Comments on: A refresher on labels

By: Jana

Jana — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:45:17 +0000

I’ve written extensively on my blog about my discomfort with stereotypes about the disabled. A few of my posts:
http://pilgrimgirl.blogspot.com/2005/07/walking.html
http://pilgrimgirl.blogspot.com/2007/06/please-dont.html

That said, I will admit that because of some childhood experiences, there are men that just scare me–for example, I have a strong aversion to bald men or men with shaved heads. I work hard to get over my aversion and I happen to know many wonderful bald men. But it is hard to get over a feeling that’s almost instinctual because of past pain/trauma.

What I try to do is to get to know people–talk to them about their lives, understand where they’re coming from. That’s the best way to move beyond labels and stereotypes, IMO.

By: boom_boom_kitty_phuk

boom_boom_kitty_phuk — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 23:10:07 +0000

stereotypin sucks yeah but its a nessisary evil. you use it to describe someone. and i works for profiling which is another hot button but once again a nessisary evil. i dont like it bein half black and half greek. as im sure some asian doesnt like it when ppl think hes good at math just cuz hes asian. but some stereotypes are true. like i like chicken and beer. and i talk loud sometimes. and im late to work sometimes. i just laugh and brush it off.

By: Isaac S

Isaac S — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 16:19:21 +0000

Sorry for the delay in the reponse to this..

The point is not in the act of labeling; this is not something necessarily avoidable nor desirable. The problem is when those labels are used to pre-judge an individual.

Let’s look deeper into the issue. Bao brought up the idea of the child molester. This is not the same issue as what I mean. We label a person as a child molester because of action performed by the individual–i.e. we are judging the person on his or her own merits. It is true that people can change, but we DO need to be aware of their past. If we were to put the issue into context, it would be something like: “I knew a guy who had brown eyes who was a child molester, therefore everyone with brown eyes must be a child molester.” While the logical fallacy in this statement is easily clear, set it aside for a moment. The problem I have with labels and stereotypes is that they are used to pre-judge an individual before that person’s merits and flaws are allowed to be individually understood.

By: annie

annie — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:31:49 +0000

hmm… cultural awareness vs. stereotyping… isaac??

By: Bao

Bao — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 22:11:18 +0000

My point was that not all labeling is bad and hateful, as Isaac pointed out. Child abusers are just an example that I happen to feel strongly about.
In certain circumstances, labeling and stereotyping might not be as inappropriate as you may think. For instance, let’s say I were the CEO of a big company, and we deal with many people from Japan. It would be appropriate for me to assume that since they are Japanese, I would need to adhere to certain etiquettes that are different from the American culture. In order to do this, and without any information regarding the people that I am meeting, I would need to assume certain things about them using only their culture to guide me, thus stereotyping them regardless of whether or not my acting differently from these etiquettes would offend them or not – because I don’t know.
I just don’t think that stereotypes and labels are all bad. That was my point.

By: annie

annie — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 17:39:15 +0000

Bao, your post seems forcefully contrary.
I don’t think stereotypes and labels as mentioned by Isaac refer to criminal activity or registered sex offenders.
The point is that there is no positive stereotype. Even if the stereotype is “positive,” all it does is allow the user of the stereotype to fit someone into a predetermined box, without taking the time to get to know the individual.

By: Bao

Bao — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 19:52:58 +0000

I agree that some labels are bad, such as stereotypes regarding a person’s race or political viewpoint, but not ALL labels are bad. If someone sexually molested a child and we label that person a child abuser, you think I’m going to take time and get to know that individual to see if he/she has some good qualities? Heck no. Oh, well maybe they have done charity work all their life, or they are really smart, or, or, or. I don’t care. Child abusers are evil and destructive, and if I ever met one, I would judge them as a child abuser and never let themselves be expressed as an individual. NEVER. Once they make the choice to hurt a child like that, they relinquish any rights that they have to be judged as an individual. They can die alone and rot by themselves for all I care. We NEED those kinds of labels, because people need to know.

By: annie

annie — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 18:55:27 +0000

dave got interviewed by my sister-in-law for a diversity project she had to do. she asked him what were some positive stereotypes about his race/culture, and he responded, “I don’t believe there is any such thing as a positive stereotype.”