Current Events > Are positive stereotypes still bad?

(+) Yeah! (+)

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We're not talking about what I've done this past week. We're talking about "positive stereotypes" as a concept.

Are you having a bad day?

IdiotMachine posted...

Not saying that there arent good stereotypes, but rather asking if it would be offensive to say what you just said- Italians make good food.

Speaking of Italians, making hand gestures of stereotypical Italian origin seems to be acceptable; Ive never seen people get angry over it, and hell, theres a legit emoji of it

I think at this point Italians just embrace the Stereotype...and laugh off all of the bullshit.
There are a whole lot of people that don't understand Italians. At it's worst, it is laughable.

~And Yes, I am Italian American.
I had the blessing to have met my Great Grandmother, who was off the boat.
Going to her home was all you would expect it to be, and then some.

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You're not making sense.

Let's ignore the "imagine not living up to that stereotype" thing for a second (even though it's a valid reason to consider positive stereotypes bad). We also have to consider that most positive stereotypes are at some level tied directly to negative stereotypes about the same group and you can't really disentangle those two things and just be like "let's keep the good part".

KanWan posted...

Proud that Latinos are known to be hard workers

As an example from this topic, we don't live in a vacuum where "Latinos are hard workers" is divorced from stereotypes of what that hard work should be (e.g. menial labor). People who propagate that stereotype aren't using it to justify hiring Latinos to senior level positions at tech companies; they use it to justify hiring illegal labor at under-minimum wage prices.

Similar things also happen with "positive stereotypes" about women leading to them being shoehorned into roles that play into those stereotypes.

Yes, because it still leads to abuse of those within the stereotyped group who do not meet the stereotype.

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And I'm asking you to explain the relevance. All you've done so far is say "yes it is relevant".

Why should I answer either of your questions if I believe they're asked in bad faith?

bsp77 posted...

How long until this is modded?

Lol by the time I saw this post it was already modded.

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But you haven't explained. You've said little more than amounts to "yes it is relevant".

Do better.

Anteaterking posted...

Let's ignore the "imagine not living up to that stereotype" thing for a second (even though it's a valid reason to consider positive stereotypes bad). We also have to consider that most positive stereotypes are at some level tied directly to negative stereotypes about the same group and you can't really disentangle those two things and just be like "let's keep the good part".

As an example from this topic, we don't live in a vacuum where "Latinos are hard workers" is divorced from stereotypes of what that hard work should be (e.g. menial labor). People who propagate that stereotype aren't using it to justify hiring Latinos to senior level positions at tech companies; they use it to justify hiring illegal labor at under-minimum wage prices.

Similar things also happen with "positive stereotypes" about women leading to them being shoehorned into roles that play into those stereotypes.

True. When a group is called naturally strong, the unstated part is often cause they are like an animal.

I've gotten to known a number of Australians who don't wrestle alligators or own large hunting knives/otherwise are nature-conquering outdoorsmen (on top of that, some of them were not very friendly).

All the Canadians I know are fully aware of the maple syrup thing and take it in good humor.

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You shouldn't need a volunteer from the audience to explain your stance. Your claim, so substantiate it.

You're just unwilling to take that step. Clearly I'm trying to make a connection.

Clearly you're trying to drag this out.

Every one of your posts reeks of condensation

Sorry it's humid out.

But if we want to speak of condescension, let's talk of your posts and how evasive you are in getting your point across.

stereotypes are bad because they can saddle people with expectations for no reason other than immutable characteristics, even if it is a 'good' stereotype.

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Do you want to start again?

Ahem.

Positive stereotypes are still bad, because they reinforce a standard that not every member of that demographic might live up to.

Now make your point again.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

So "no" then.

Amakusa posted...

All the Canadians I know are fully aware of the maple syrup thing and take it in good humor.

Okay tbf, even though there are ways to be a jerk about it, generally assuming someone likes the food from the heritage they "belong" to is going to cause less pain than trying to assess their intelligence, work ethic, etc. based on their ethnicity.

Depends on what it is. Is also depends on the group itself to make that decision.

When Turner took off Speedy Gonzales cartoons, it was the Hispanic community who protested and got them put back on because he's highly regarded by them.

CyricZ posted...

Positive stereotypes are still bad, because they reinforce a standard that not every member of that demographic might live up to.

It's always fun trying to explain this to someone who has never thought this way before when they are made new mods. >_>

Error1355 posted...

It's always fun trying to explain this to someone who has never thought this way before when they are made new mods. >_>

Is it common for new mods to not understand this and to mod posters according to "positive" stereotypes?

BurmesePenguin posted...

Is it common for new mods to not understand this and to mod posters according to "positive" stereotypes?

No, but I can think of a specific conversation that happened a few years ago about it. Though now that I'm thinking about it that shit might have been a decade ago at this point.

dear god ive done this shit too long lmao

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It's still ultimately not a good practice, no matter how inoffensive you feel you're being.

It seems to be the case ITT that we're grouping them together all equally with the same weight and impact, which is why I'm making that distinction here, since we don't normally do this for any other "bad" action.

I'd say that distinction wasn't really all that necessary, and a stereotyping on your part of this community to think of things in completely black-and-white terms.

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They're being grouped together because assuming anything about an entire group of people at all is bad.

Other users have already gave examples why just assuming a quality you perceive as "good" then attaching to an entire group of people based purely on assumptions is bad.
It goes without saying the same applies to the bad stereotypes being slapped on an entire group of people is bad.

According to this site, yes and no.

All fun and games until someone goes,

"I thought you could cook because you're Italian."
"I thought an Asian would know this."

Yes. By perpetuating the positive stereotypes, you're effectively negging the rest of the ethnic group that doesn't meet that criteria.

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You aren't saying anything that makes assumptions for an entire group of people regardless of race, gender, country, ethnicity, etc... to be a good thing.

Others have explained why that's a bad thing to do, and you haven't actually provided those people an actual rebuttal.

IdiotMachine posted...

Guy got warned:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/community/Liu_Kano

I just got modded for quoting that guy. I supposedly quoted offensive material. Are you kidding me? I didn't even know that was a thing.

Lots of things seem offensive to me. How am I to know which ones will be moderated and then get me moderated in turn? Can I not quote any terrible comment, even if I am trying to refute it?

Yes

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I flat out didn't know that. I understand that they don't want proof of what was said, but still, that limits responding to people directly.

Depends how you frame it. If you think Asian people are born with the ability to do math well, then yeah that's not good. If you recognize that many Asian cultures/families value education and tend to be heavily invested in their child's upbringing, which results in many Asian students excelling academically (all around, not just math), then I'd say no it's not bad.

Is valuing being a work drone over having an enjoyable life a positive stereotype though?

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canadians are inundated by US media, and the prevalence of such stereotypes has lead, and continues to lead, many people to the mistaken belief that there are no problems; and by extension, no people actively causing problems, in canada.

regardless of how inoffensive you deem the stereotypes to be, they do have ramifications beyond you

>stereotype
>positive

pick one

and why is this topic more than 3 posts long...

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I am pointing out that, regardless of what "degree" of "badness" you deem a particular stereotype to have, you are propagating something that has ramifications beyond you, and which you may or may not understand