StErEoTyPiNg HiSpANiCs

Topic: Racial Stereotyping

Having a set opinion on certain people or categorizing them is partially the definition of stereotyping. There are many different stereotypes towards different groups. One of them is minorities, for example Hispanics. A minority is a part of a population differing from others. What bothers me about this is how often it happens without people realizing it and how unjust people are being viewed sometimes just because of their cultural background and traditions.

Overview: What needs to be looked into is the reason why people do stereotype certain minorities and believe the things they do, as well as how and why people react towards certain ethnic groups because of the way they act, dress, look or speak. Also if people from the different backgrounds see it the same way.

Motivation

I chose this topic because I have seen this in many places, not just in this community, and have heard people comment about it. Not only that but I am Hispanic which is viewed as being a minority. Sometimes minorities are looked down upon and that is a problem because everybody is somebody although they may all be different. It seems like people do get bothered by it but nobody sees it the same way or as a big problem. People should care about this since it is reality and happens all the time. For example in personal experiences. This should help people understand how certain people aren't the way they see them and how it does have a negative effect.

How do the stereotypes differ from a couple of years ago?

What different stereotypes do people of different races have towards minorities?

Are most of them the same?

What makes people believe the stereotypes?

Are minorities such as blacks and Hispanics looked down upon a lot more then other races such as whites?

Where do people get the ideas?

How would people act towards a certain group based on possible everyday experiences?

Where is stereotyping more common?

Are some stereotypes true in all cases?

How many people realize what they are doing or do they say comments unconsciously?

Do people from different races have the same view of each other or a certain minority race?

Is there anything that can be done to make people change their mind?

How much of an impact do the comments have on the people?

What kind of people are the ones that criticize or stereotype?

I hope to find different views and opinions about racial stereotyping of minorities.

This semester I hope to find out the reason why people stereotype and categorize people the way they do today. I hope to prove and let people know that no minority should have to feel like they have to prove themselves because of this although they do. In order to accomplish this I will need to take surveys around the school maybe, get different students or people’s opinions and see whether it’s through personal experience or just what they have heard. I will also have to do some research about the history of minorities and how they were treated (ex: primary documents).

To make a difference I can try to make people more aware of the things that they say.