Friday, September 3, 2010

Stereotyped By Kindergarteners

I went to a predominantly black elementary school. I have always been pretty spoiled, by my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins; to add to the situation, I am mixed. Before anyone got to know me, they assumed that I was stuck up and dingy, just by what I owned and how I looked. They thought I couldn’t relate to them and didn’t consider me black. I would always get questions like, “do you listen to rap,” and “do you know who this person is? Or “why is your hair wavy?” The girls stereotyped me more than the boys. It was hard because I had to deal with both stereotypes at the same time.

When we started doing work in class. People began to realize that I was smart. I worked just as hard as they did and could relate with them. After they realized they were wrong about me, they decided to get to know me and saw that I wasn’t much different from them. They saw that I was really a nice and caring person. They also realized that I knew thinks from both my black and white family members. I wasn’t closer to one side over the other.

6 comments:

  1. I've always said, "don't say anything about a plate of food if you haven't tried it, after you try then tell me what you think", everyone should get to know one another before saying ignorant stuff.

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  2. I agree with Luis so many people judge people by the outward appearance that they don't want to even get to know them they just look and make their judgments about who they are and what they stand for.

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  3. I think that sometimes when people judge others, it's when they are jealous of them and want to put others down to bring themselves up. Selflessness is the key to love and I think it was good that you proved everyone wrong in the end.

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  4. I can definitely relate to what your saying. I went to a predominatwly black high school and I was the only girl named Brooke. People always expected me to be caucasian. I was also very proper, so I received alot of criticism just because of my name.

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  5. I experienced the same thing as you but in reverse. I went to a predominately white school. The always questioned me about my hair and my tendencies. They also made a lot of racist comments and would laugh and say they were just kidding. It's an issue I've dealt with since I started school but I learned not to let it affect me.

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  6. Good work Ashley! I think being biracial is particularly hard, as far as identity is concerned. I was raised bi-culturally and had a hard time with stereotypes in elementary school as well.

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