Does Negative Stereotyping Exist?

Does Negative Stereotyping Exist?
Stereotyping refers to the classification of people, in this case, into a particular group and associating them with specific features. Typically, in stereotyping, an individual associated with such particular groups are expected to possess all the attributes of the other members of the group. Stereotyping can be positive or negative. Just as the names suggest, positive stereotyping is the act of associating a group of people with positive things. Normally people take the positive stereotyping positively and therefore take no offense in it. Negative stereotyping on the other hand associates the groups of people with negative things. These are normally not taken with ease by the group on the receiving end. For instance, saying that the blacks are corrupt people. This means that any black person should be treated as guilty of corruption. Stereotyping does not allow for judgment of personal attributes of a person and therefore misleading.
On the question as to whether negative stereotyping exists or not, the answer is quite obvious. Negative stereotyping has existed since time immemorial. The following points can back this:
Masculine people for a very long time have been taken to be condescending. These are people are so full of themselves and can never think of anybody being better than them in anything. In as much as some of the masculine people have portrayed this attribute, I think it is very wrong to generalize. A good example to support the existence of this negative stereotype about the masculine people is the Lauren Goodlad’s article of “Why we love Mad Men”.

In the article, Goodlad is very categorical that she, like any other feminist woman, has spent her life trying at all cost to avoid the men like Don Draper (Goodlad 13). Don is one character that is always known for condescending nature. She mentions that Don has no family connections which can buttress him but still has nothing at all to sell except himself. This attribute is quite true of Don. However, it is quite wrong to generalize that all the masculine men behave the same way. The fact that the masculine men are associated with condescending nature is a good example that handily supports the existence of negative stereotyping.
It has always been generalized that masculine men are never faithful and straightforward in their marriage. This is clearly portrayed in most of the shows that people watch. Most have interpreted the roles of the masculine people in the various shows to judge the entire group of masculine men. There are also some happenstances in a real society that link the group with unfaithfulness. Most have generalized the idea and can never imagine settling in a relationship with the so-called masculine men. Let us take a look at the Goodlad’s article in which she talked about avoiding the Don-like men. Goodlad has mentioned several women with whom Don interacts. For instance, she talks of “Bobbie Barrett, the shrewd businesswoman whose frank sexual hunger ignites Don’s kinky side”. (Good 14) There are also several examples she has mentioned in the article to prove that Don is not faithful to her wife, Betty. This a very good reason that could have made Goodlad to avoid the Don-like men. To some extents, her ideology could be right since the physical appearance of the masculine man can sometimes be sexually attractive to most ladies, and therefore this can be a predisposing factor. On the other hand, psychology has it that a person’s behavior is majorly controlled by the three levels of the mind, that is, Id, ego, superego and maybe some little environmental factors. The Id is the psychological energy that drives the desires of a person, and the ego is the controller of the Id, and the superego is the controller of the moral behaviors of a person. These have no connections with physical attributes of a person. Associating the masculine people with infidelity in the marriage is a negative stereotype, and there acts so well in supporting the existence of negative stereotyping.
Another stereotype though still on the masculine men is that they are problematic. These people are known for using their physical strength to cause a lot problem to other people. They believe in their strengths so much that they think they can get anything from anywhere and from anybody. This can be true but not for all the masculine men. There are several well-built men, who think rationally and even much better than the less-built men. In her article on the “Mad Men”, Don is perceived as the source of problems to many families since there are a lot of men with his issues (14). This is also a negative stereotype which has made so many ladies just like Goodlad to run away from the masculine men.
In conclusion, negative stereotyping exists and people face it every day in their lives. It is also one big challenge that people should come strongly to fight against.
Reference
Goodlad, Lauren ME. “Why we love mad men.” The Chronicle of Higher Education 31 (2009): 13.