by Roberta Thiesen de Freitas
There are many factors that contribute to building someone’s or something’s stereotypes. Most of those are directly linked to the simplified stories media tells us, whereas others may result from rumors and the words on the street. But if there is something most people can agree on it is that the more we read about and consume culture and traditions of other countries and societies, the less we reinforce and spread stereotypes. We need to learn how to deny them, bringing facts that prove most of them wrong.
The first concept we need to define so we can get rid of the stereotypes surrounding all countries and cultures is what culture really means. Don’t search for its definition on Google or in a dictionary, try to build a conception of your own, based on your experiences and knowledge. For me, after getting in contact with people from the most different cultures and traditions, it’s very hard to define such a complex concept, but I believe that culture can be every and any form of expression, a way of living and seeing the world, that is inherited from our ancestors and passed on to every generation. Once you realize every society has their own way of perceiving the world they live in, it also changes your own way of regarding the world and the people that make it what it is today.
After forming our own concept and definition of the word culture, we are ready to move on to the second step: recognizing the stereotypes we believe in and the ones that are attributed to our own country.
Albeit being Brazilian, I don’t love Carnaval, I don’t know how to samba or play soccer and, most importantly, I don’t own a monkey as a pet. These are some of the most known Brazil’s stereotypes, the ones most people around the globe would use to define Brazil and its society. There are a few others like all Brazilian women being hot and our dying love for Churrasco. Foreigners see Brazilians as people who love to party and live among the wild and nature, but it’s not really their fault if they see our society the way they do. As I previously stated, media contributes a lot to the creation of Brazil’s stereotypes. The cinematographic and tourism industries try to sell this image of Brazil being a sensual, exotic and heavenly country, where you can have lots of fun and feel very welcome - which is not entirely false, foreigners see Brazilians as nice and outgoing people. Although this may not be the case for tourists, it is not a reality for us Brazilians. Our country is nowhere near a paradise, we have many social and political issues, and, at this rate, we are probably going to work ‘till we die. That’s why people need to research more and educate themselves on other countries’ realities before believing in everything they read or in what media wants them to.
After saying all of this, I’d be hypocritical if I said I, myself, don’t contribute to the spreading of stereotypes. I’ve consumed a lot of other countries’ music, TV shows, movies and books throughout the years. I used to believe that every Japanese lived for studying and was intelligent. I used to dream of the perfect American dream life, eating pancakes in the morning and drinking my Starbucks coffee during the day. It was very recently that I stopped believing that all Koreans were as perfect as the idols in K-Pop groups. I even believed, at some point, that Asian people ate dogs’ meat. I can’t say I have completely stopped believing and spreading stereotypes, but I’ve been trying to educate myself on the most diverse cultural aspects. I have read about the struggle Koreans face every day with the pressure of high beauty standards. I have watched documentaries about the consequences of the high-pressure Japanese students go through in their education system. I have made American friends who showed that the American Dream Life was far from what I had expected it to be. And that’s the third step. Finding resources that prove stereotypes wrong is the most important step. Educating ourselves about other cultures, making friends from other countries and getting to know more about their realities and the society they live in, watching critical movies and documentaries that don’t sugarcoat a country’s reality, reading articles, books and researches are just some of the many things we can do to extinguish most stereotypes we might believe in.
Despite our efforts in educating ourselves, we cannot change other people’s mindsets. We can get rid of stereotypes dwelled on consciousness, but we can’t extinguish them in their totality. What we can do is raise awareness of how wrong most stereotypes are and spread the three steps, so other people can identify them and join us in this battle to stop stereotypes from getting stronger and stronger each day. Don’t forget the 3 R’s: redefine, recognize and reeducate. They helped me change the way I see my own country and the world we live in, it may help you too
There are many factors that contribute to building someone’s or something’s stereotypes. Most of those are directly linked to the simplified stories media tells us, whereas others may result from rumors and the words on the street. But if there is something most people can agree on it is that the more we read about and consume culture and traditions of other countries and societies, the less we reinforce and spread stereotypes. We need to learn how to deny them, bringing facts that prove most of them wrong.
The first concept we need to define so we can get rid of the stereotypes surrounding all countries and cultures is what culture really means. Don’t search for its definition on Google or in a dictionary, try to build a conception of your own, based on your experiences and knowledge. For me, after getting in contact with people from the most different cultures and traditions, it’s very hard to define such a complex concept, but I believe that culture can be every and any form of expression, a way of living and seeing the world, that is inherited from our ancestors and passed on to every generation. Once you realize every society has their own way of perceiving the world they live in, it also changes your own way of regarding the world and the people that make it what it is today.
After forming our own concept and definition of the word culture, we are ready to move on to the second step: recognizing the stereotypes we believe in and the ones that are attributed to our own country.
Albeit being Brazilian, I don’t love Carnaval, I don’t know how to samba or play soccer and, most importantly, I don’t own a monkey as a pet. These are some of the most known Brazil’s stereotypes, the ones most people around the globe would use to define Brazil and its society. There are a few others like all Brazilian women being hot and our dying love for Churrasco. Foreigners see Brazilians as people who love to party and live among the wild and nature, but it’s not really their fault if they see our society the way they do. As I previously stated, media contributes a lot to the creation of Brazil’s stereotypes. The cinematographic and tourism industries try to sell this image of Brazil being a sensual, exotic and heavenly country, where you can have lots of fun and feel very welcome - which is not entirely false, foreigners see Brazilians as nice and outgoing people. Although this may not be the case for tourists, it is not a reality for us Brazilians. Our country is nowhere near a paradise, we have many social and political issues, and, at this rate, we are probably going to work ‘till we die. That’s why people need to research more and educate themselves on other countries’ realities before believing in everything they read or in what media wants them to.
After saying all of this, I’d be hypocritical if I said I, myself, don’t contribute to the spreading of stereotypes. I’ve consumed a lot of other countries’ music, TV shows, movies and books throughout the years. I used to believe that every Japanese lived for studying and was intelligent. I used to dream of the perfect American dream life, eating pancakes in the morning and drinking my Starbucks coffee during the day. It was very recently that I stopped believing that all Koreans were as perfect as the idols in K-Pop groups. I even believed, at some point, that Asian people ate dogs’ meat. I can’t say I have completely stopped believing and spreading stereotypes, but I’ve been trying to educate myself on the most diverse cultural aspects. I have read about the struggle Koreans face every day with the pressure of high beauty standards. I have watched documentaries about the consequences of the high-pressure Japanese students go through in their education system. I have made American friends who showed that the American Dream Life was far from what I had expected it to be. And that’s the third step. Finding resources that prove stereotypes wrong is the most important step. Educating ourselves about other cultures, making friends from other countries and getting to know more about their realities and the society they live in, watching critical movies and documentaries that don’t sugarcoat a country’s reality, reading articles, books and researches are just some of the many things we can do to extinguish most stereotypes we might believe in.
Despite our efforts in educating ourselves, we cannot change other people’s mindsets. We can get rid of stereotypes dwelled on consciousness, but we can’t extinguish them in their totality. What we can do is raise awareness of how wrong most stereotypes are and spread the three steps, so other people can identify them and join us in this battle to stop stereotypes from getting stronger and stronger each day. Don’t forget the 3 R’s: redefine, recognize and reeducate. They helped me change the way I see my own country and the world we live in, it may help you too