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Winston Irving

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ENGL 102

10/06/2016

Stereotypes

The Oxford English Dictionary concur a stereotype as a broadly held but fixed and oversimplified idea or image of a specific type of thing or person. Stereotypes are universal. Among other things, include racial groups, genders, political groups, demographic groups, and activities. Moreover, stereotypes shift: in the United States, Jews faced stereotyping because of their religion and education at the start of the 21st, and as high achievers at the close of the twenty-first century. Many citizens who reside away from their motherland face judgment because of their appearance (Bordalo et al. 5). Appearance plays a significant role in the manner that individuals are looked at especially when it comes to different races. This analysis looks at Cofer’s essay, The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria, and expounds on the typical stereotypes of the average woman from Latin.

In Cofer’s story, an educated Latina woman was normally perceived as something she was not. In many instances, the narrator of the story was not regarded as who she was because of her Latin origins and exotic features. Cofer elucidates how in one particular situation a man had the bravery to call her Maria like the Westside Story character. Cofer accentuates her objection of Latin women being equaled to foods with phrases such as “sizzling” and “hot tamale” instead of using kind words that can describe beautiful women (Cofer, 227). Other than explaining how she was often regarded as an object instead of a woman, Cofer talks about how she would be mistaken for a cleaner because many of the stereotype that many cleaners are Hispanic. Besides explaining how she was often looked upon as an object rather than a woman, Cofer talks about how she would get confused with the cleaning staff. Additionally, Coffer has also been mistaken for a waitress. The narrator describes a situation that she went through at a restaurant where she was reading during one of the nights.

A woman thought that she was serving there as a waiter and ordered her to bring her coffee (Cofer, 229). This sad reality is what many Hispanic women go through. Cofer was justified to be upset with all these stereotypes. Although she was well educated, Cofer was still trapped in the typical stereotypes of Hispanic women.

Similarly, Brent Staples elucidates the average stereotypes of another minority group in the United States in “Night Walker.” Staples takes the reader through several experiences he succumbed during his stay in the country merely because he was an African-American. Although both Cofer and Staples narrated the stereotypes experienced in America on certain groups, Staples case varies greatly from that of Cofer. According to Cofer, Latin women are looked down upon but they are easily approached by others. People do not necessarily fear to associate with them because they do not intimidate them but instead attract them through their sexy physique. However, in Staples case, people judge black people harshly and they fear coming across them. Night Walker narrates a sad reality of an educated man who elicits fear because of his appearance. Staples is perceived as a threat and is not approachable to everyone he comes across.

He narrates of different instances where he would note the manner in which individuals would change their reactions once they saw him. Staples explains how he would hear the sounds of doors of cars locking as he crossed streets because of the stereotype that white drivers had (Staples, 257). Staples also explains how the stereotyping would make him tense as he walked with other pedestrians. During such instances, he would appear as a perpetrator. Although the narrator was not a thief or any form, he was looked upon as one.

Staples and Cofer speak about experiences of stereotyping based on appearances, but they do not mention anything on how the other races are affected. The essay by Coffer talks about Latin women and Staples touches on the experiences of African Americans. However, people from the Middle East and Asian origins are not mentioned in either of the essays. The ethnic groups also suffer from misjudgment because of their physique. Cofer and Staples focus on particular genders; Cofer focusses on women while Staples on men. As such, there is a female perspective in Cofer’s story and male aspect in Staples. The stories would have been richer if they had considered both genders in their depictions of stereotypical experiences.

It is highly unfortunate that ethnic groups have to face discrimination because of their appearances, but it is a reality that occurs daily. Intelligent or learned people may be easily mistaken for people without much meaning because of their appearances of for simply falling under a certain category. According to social science, three broad stereotype approaches exist the economic approach, sociological approach, and the socio-cognition approach. The economic approach is the manifestation of statistical discrimination. The stories tell of statistical discrimination, which involves rational formation of certain beliefs regarding a group of people based on the aggregate beliefs of that group (Bordalo et al. 69). This form of discrimination has impacted the two story tellers as they have experienced situations where other people hold adverse beliefs regarding their skills and conduct. On the contrary though, the sociological approach considers stereotypes to be wrong and derogatory. As such, Staples story could be correctly assessed through this method as Blacks were historically mistreated and continue to experience suffering because of stereotyping as other groups perpetuate false beliefs regarding them.

In summary, many people suffer and cannot realize their full potential because of stereotypical barriers. This paper has analyzed the experiences of stereotype as narrated by two authors of Latin and African American descent. In both narratives, appearances led to perceptions that are misleading. Many other ethnic groups suffer discrimination and stereotyping because of where they come from. The theme of the stories, though, teaches that looks fool and our judgment of people may be wrong. As such, it is key to interact with people before casting an eye on them with “case-closed” mindsets.

Reference

Bordalo, Pedro et al. “Stereotypes.” Working paper November 2013 (2015): n. page.

Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria.” Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology (2010): 161–166.

Staples, Brent. "Night Walker." Crossing Cultures: Readings for Composition. Ed. Annie Knepler. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 256-258.