics of the two poems, both of the minor cultures suffer from the stereotypes derived from a their history, which could be insulting and to emphasize the difference with the majority. It gradually becomes more offensive as the time passes, as Deng writes about the origin of some abusive words and how those are related to the history of Asian immigrants: “Like how chink comes from/the clanking of metal to railroads,” (Deng). The word “Chink” is an extremely abusive Asian derogatory speech that was related to the past history of building railroads. He speaks with a strong tone of indignity. It leads others to generalize most Asian based on this history in the past, but still use these humiliating terms nowadays on some Asians. Similarly, in “Knock-Off Native”, Linn feels disparaged and grieve due to the history of the reservation policy imposed on the natives so that they are forced to leave their homeland: “Because we can’t even on our own land, our homeland/because it is all buried under Toronto stone.” (Linn) She used the word “buried” as a personification to show that her homeland is being murdered by the modernization of the west, and the First Nation people are the victim. Also, Chinese immigrants also made a great contribution to the process of modernization in the west, for the railroads they built on their lives makes the coasts connected. Both of the Asians and First Nations are the tools and sacrifices that accomplish the western modernization, but English Synthesis Essay Dec. 18, 2019 what they gain from it is only the negative stereotypes bonded onto their culture which makes one feel insulted or disparaged. The existence of historical stereotype keeps reminding people about the past instead of looking forward, which can lead to the prejudice and misjudge on individuals. Stereotypes imperceptibly affect others’ mind to generalize a certain group of people without considering their actual distinctness. As Deng shares the experience of “being so marginalized it’s to the point of ‘I really CAN’T believe that’s Asian!’” (Deng). The stereotypes are the causes of the underestimation of his value and ability. It frames an impression about certain group of people and it creates a boundary of his ability on others’ mind, which makes his success harder. It is hard to break these prejudices because changing a person’s first impression is extremely difficult. In the same way, Linn tells about the misunderstandings about her appearance that she encounters: “Pocahontas was more than a pictorial Disney character that sang to animals while she braided her hair.” (Linn) The society gives the First Nations a false impression on their appearance or behavior. Stereotypes impose labels and frames on her First Nations identity and frames her appearance or behavior, making others define her without taking a deeper look at herself as an individual. Both of the writers show that they are limited by the stereotypes, and they share the same reason – the lack of understanding of one’s culture. Stereotypes are normally being created for the convenience of interpreting the difference between oneself and others; therefore, it often creates misjudge to a certain culture. By understanding more of one culture, there are higher chances to eliminate the discriminations towards the individuals. Although there are discriminations because of their cultural stereotypes, both Deng and Linn shows the same sense of pride towards their culture in unison, for they both feels the sense of connection to their cultural heritage. Like how Deng is proud when he mentioned, “Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee and how they’re related BY BLOOD to me” (Deng). He is proud of the honors and unique that makes up the culture because he shares the same race; moreover, Chan and Lee are both a proof of showing Asians have the capability of doing no worse than any others. He feels the pride, and he feels the heritage, all because of the rich cultural connotations he received as an Asian. It does not matter how stereotypes makes others interpret him, he in his own mind holds the dignity towards his distinct Culture. As well as in “Knock-Off Natives”, English Synthesis Essay Dec. 18, 2019 Linn is so confident and proud towards her culture that she does not care about the comments from others because she is emboldened to be confident of the unique that defines her culture. “I know my hair is red, but I’ve never really had a problem with it because it just make sense because my blood is too.” (Linn) The “blood” contains double-meaning: one is literal meaning of blood that represents her own life as an individual; second is about her connection towards her ancestors. She is confident of showing her unique identity as an individual, as she also feels the sense of pride that all the characteristics are inherited from her ancestors. It is the faith towards her cultural background that makes her confident of her appearance. Both of the writers are proud of their culture, as both of them feel the sense of connection to the honors that the people have created in the past. The pride is so genuine and unfeigned that they will not be intimidated by the hardships they may face due to stereotypes. Instead, they may feel confident and proud of some stereotypes, since it makes their culture more distinctive and unique. In conclusion, stereotype do make a great effect on minorities, as “What Kind of Asian Are You” and “Knock-Off Natives” both express; even though one may feel insulted by some historical stereotypes that may no longer be applied, and may be misjudged by them, one should still be proud of the distinctiveness within the culture, and ultimately promote the diversity of culture to others to eliminate the stereotyped misunderstandings.