What positive African American stereotypes exist that AREN'T sexual?

@maxdancona,

Quote:

If you are a normal human being, you rely on stereotypes all of the time.

Hence we live in a world beset with social ills.

@hightor,

I don't think all people rely on stereotypes all the type -- I think they may use them; maybe to take caution, maybe until they talk and get to know the person.

Some people have actually evolved to the point that they understand that there are stereotypes and relying on them can actually be harmful and incorrect - so instead of relying on them, they may consider them - but rely more on what they learn about the actual individual.

For the example you give on online dating - yes you never met this man so there is a danger for a woman to go out with him - thus why you would meet in a public place and only give certain information about yourself until you get to know them.

My daughter has used dating aps and we instill in her ways to be careful. So yes everyone does use stereotypes to a degree but those that also have common sense realize you cannot rely on these --

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@hightor,

What kind of world would you rather live in?

Without stereotypes... when you meet new people or have random social interactions you would have to either trust everyone or trust no one. I don't like either option.

We develop intuitions based on stereotypes. Some of them we are taught as part of our culture, some we learn from experience. When I was a child, I was taught that if I was ever lost, I would look for a woman with a child to ask for help.

My parents taught me that any mother who had a child could be trusted. I don't know if this is an unreasonable stereotype. On the other side, middle aged men who have an interest in helping children are considered dangerous.

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Well I was told African Americans are stereotyped as being musically- and athletically-inclined and being good dancers. Lol.

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@maxdancona,

Yeah that's called RACIAL PROFILING.

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@Linkat,

Quote:

I don't think all people rely on stereotypes all the type -- I think they may use them; maybe to take caution, maybe until they talk and get to know the person.

Sure; I'm not saying that stereotypes — even negative ones — are necessarily wrong when applied to any individual case, only that they be recognized as instances of attitudes based on, or influenced by, stereotypes and subjected to a bit of critical reflection almost as a matter of course.

Quote:

My daughter has used dating aps and we instill in her ways to be careful.

Right; but I don't think it involves stereotypes. Meeting someone you only know from social media usually means there's been a screening process involved right from the start. These potential dates are people attempting to sell their stories to prospective buyers; it's already gone beyond being nervous to enter an elevator when the 3rd floor doors open on a single male passenger or wondering if the valet parking guy was trustworthy. Stereotypes are at work most commonly when we generalize about larger-scaled events and need to concoct useful symbols to represent complicated systems of behavior and belief.

Quote:

So yes everyone does use stereotypes to a degree but those that also have common sense realize you cannot rely on these --

I think that for most USAmericans these attitudes and opinions aren't really based on stereotypes as much as calculations of risk derived from highly suspect sources of information.

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@hightor,

Hightor... have you tried to recognize your own stereotypes. I suspect you grossly underestimate the number of times you use stereotypes every day.

The next day you go out (realizing we still have a pandemic) try to pay attention to the number of people you encounter.

- Who do you trust?
- Who do you distrust?
- Who do you instantly feel affinity with?
- Who do you suspect or fear?

When you go to a store, or take a taxi, or are forced to interact with someone on the street, you automatically make assumptions about them based on the very briefest impression of their appearance, dress and your impression of their attitude.

If you paid attention to the number of times you rely on stereotypes, I think it would surprise you. Most of the time we make the assumptions based on our stereotype without either thinking about, or even noticing them.

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Stereotyping people is sometimes based on an individual's prior experiences with that group or category of people.

It doesn't necessarily have to be based on race, age, or gender.

1. For example, if you have frequently been mistreated by the police in your town or neighborhood, that will ultimately have an impact on how you view other police officers.

Other police officers may be good people, but because of your prior experience of bad cops, you might subconsciously fear or mistrust even the good cops.

2. Another example. Let's say that you have been ripped off on multiple occasions by Used car salesmen. You will probably start feeling that all Used car salesman will try to rip you off.

3. Another example. Let's ay that you have been frequently ripped off or scammed by auto mechanics. You will ultimately start mistrusting other auto mechanics.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

I went on some online dates before I met my current girlfriend. I noticed that women were afraid of me. They didn't know me, other than what I said in my profile and that I was a man. And yet, they treated me as if I was a threat to their safety.

1. Is it possible, that the women on the dating sites were afraid of you because of something you specifically said to them?

2. Is it possible, that the women on the dating sites were afraid of you because of something specific you had put in your profile?

3. I don't know the answer to these questions.

4. I am just posing these questions based on lack of information in your example.

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@Real Music,

Based on conversations with female friends... I believe that generally women are fearful of meeting men in real life without taking real precautions. Any women here is welcome to comment on this. Single men are generally seen as threats, particularly in dating situations.

(I have had pretty good luck on dating sites. I suspect that this may be because I work to make the women I am chasing the feel secure. But that is another topic.)

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@JGoldman10,

JGoldman10 wrote:

Hi. I am just a bit curious about this. Are there any positive African American stereotypes that AREN'T sexual?

People think an African American male being well-endowed is a positive one and an African American female having a big butt is a positive one, but these are racist sexual stereotypes. I'm a Christian and I find these stereotypes offensive.

I went here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_African_Americans
I couldn't really find any positive ones that aren't sexual.

Please help. Thank you.

Are you seriously asking this as a legitimate question??? I find this incredibly offensive.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

If you paid attention to the number of times you rely on stereotypes, I think it would surprise you.

It wouldn't surprise me at all. It's irrelevant to my contention that it denotes lazy thinking.

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@glitterbag,

Yes. Many groups of people get stereotyped. There are positive and negative stereotypes in every culture.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

What kind of world would you rather live in?

We have the option of choice?

Quote:

Without stereotypes... when you meet new people or have random social interactions you would have to either trust everyone or trust no one.

Stereotyping people has nothing to do with trust. It's simply intellectual laziness. Instead of simply trusting everyone or trusting no one why not endeavor to find something out about them before making your conclusion?

Quote:

My parents taught me that any mother who had a child could be trusted. I don't know if this is an unreasonable stereotype.

It's not a stereotype. It's a strategy based on experience.

Humans evolved to recognize patterns. Our survival depended on our ability to perceive changes in our environment and compare them with previous experience. These clouds mean rain. This animal is drawn to this particular food. People in that tribe are hostile. Recognizing certain patterns of behavior helped us to track game, plant seeds at the right time, and identify dangers in the environment. But knowing the general pattern wasn't sufficient because we needed to be aware of specific instances that didn't conform to the patterns. Over-reliance on codified information can be as dangerous as not noticing patterns at all. Cultural stereotypes hinder our ability to accept new information. We're wired that way so we need to exercise some skepticism about our conclusions and how we arrive at them. Suspicion of cultural stereotypes is part of regular mental hygiene.

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@hightor,

I remember reading an academic book about all of the various groups in the Middle East in prehistoric times. Sumerian, Hittites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Hebrews etc. They all looked very different and would dress and style their hair in order to accentuate those differences.

That meant it was quite easy to see if the person coming down the path is friendly or hostile.

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@izzythepush,

Quote:

That meant it was quite easy to see if the person coming down the path is friendly or hostile.

Civilization does that to people. You can see how negative stereotypes could emerge and even linger beyond a point when no longer necessary.

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@hightor,

Quote:

It's not a stereotype. It's a strategy based on experience.

I believe that a strategy based on experience is a definition of the word "stereotype". I liked your term "cultural stereotype". To me this means relying on the experience of society at large rather than individual experience, culture is taught and passed down.

Take the MeToo movement. The MeToo movement said; all of these stories fit into a pattern, therefore any of these individual stories should be taken seriously. That is the very definition of a stereotype. When you hear a MeToo story you tend to believe it without taking the time to investigate all of the facts.

You are making a value judgement and drawing a line between good stereotypes and bad ones. I agree that stereotypes can be harmful to other people and can lead to decisions that wouldn't be rational if you had all of the facts. But stereotypes also help us understand our environment and are important for the smooth running of society.

Stereotypes are human nature and are essential for having a functioning society. Stereotypes are sometimes harmful to people and lead to illogical behavior. There is not a clear line between the two.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

My parents taught me that any mother who had a child could be trusted. I don't know if this is an unreasonable stereotype.

Just ask the child of an emotionally or physically abusive mother. So? Perhaps fatally unreasonable. Did you NOT see Game of Thrones? The Lannisters of Casterly Rock were infamous with bad untrustable mothers.

What positive African American stereotypes exist that AREN'T sexual?

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