Effect of negative stereotypes?

[mad_scientist]

I belong to an ethnic group which is has the stereotype of being considered lazy, how will this effect my future or my children's future if I marry someone from my parent's country?

 

Are any stereotypes true?

 

Are asian-americans really better at math (here it says no but it is their opinion http://wileyasiablog.com/2014/06/17/asians-math-stereotype/)? If not, then what is the cause for the stereotype?

 

Has negative stereotyping affected anyone here?

 

Is positive stereotyping ever beneficial to anyone?

 

Is it worth it to marry someone of an ethnic/social group who will give your children a positive stereotype advantage?

[CharonY]

The issue with stereotypes is that it strips the individuality. A person is then evaluated/perceived based on parameters they have little to no influence over, rather than merit. The issue is amplified in competitive situations, in which minute things can be the reason for someone to lose out. Thus, the individual has to overcome stereotypes on top of demonstrating merit, whereas the "default" population is more likely to be seen as individual. The "default" can vary depending on context, of course. As such, it matters little whether stereotypes are (somewhat ) true or not.

 

Even positive stereotypes come with barbs. For example, Asians being good at maths is one stereotype, but usually is accompanied by other traits such as being unimaginative, hidebound, to name a few. Ultimately, any kind of stereotype basically means that you somehow have to overcome pre-existing assumptions and present yourself as an individual to be accepted by peers, which basically means that you have to do additional work to be perceived the same way.

[Manticore]

Stereotypes tend to vary from place to place. For example, the English used to (maybe still do) make a certain kind of joke about the Irish - Americans told identical jokes about the Polish - Canadians about Newfoundlanders and West Africans about Zambians.

So maybe you could just move.