India

The other category is made of smaller stereotypes.

Stereotypes of India say all they eat is curry, but actually curry is just a spice they put on their food.  Curry is the name given to a mixture of mild or hot spices.  Curry in India is a sign of wealth, because in ancient religions, poorer classes were not allowed to use it.  In fact, an English chef was the first person to write down a recipe for curry.

When people refer to India, they refer to them as “dot heads”, which is a huge stereotype because the dot is part of their religion.  The dot on the forehead is called a Bindi, which represents the third eye in the Hindu religion.  In the Hindu religion the third eye is a gateway to a person’s central nervous system, where the people can see the truths of the world.

~Josh

Russia

The other category is made from smaller stereotypes.

In my research for this project I discovered that the top stereotypes for Russia are that it is extremely cold, that Russians love drinking Vodka as an activity, and that it is still viewed as the Soviet Union. For the first stereotype about the cold weather this is somewhat true. However, even though it is true for the Siberia region of Russia it is not true for where most of the people live and the tourist sites. The normal climate is humid and somewhat cold but not tundra cold as people think. The second major stereotype for Russia is that they love to drink vodka as an activity and it’s all they do. That statement  is not entirely true, because they also have many another activities other than drinking all day such as hiking, art galleries, circuses, and more. The third major stereotype for Russia is that it still viewed as the Soviet Union even though it hasn’t been for over 20 years and it is now a democracy just like the Untied States. So this is causing a negative view on modern Russia even though they were not the ones to cause the cold war. Because of these stereotypes there is a semi-negative view of Russia even though these things are not completely true.

~Geoff

Findings and Conclusion

This project has taught me that whether positive or negative stereotypes can have a major impact on society. This is due to the fact that stereotypes are formed as a way to characterize one group or culture in a simple way.  An example of a positive stereotype is that everyone Asians are smart because Asians take great pride in that which allows their culture to succeed. However, an example of a negative stereotype is that everyone from Russia drinks Vodka. This stereotype negatively impacts Russia’s society because everyone labels them as drunk. While this stereotype might not affect everyone in the specific group, the association is still made causing a form of discrimination and therefore having a lasting effect on the world.

~ Elizabeth

During my research, I learned a lot about stereotyping and what makes a stereotypes happen. I think it is important to remember that stereotypes are made from a generalization about that society. I also think it is also important to remember that positive and negative stereotypes can have bad effects. An example of this would be smart people in East Asia. This is positive because it portrays them as smart but it gets rid of the individuality of each person at varying degrees of intelligence. The important thing is to consider individuality when thinking of stereotypes.

~Will

What I discovered from this project is that stereotypes could also be positive as well as negative, but even though stereotypes can be positive the majority of them are negative causing negative views on an entire country. This should not be because stereotypes come from watching one person or a small group and broadcasting it as a culture for an entire country giving a false image for all the people. With these negative stereotypes people will be judged right away for what someone else did and not for their own actions creating a negative profile for them. With these negative profiles there could sometimes be a positive stereotype which makes a whole country look good even though some people do not fall into this category, but these are still considered a stereotype because it categorizes a country.

~Geoff

From our studies I have learned that stereotypes do not come from thin air. Stereotypes are a way for people to make things simpler to understand. When someone creates a stereotype it is usually not to be mean. People make these assumptions, because they see one person of that ethnicity doing something, and assume everyone else in that culture does the same. But, when someone assumes something it can also be negative, making that culture be seen as a bad group of people. So, I think people should be careful with what they say, because they could be talking casually with a friend and say a stereotype that can be found offensive.

~Josh