Stereotypes: For A Reason? (6)

We often hear excuses coming from those who embrace traditional stereotypes such as "stereotypes exist for a reason". While some stereotypes may be rooted in truth the excuse is used even for those with no real meaning behind them. For instance one of the most well known stereotypes is the association of African Americans and fried chicken. The only real reasoning for this is a) the popularity of fried chicken in the South and b) a scene from the 1915 silent film Birth of a Nation in which a white man in blackface furiously devours a piece of chicken. The stereotype that Asians are better at math than others has nothing in particular to do with race. Studies have shown that the Chinese language actually assists children in learning math based on the construction of numbers, or a more left field theory is that an Asian's diet affects their breast milk causing them to be better with numbers as they age. So the excuse is correct, there is a reason for most stereotypes, however the reasons aren't likely what you think they are. Mostly stereotypes are simply perpetuated by society and media until they become true on their own simply because that's what people expose themselves to.

So what about the big stereotype lately, why are black associated with violence to the extent that they are targeted? This is perhaps a bit more complicated. A common stereotype is that young black teens are heavy drug users, however studies have shown quite the opposite, that blacks are less susceptible to drug use than other races. This eventually evolved into an association of blacks with crime and violence, which was only taken by the media to be chewed and spit back. An underlying association already existed in America rooting in slave times when slaveholders would blame blacks for most crime in order to justify their captivity.

Does this stereotype exist for a reason? Yes, several reasons actually. Does this mean that blacks are prone to violence, however? Not necessarily. We have to take into account that while more blacks are arrested, this may also be a result of racial profiling and the numbers may be skewed. Also, poverty stricken areas tend to have higher African American populations than other areas, which may be a reason for heightened black crime.