Essay Sample on Stereotypes: A Danger to XXI Century Living

Introduction

A stereotype is quite similar to a road sign or an escape maps: it is an oversimplified and schematic image. But while the road signs and escape maps can save lives, stereotypes can ruin lives, or, at least, significantly spoil the fun of living in the XXI century. Stereotypes that may seem to be innocent and harmless food for jokes about the British police and the French chefs are, in fact, quite tricky and even dangerous. What they can do perfectly well is impose upon you 'a single story'. Repeated many times, this single story can start shaping how others see you and even what you ultimately become, how you are seen and how you see the world. In her illuminating talk "The Danger of a Single Story", modern novelist Chimamanda Adichie addresses the risk of falling under the spell of stereotypes: "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story" (Adichie, 2009). Intercultural communication is a space where many different stories come together. It offers us a chance to better understand those forces that brought stereotypes into being and learn to control them. In this paper, I am making an attempt at analyzing the concept of a stereotype as a 'single story' and relating it to my personal experience as a Saudi Arabian girl seen through the eyes of a westerner.

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The word "stereotype" seems to be intuitively comprehensible due to the fact that we only too often come across it in the media, but at the same time, it certainly needs additional clarification when used as a term and an instrument of analysis. The word "stereotype" is widely employed in a range of humanitarian disciplines. While in some of them it can signify "linguistic formulas that take the form of standardized expressions, ... standardized images and even naturalized recurrent patterns of narration" (Schweinitz and Schleussner, 2011, p. 3), I will focus on the concept of a stereotype as "prejudiced and socially widespread ideas about foreigners" (Schweinitz and Schleussner, 2011, p. 3) which is relevant both for research purposes and everyday use. The term "stereotype" was initially borrowed by sociologists from journalism (MacKie, 1973) and used to denote "pictures in the head" of individuals looking out into their social worlds (Lippman, 1922). But while stereotypes can certainly define the worldview of particular individuals, they are also an integral part of the social tapestry. This means that stereotypes that become widespread begin to influence public opinion and can shape the image of this or that nation within a certain society.

Stereotypes can be both positive and negative. Everyone knows at least one joke based on stereotyped ideas about different nations. Such jokes usually represent the French as good cooks and romantics, Germans are viewed as order junkies, Italians are portrayed as passionate and family-loving people who never stop talking and gesticulating, the Irish seem to drink too much. But while such jokes are sometimes really funny, persistent and influential negative stereotypes can become a serious psychological challenge for the representatives of those ethnicities which are seen as somehow flawed. To describe this situation, Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson coined the term "stereotype threat" which highlights the apprehension and anxiety that individuals feel when facing a personally relevant stereotype that threatens their social identity or self-esteem. The stereotype threat can affect academic outcomes. According to Steele and Aronson, when students are aware of a negative stereotype relevant for their ethnic or social background as well as gender, they are often afraid of conforming to this stereotype and affirming it in this way. These fears and stress lead to a decrease in the problem-solving capacity and memory, lowered self-esteem, and, as a result, their academic performance turns out to be not as successful as it could have been (Steele & Aronson, 2004). I have never experienced academic difficulties caused by my nationality or gender. Luckily, my wonderful parents have taught me to be myself in any situation and to appreciate my personal identity. Yet, I have definitely come across people who looked at me through the prism of a stereotyped vision. Being a girl from Saudi Arabia, I was expected to cover my head, be timid and lacking in initiative, tell stories of riding a camel to school. And I often had to prove that I was a cultured, educated and self-contained individual able of coming to independent conclusions. Only after the stereotype was undermined any kind of productive communication became possible.

Of course, stereotypes are not as black as they are painted. Stereotypes keep us aware of the intercultural differences that we need to take into account to be able to build a bridge between the cultures. Yet, the problem with the stereotypes is that they prevent your new acquaintances from seeing the whole picture, making them judge you on the basis of a single idea. The resulting image is always one-dimensional, lopsided, biased, and quite often completely wrong. Stereotypes are convenient, easy to remember and sometimes even useful, but they are a bright manifestation of how the limited frame of reference works by distorting our view of the world and its diversity, they limit our cognitive potential and decrease our abilities for intercultural communication. If people seeing me for the first time think that I must be either a repressed woman or a terrorist, they will not have an opportunity to learn about the amazing culture, unique natural treasures and awe-inspiring historical monuments of my homeland. They will also never learn about my loving and caring family who have always supported me. And, ultimately, they will never see the real me behind the stereotype.

Unfortunately, even today, in the XXI century, stereotypes are still widely spread. Stereotypes are convenient and they have always helped people differentiate between the members of their own tribe and the scary Other. They are also bright, memorable, and funny, and as such, they have become integral parts of the popular culture. But while it is not too frustrating to be viewed as a good cook or an orderly person, stereotypes connected with the Arab descent are not that innocent. These negative representations are promoted by the film industry where, in the words of Laila Lalami, a writer, scholar, and journalist, Arabs are portrayed mostly as "bombers, billionaires and belly dancers" (Lalami, 1997). In the films, Arab men make both scary and funny villains, Arab women are either professional seductresses or repressed grey mice, and Arab countries are represented as endless slums built around luxurious palaces. Such films teach the Western population to see the Arab world as a black and white picture devoid of shades and nuances. Even the extremely popular Disney characters, Aladdin and Jasmine, who are supposed to heighten the interest in the Orient, contribute to the consolidation of a negative stereotype. In their paper "Arab Stereotypes And American Educators," Marvin Wingfield and Bushra Karaman quote the lyrics of the song opening the cartoon, "Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam, where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face, it's Barbaric, but hey, it's home" and comment, that "Arab Americans see this film as perpetuating the tired stereotype of the Arab world as a place of deserts and camels, of arbitrary cruelty and barbarism" (Wingfield & Karaman, 2009). As a child, I loved Disney animated films and I know that most children still do. When you are little you learn to trust the screen of the TV set, you do not doubt the truth of your favorite cartoons because it will spoil the fun. And this is how stereotypes sneak into your head and stay there until you can consciously detect and undermine them.

What will it take to change the stereotyped vision of an Arab in Western culture? Probably, the most important thing is to show that the Arab community is diverse and there are many stories about dreams, achievements, and success rather than a 'single story.' Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, the director of Media Relations for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in North America, writes that "people rarely hear of this history or of Arab heritage of the 20th century Arab Americans: Tiffany, John Sununu, Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas, Casey Kasem, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Anka, Khalil Gibran and countless others whose names are familiar but whose culture and background are constantly maligned" (Mazin B. Qumsiyeh). Indeed, Arab cultural heritage is rich and it is still inspiring creative and pro-active individuals all over the world.

My personal heroines are two outstanding female figures that have changed the way Saudi Arabian women are viewed by the West these days. The first of them is Haifaa Al Mansour who directed a critically acclaimed film Wadjda (2012), a modern fairy tale set in Saudi Arabia, a success story of a young girl chasing her dream against all the odds. In one of her interviews, Al Mansour tells a story of her casting Waad to play Wadjda, saying, "...when Waad came in wearing jeans and Chuck Taylor sneakers, hair curled, listening to Justin Bieber, she looked exactly like a teenager in London. I realized there is a universal youth culture" (as cited in Hoggard, 2013). Waad's character establish a connection between all the young people in the world through little details of her daily life: she wears Converse sports shoes with purple shoelaces, sells hand-made bracelets, makes mixtapes and dreams about a bicycle. The film teaches the audience that we are all people and not too different from each other, no matter where we live. The second female figure I admire is Reema Juffali, a female race driver, who competed in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, the support race to the Diriyah E-Prix. This young woman is a 'grown-up Wadjda' who has learned to make her childhood dreams come true. For me, these two female figures are an embodiment of Saudi Arabian women, who can dream big and work hard to realize their dreams.

Conclusion

Stereotypes will never be completely eliminated because thinking in stereotypes is an integral part of being human. But we can learn to deal with them through stories. We can find a way to tell each other more stories that reflect the incredible richness and cultural diversity of this world. We have to be open to new ideas and new experiences. And I hope my personal story will become a thread in this bright and colorful tapestry of the multicultural dialogue.

Reference

Adichie, C. (2009, July). The Danger of a Single Story. TED. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story /transcript?language=en

Hoggard, L. (2013, July 13). Haifaa al-Mansour: 'It's very important to celebrate resistance'. The Guardian. Retrieved April 1, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2013/jul/ 14/haifaa-mansour-wadjda-saudi-arabia

Lalami, L. (1997, July 28). Arab-Bashing for Fun and Profit. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-28-ca-16983-story.html

Lippman, W. (1922). Public Opinion. New York: Harcourt Brace.

MacKie, M. (1973). Arriving at "Truth" by Definition: The Case of Stereotype Inaccuracy. Social Problems, 20(4), 431-447. doi:10.2307/799706

Qumsiyeh, M. B. (1998, January). 100 Years of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotyping. The Prism.