Stereotypes are made up of generalizations that often have some kernel of truth in them but certainly don’t apply to all in the group. For paper #2, choose one of the following topics and write an argument as indicated:

DO NOT WRITE ABOUT STEREOTYPING IN GENERAL OR WRITE ABOUT SEVERAL DIFFERENT STEREOTYPES YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED. CHOOSE ONE SPECIFIC STEREOTYPE, AND INDICATE THAT IN YOUR THESIS.

1. Examine a well known stereotype about a group you belonged to, such as your religion, ethnic group, profession, home town, sex (or sexual preference), age, hair color, and so on. For example, if you are Asian, you might want to explore the causes for the belief that “All Asians are good in math and science.” If you are Black, you might want to write about the belief that “Black people are good in sports.” If you are a teenager, why do people feel that you are irresponsible and impulsive? If you are gay, what are the perceptions that people have that are unfair? Why do these stereotypes persist? What can be done to change them?

2. If you are not originally from the United States, discuss a stereotype from your nationality about people from a certain region, profession, or group of some kind and explore where that belief came from.

LENGTH: Minimum five paragraphs of five sentence minimum each. Word count: 1000-1200.