Tuesday, 18 November 2014
I started to avoid making eye contact with the people I was talking to
because of the way they were looking at me. They stared with their sparkly eyes
as if they were reading my mind, and it always put me into an irrational fear
that I could not ignore. I could not help but think that they were judging me
by the acne on my face, the weird Korean accent that I had, and everything else
that made me different from everyone else.
But was my fear really 'irrational'? I thought about it and realized
that I had this fear because I felt that people were judging me by the way I
look, talk, and act. I was afraid that when people saw the acne on my face,
they would start thinking, "She probably doesn’t wash herself often." But I do. I wash my
face at least twice a day, shower once a day, and brush my teeth at least twice
a day.
Stereotypes are formed when people try to figure out who you are simply by your appearance, actions, and words. They connect you to their past experiences with others who have acted in certain ways and assume that you will be like those people, too. This leads to prejudice and affects people's ways of thinking about you, as well as their attitudes toward you.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes are formed when people try to figure out who you are simply by your appearance, actions, and words. They connect you to their past experiences with others who have acted in certain ways and assume that you will be like those people, too. This leads to prejudice and affects people's ways of thinking about you, as well as their attitudes toward you.
How to Deal People with Stereotypes
In most cases, people who view you through stereotypes will not be very
kind to you. They might look at you critically and treat you with contempt,
which may lead to discrimination from others.
However, should you be afraid of what others may think about you and
therefore hide your true self? Of course not! You should always be confident
and proud of yourself so that people can feel that you are not weird, but
unique. Prove to them that their stereotypes and prejudices are wrong.
Other effective ways to get rid of the stereotypes that people have of
you is to talk to them. Do not avoid eye contact like I used to do; it will
only make them think that you have low self-confidence. Look them in the eye so
that they can see clearly for who you are, not through the lens of stereotypes.
The most important thing that you need to remember is that you should
not be influenced by any judgement someone may have about you. Let them think
what they want; do not hide or lie about yourself so that you can fit in and be
like the others. All you need to do is to be proud of who you are and of your
differences, because you are special.
