Stereotypes - Jennifer Oh

When people look at me, they think I am mad so almost everyone says that it was hard for them to talk to me at first. Even my elementary school teacher told my mom that she thinks I am always mad at her. I am not mad or angry at anything. I am just not making any facial expressions. Whenever I don’t smile or put any emotions on my face, I look very serious, and fierce. This is why people say my first impression was not good. Another stereotype about me is that I never study. Every time when my friends didn’t do their homework, they come up to me and ask did I do the homework or not, and if I say I did, they get frustrated. Maybe they were sure about me not doing my homework, and the fact that I actually did was not the answer they wanted to hear. They wanted to console themselves that they are not the only one who didn’t do the homework. Moreover, whenever I study or read book, most of friends say what is wrong with me. Since I am usually loud and like to laugh, I guess it’s weird for them to see myself being quiet. Using the fact that I look mad if I don’t smile, people make connection between me studying and get angry. They think I study whenever I get mad at something or someone. This really gets annoying. I am not mad at anything and I do study.
I also have stereotypes on others. For example, when I see people who are skinny, have light-colored skin and wear glasses, they look like they can’t play any sports at all. Also, when I hear the name ‘Andrew’, it makes me think that person is weird and annoyed. Because all my friends who’s name is Andrew seem to be like that. Moreover, girls who are really skinny make me think that she is selfish and fastidious.
I think stereotypes are harmful in most of times. Everyone has different individuality, but the society is ignoring those individualities and making it unnecessary. In these days, many people are trying to fit themselves into certain stereotypes, and an example for this is going on a diet to loss weight, which is one of the most common stereotypes. The stereotypes are made by media, parents, teachers, or friends, and they are making people to become biased or prejudiced. Another example is stereotypes of models. When I say a model, most of people think someone who is tall and skinny. Yes, in most people’s minds, models are people who have perfect visual body and look. Therefore, many people try to loss weight to be a model, and in this process, some people die because of eating disorder. All these stereotypes that people get bring negative effects. It could be positive in some ways, but in many ways, it’s just a way of disrespecting individualities.