September Blog Post

I decided to do my blog post on identity and the idea of stereotypes. The book defines identity as "more than a collection of traits, more than skin or physical features..." The continue with, "identity is always a historical idea, a product of social norms and patterns of thinking that, solidified over time, have become taken for granted and seemingly 'normal'".

I think identity and stereotypes go hand in hand, because this is how people categorize and remember people. Stereotypes can be positive, but they can sometimes leave a pretty negative connotation on people before they even get a chance to show who they really are. I have had this happen to me quite a few times. I was a cheerleader in high school, and I had people tell me that they thought I was going to be mean until they actually talked to me and found out otherwise. When I asked them why they thought that, I found out that they put me in a category because of the activity I did and the friends I had. It was super interesting to see a stereotype actually play out because it really did give me a negative appearance for no reason other than something I was involved in and blind accusations. Identity is should be something we grow into, along with some traits we were born with. I totally think that how you are raised and the environment you are surrounded with have a huge affect on the type of person you become. It was super interesting learning about Identity and negative or positive roles it can play.