Stereotyping is a common affliction. I think it is fair to say most of us stereotype and most of us are at the receiving end of stereotypes. The further you leave what I would call a 'home base' (and this may vary from colony, to city, to state, to country), the greater are chances of your being at the receiving end of a stereotype (and of your trying to understand the world by using stereotypes to simplify life). As an international student, I always knew this was something that was going to happen and that I was going to react to it, but I am still surprised by the variation and intensity of both the stereotyping and my reaction to it (as much as I am grateful for all the thoughtful and intelligent and kind people I meet).
I do think that even when we are aware of being at the receiving end of a stereotype, they still hurt us. I recently quipped on Facebook, that if each time international student and plagiarism was mentioned together, I had put a dollar in a jar, I would have enough money to buy a license for Turnitin (the impetus for this was an email, which I saw as stereotype-building, rather than constructive). I think it is a constant engagement and negotiation, the ways in which I deal with stereotypes. I know that I rail against them a lot and I also know that both in that and also by being who I am, I am some sort of a stereotype. I do think that stereotyping (the lumping of people together into categories) allows us to become desensitized and in the most extreme case, dehumanized to their personality and individuality. Each time we say things like, Indian smell like curry, Asian women are demure, Germans are like this, we harm ourselves and others. This isn't harm in the sense of physical harm case (although I think stereotyping would make it easier for people to do that), but it is still damaging. I know the amount of time I have spent grappling with the stereotypes thrown at me, deciding when it was worth my time and energy to rail against them and when I should let them slide, has taken an incredible mental toll. All life is negotiation, but something like this doesn't allow you to have automatic responses and habits. It demands of you effort that often is very draining on a daily basis. In my mind, this is how things start to slide and there is a tipping point where we choose to no longer engage. At this moment, the only constructive way I have to engage with this, is to try and break some of the stereotypes people associate with me (as a woman from India). But I do think there is more that needs to be done (and that I could do).
I do think that even when we are aware of being at the receiving end of a stereotype, they still hurt us. I recently quipped on Facebook, that if each time international student and plagiarism was mentioned together, I had put a dollar in a jar, I would have enough money to buy a license for Turnitin (the impetus for this was an email, which I saw as stereotype-building, rather than constructive). I think it is a constant engagement and negotiation, the ways in which I deal with stereotypes. I know that I rail against them a lot and I also know that both in that and also by being who I am, I am some sort of a stereotype. I do think that stereotyping (the lumping of people together into categories) allows us to become desensitized and in the most extreme case, dehumanized to their personality and individuality. Each time we say things like, Indian smell like curry, Asian women are demure, Germans are like this, we harm ourselves and others. This isn't harm in the sense of physical harm case (although I think stereotyping would make it easier for people to do that), but it is still damaging. I know the amount of time I have spent grappling with the stereotypes thrown at me, deciding when it was worth my time and energy to rail against them and when I should let them slide, has taken an incredible mental toll. All life is negotiation, but something like this doesn't allow you to have automatic responses and habits. It demands of you effort that often is very draining on a daily basis. In my mind, this is how things start to slide and there is a tipping point where we choose to no longer engage. At this moment, the only constructive way I have to engage with this, is to try and break some of the stereotypes people associate with me (as a woman from India). But I do think there is more that needs to be done (and that I could do).
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