By Lenaia Powell
Of the many issues I see going on in my community today, stereotyping is the one that speaks to me the most and the one I have the most experience with. Today’s society has a certain standard on what specific people should do and say; but just because those are the socially accepted standards doesn’t mean they have to be, or should be, followed. For instance, it is considered “gross” when a girl doesn’t shave her body hair, but it is perfectly fine for a boy to let the natural process of puberty thrive. In this stereotype, girls are expected to be “cleaner” than boys by doing all sorts of painful or time-consuming body “care” treatments, which aren’t even necessary. While some girls are fine with doing this, and prefer to show their femininity, if that standard wasn’t placed upon them they probably wouldn’t have even thought of doing those things in the first place.
Another instance of stereotyping is when people who dress a certain way are taken to act a certain way as well. While this may be true in some or most instances, a girl with short hair wearing a jacket displaying an anime character on it shouldn’t be judged just because she looks like what many uneducated people would call a “feminazi”. Which leads to my next point, because people are unaware of what feminism truly means, they think that feminists want the superiority of women, not equality. This is actually a misandrist, a completely different group. So when you meet a feminist, know that she is not pining for her gender to be above yours, whatever you may be, but that she wants her gender to be treated just like any other.
Now if this editorial were solely about feminism, it wouldn’t be titled stereotypes. There are plenty of other ways I see stereotyping in society, including on social media. As an example, anyone who posts selfies frequently on Instagram or Snapchat is often considered egotistical– narcissistic even– when they could just be proud of the way they put themselves together and want to share it with their friends. There are meaner stereotypes too, which I have dealt with indirectly, as someone I knew had to deal with it. If someone is seen having a PDA session with their partner, they are called a “slut”, even though it may have been their first time having a serious partner! At this age, it is a bit unusual, but being a teenager is a time to explore your environment and prepare yourself for adulthood, and being labeled as something you’re not is a major mental and emotional setback.