But there are exceptions to every stereotype. Just because there are exceptions doesn't make the stereotype wrong. If the stereotype was wrong, it wouldn't exist. Right?
Hi Moses!
I know that sometimes your posts are of a more of a joking manner, and I wasn't sure if that was the case here (making a play on the contrast between the use of the words wrong and right,) so I hope it's ok if I go on a short tangent.
This might just be me, but I personally can't agree with believing that stereotypes must be right just because they exist, or that a stereotype holds as a majority fact with only a few exceptions.
I once worked at a place that was near the middle of an area with very high racial tensions.
The stereotype about the blacks were: "All black people are lazy and trying to scam the system, so never let a black person/family move into your neighborhood because they're all on drugs, are going to trash everything they touch, and will drag the whole area down."
The stereotype about the whites were: "All white people are evil supremacist overlords who are representatives of The Man. Their only goal is to hold you back, keep you down, and whenever possible, imprison or better yet, kill anyone who doesn't look or think like them."
Of course, there was also the stereotype that when it came to drugs, all the black people were on crack, and all the white people were on cocaine, because all white people in that area were seen as being "rich," and therefore able to afford the "higher class" drugs.
Are these things true of all people of these specific classifications? iI would certainly hope not, but I'm sure you can find areas where it might seem true of the majority.
But for myself, I can't put much stock in beliefs that are based on very specific concentrations of "truths" that people come to actually want to believe just because of their own experience or hearsay. The majority of people I met and worked with in that area did not fit those stereotypes, and I could never conclude that they were somehow "rare exceptions."
And I would also hope that this is true of stereotypes of any kind, including based on gender -- just because a lot of people believe something, it doesn't mean that it can be held as fact just because it's based on majority opinions.
I've met plenty of people, myself included, that could probably contribute to some falsified stereotypical beliefs, but I guess I've also been blessed enough to both be and meet so many "exceptions to the rules" that I fiercely oppose the idea of stereotypes being accepted as blanket facts.
*Seoulsearch politely pays for her own meal and her date's meal, then quietly heads to the Ladies's Room all on her own, no entourage needed.*