stereotypes

Do you ever meet anyone who makes you think, "Man, YOU are why there is that stereotype!" It's not a frequent occurrence, yet always a surreal one...like this can't really be possible and you've only just wandered into a taping of the latest tween movie or something. I, personally, will sometimes have students who remind me of stereotypes. Often further acquaintance re-sorts them in my mind, but every now and then, in particularly precious circumstances, the stereotypic resemblance holds and, indeed, becomes more and more remarkably accurate. Whether it be the ditsy (or at least pretending to be) bimbo, the handsome out-going jock, the BYU co-ed (I've a friend who told me this existed, that I wasn't one, but then outlined all the particulars and I swear I met that exact girl not two months later...she'd just graduated from BYU-Idaho), or (as most recently) the big dim-witted lug (for you sceptics out there, Crabbe and Goyle really do exist), if you are at all connected to society the likeness can't escape you.

So, as infrequent as these encounters may be, I always find myself musing about stereotypes, why they exist, if it matters that they do exist, and if I should feel bad for so readily categorizing this person whom I've just met.

Ok, so I don't really feel guilty. I figure that obviously enough people have noticed enough similarity in enough of the population to recognise that they might be an almost valid subset of the general populace and so have, cumulatively, labeled a stereotype. And what's amazing is that they are reliable enough that everyone relates, everyone has seen it, and whether or not they admit it, everyone uses those stereotypes on almost a daily basis to relate themselves to the rest of humanity.

Yet, I find myself surprised every time I meet one. I'm always amazed that they really do exist. I suppose I must talk myself out of believing that they could actually be real! that someone could really be that way! that people could really be so seemingly accurately defined by so broad a description as a stereotype! It's fascinating.

Maybe the fact that I AM surprised bodes well for me. Maybe it means that I don't usually use stereotypes and instead they have to sort of be forced on me. At least I hope I don't use them to judge people...even if I most certainly use them to categorize and describe. I do my best.

All of which leads me to wonder...Has anyone ever met me and thought, "OH...she's one of THOSE people..." And if they have, what are THOSE people? Do I want to be one? Do they later re-sort me after they know me better? Should or do I even care?

All I know is, that after the latest stereotype encounter, I'm just really really glad that whatever stereotype I might fit into, I'm pretty sure it'd be a smart one.