1). Are you, or have you ever been a member of a group that has been stereotyped? Does your experience reflect the concepts identified in this chapter? How? Are there differences? What are they?
I have been stereotyped before, but I'm sure I have been many times in which I don't remember or even don't know about because it's something that isn't always brought to your attention or told. Anyway, I've been stereotyped based on who I associated myself with – twice – and both times it's been the same type of stereotype.
I had a friend who was of the bisexual orientation and we also worked at the same retail store. There were rumors going on around the store that we both were either bisexual or "gay." People observed us and assumed that because we would go to lunch together when we had the same breaks and talk to each other when our departments were slow, that we were a "couple."
The other example of when I was stereotyped is virtually the same exact situation – but worse. I worked in a restaurant with another friend (who was "straight," like me) and we would frequently walk in together for our shifts, take lunches together, joked around together in between serving our tables, etc. I lived right down the street and my friend would be over often hanging out before our shifts, so we would just walk over together.
Well unlike in the first example where that friend and I just dealt with rumors about us, in the restaurant example our supervisor (and also another younger coworker, as well) would actually frequently make comments about us being "gay." They would make such comments as, "Are you two in love with each other?" And when I would be working there and my friend had the day off (or a different shift) the two of them would say, "I think that guy's in love with you" and they would say the same to my friend when I was off. One of the cooks there even once told me he thought we were a “gay” couple living together.
The people in these examples who stereotyped us assumed that two guys hanging out together and who got along well must be romantically involved, even though we never kissed, flirted, or even hugged each other – not that a hug between friends should make people think we’re romantically involved. It is pretty sad that guys can’t have a close, same-sex friend without some people jumping to conclusions about their personal lifestyles and sexual orientations.
Lastly, since stereotyping is categorizing people into groups without really getting to know the actual person or people, yes, I do believe my experiences reflect the concepts discussed in this chapter.
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