According to the class PowerPoint, stereotypes are defined as “exaggerated descriptions that are applied to everyone in the same category – greatly contribute to the perpetuation of prejudice.” In effect, the basis of prejudice can be found in stereotyping, which tends to unfairly characterize and marginalize groups of people by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, etc. Stereotypes may seem harmless, but they actually lead to unfair generalizations of large groups of people. Prejudice, which, according to the class PowerPoint is “a negative, rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people – attaches a negative value judgment,” is the accelerated form of stereotyping. For example, one might make a stereotypical joke about an individual’s race that may appear harmless at first; however, underlying the bad taste in humor are often prejudicial and rigid beliefs in the inferiority of certain groups. Stereotypes and prejudice serve to keep people apart and to break down communication. The biggest difference between the two terms is that prejudice is a pointedly negative view of a group of people that can incite hate, violence, and overt discrimination. On the other hand, stereotyping may not necessarily be “negative,” such as claiming that most Chinese individuals are smart. This is still a stereotype, even though it is not directly derogative, and it can lead to prejudicial beliefs that then turn negative and confrontational.
The essential theories of prejudice are Scapegoat Theory (using a group to blame for society’s problems), Authoritarian Personality (predominately traits of low-educated individuals), Culture Theory (the idea that we learn stereotypes and prejudice through media and society), and Conflict Theory (the idea that those in power perpetuate prejudice to keep the power). The one that perhaps most accurately describes the origin of prejudice is Conflict Theory because society has always been divided into the haves and the have-nots. Those in power keep the power by dividing and controlling those beneath, meaning that by perpetuating stereotypes and prejudice, those in power (who control the media, i.e., television, movies, newspapers, etc.) keep the inequality in stasis and keep individuals from enacting any real kind of change (remember Occupy Wall Street?).
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