Breaking Stereotypes
All around the world, people face stigmas due to unfair stereotypes.
Stereotypes can do more harm than good because it can cause a sense of self doubt that lingers. This can cause a person to believe the stereotype even though it may not be true.
By stereotyping it puts people of a group into a box and tells them that they have to fit certain characteristics in order to be valid. Instead of accepting everyone as who they are, people generalize groups and make unfair assumptions about them. Stereotypes usually do more harm than good since it causes others to conform in a box that they may not belong in.
An example of an unfair stereotype is that we have a President of the United States that calls Covid-19 the "Kung-Flu" instead of calling it by the official name. This causes his supporters to mimic his language which creates a stereotype that all asians carry or have Covid-19. This is unfair because just like anyone else in the US asians can catch the virus and spread it. Just because Covid-19 came from China does not mean that all asians have the virus. This is an example of an unfair stereotype, just because it is commonly said does not mean it is neccessarily true.
When facing stereotypes in your homes, social settings, or work, stand up for yourself and others by telling the person that stereotypes are not neccessarily true. Try to explain to them that stereotypes can do more harm than good and it would benefit everyone if we tried to stop spreading stereotypes.