Summary: The Prevalence Of Stereotyping

924 Words4 Pages
Samuel Junior Moses Dr. John Frongillo Writing in literature Com 1102 04/23/2015 The Prevalence of Stereotyping Stereotyping is an overly simplified attitude people hold towards another person due to race, gender or ethnicity. Stereotyping affects us by allowing us to see what we expect to see, and we have a tendency to twist and distort the characteristics of others until it fits our ideas of a particular group stereotype. Sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion, and physical ability are various categories which exist in stereotyping. The most prevalent and controversial forms are sex and race. In the story the “How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie)” by Junot Diaz, the narrator stereotypes girls base on gender,…show more content…
Junot Diaz first shows stereotyping girls by their skin color when he states, “If she is a white girl you know you would at least get a hand job (178)” This quote is basically saying that white girls are relatively “easy to date” and based on their race you may be able to expect specific sexual favors. In addition he shows more stereotyping by skin color “The white ones are the ones you want the most” implies that they are the preferred race to date although difficult to date due their family dynamic, such as parent approval (179). Later in the story he stereotypes the black girls “the out-of-towners are black, black girls who grew up with ballet and Girl Scouts, who have three cars in their driveways (179).” The quote mentioned is illustrating that no black girls live in this neighborhood and speculates the black girl would need to be a member of a mixed family to have these childhood opportunities. To some extent the narrator shows stereotyping against white males when he states, “Run a hand through your hair like the white boys do even though the only thing that runs easily through your hair is Africa (179)” He is actually stating that girls normally like white guys because of their soft and smooth hair. In addition “Neither of them want her seeing any boys from the Terrace-people get stabbed in the Terrace (179).” implies that boys from the…show more content…
Is he a reliable resource, or an unreliable narrator whose creditability is compromised by his point of view and stereotyping? We can assume some trust because it also seems in the story that society has created a stereotype in which he must follow to meet a female companion based on where he is from and his financial status. He also implies that girls are smart, which is one of the reasons why he is doing so much to improve his chances of having relations with girls. Furthermore, he is being sympathetic towards their social label by giving the girls the credit they deserve. It is important to note that Junot Diaz covers a large variety of races, and his inclusion of many types of people shows a consistent trend of unjustified labels. In addition, when he gives suggestions on how to approach women he exemplifies the restrictions of stereotyping and to the culture which people come from, this causes him to fall into a role gender

More about Summary: The Prevalence Of Stereotyping

Open Document