Psychology Stereotypes

I just graduated from a uniform school and there were cliques everywhere. I was laughing once though when I overheard a bunch of girls say "those people are so grubby" when all of us are wearing pretty much the exact same thing!

The reason I don't agree with putting people into categories is that that is assuming that everyone in that category is exactly the same, and we all know that every individual is unique. People at my school thought I was totally off the wall because I was a mixture of religious, sci fi freak, anime fan, honours student, shy quiet guy, crazy "cheese" guy, Fr. Rob etc. A friend recently told me that I'm strange because I'm religious though I still watch anime and occasionally swear ^^; This is the reason why I could find friends throughout the school also.

I just get upset when people start putting down other people because they are different. But, I guess I'm guilty of putting the type of people who do that down myself..

 

Dude, we were our own clique back in the day. Besides, your school was evil, so it can't really count for anything.

 

At my school, it doesn't really even matter what your dressed in. It's if you know the right people. You may get put into "groups" but it's hard to go around it.

I know even if I had uniforms it wouldn't make a difference. Because that wouldn't change the way someone talks or looks.

Even the people who are in groups use stereotypes when talking about someone else.

Since I am a true blooded American I would just like to say that even if there were uniforms here it wouldn't matter. And things wouldn't change.

Plus when people from other countrys judge us they are being stereotypical to.

So maybe you should stop blaming the majority of the people here and look at the minority.

 

Not all of us Hamish. At my school we didn't have any uniform, we could wear whatever we wanted unless it was "obscene." It didn't cause us to form into groups though, most people were friends with most other people. Most people hung out with certain people more than others, but they weren't wholely defined by who. I don't think uniforms in american schools would make any difference. The society is bred on glitzyness, instant hits and superficiality. This isn't an attempt on any americans here, but it's just how I believe it. It's a culture thing.
Although it is like Hamish said, there were really only two groups where I went to school, those you liked and those you didn't.

 

Just to provide definitions...

Two words keep popping up in this discussion: stereotype and clique. For the sake of clarity, let me define them. According to Dictionary.com, the definitions are:

Stereotype

1. A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.
2. One that is regarded as embodying or conforming to a set image or type.
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   Clique
   1. A small exclusive group of friends or associates.
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      As Mad Hamish said in a post on this thread, we're all guilty of stereotyping at some point in our lives. Haven't you ever looked at a guy and think, "Hmm... clean-cut looks, nice hair, straight-arrow lifestyle... this guy must be a regular boy scout"? Or, "Man, this professor looks like Attila the Hun. He must be a terror in the classroom." If you've done something even the slightest bit similar — even something as small as dismissing someone out of hand as being a 'loser' — then you're guilty of stereotyping. It's a throwback trait of man's need to classify his world into tidy little boxes. See how scientists are so eager to tack on silly sounding Latin names on every living thing on the planet? It's like that.
      
      Stereotyping is unavoidable, but what we can do is avoid letting our first impressions completely motivate our actions. It's said that first impressions last. Well, they are also — more often than not — inaccurate. It's the same thing with the law enforcement's method on profiling. While it can be a useful tool, we must also remember that there are always exceptions to every case.
      
      Cliques are also a product of man's nature. Ever heard of the saying "Birds of the same feather flock together."? Well, this is it. Man is a social creature; we constantly seek the company of others. If you are part of a group, then you're in a clique.
      
      Cliques can be both good and bad; it all depends on the nature of its members. Since many of the members here in M2A are still in school, let me take school as an example. In many schools, society is stratified — there is the "in" crowd, and there is the "out" crowd.
      
      The "in" crowd usually involves people deemed socially "acceptable": those who are popular, and those who rub shoulders with those who are popular. Popularity can take many forms — like being skilled in sports, being in touch with the latest fads, or several other things — but it all amounts to the same thing. One major qualification for being a part of the "in" crowd is conformity. If you don't conform with the norms, you're not "in".
      
      The "out" crowd, on the other hand, are the people who are not socially "acceptable". They are cast out of society for all manner of reasons, but the top two are: a) because they are different, b) because they refuse to conform.
      
      Of course, there are other, more specific, classifications within these two general classifications. Many of them have been mentioned in these thread: the nerds, the geeks, the jocks, etc. But people categorized as belonging to a particular class does not necessarily mean that he or she is part of clique. Unless you are part of a group of like-minded people who have banded together, you are not part of a clique. Then again, everyone here is part of a clique — the M2A clique. And then there are the cliques within the cliques: the mods, the newbies, the regulars, and so on and so on...
      
      Oh, and since we're talking about stereotypes... does anyone care to stereotype me? I'm a girl who's considered pretty enough to hang out with the classy, cheerleader types, but can't stand their vacuous conversation. I love the color black and usually dress in it. I also love leather (black, of course), and own several outfits of that make (I've got a nice black leather mini-skirt ^_^). I'm an avid reader, capable of consuming several volumes in one day. Though I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy, I also regularly read romance paperbacks and have been known to read even encyclopedias and dictionaries for fun.
      
      Sports for me is mostly limited to tabletop games, the most vigourous being table tennis. I can do lawn tennis and volleyball, but I don't really like them. I love fast bikes and hope someday to replace my old Honda with a Suzuki Hayabusa (the coolest street sports bike around! ^_^). I love classical music (I've got a crush on Josh Groban, don't you know? ^_^), and dislike the strained notes of most "modern" music like rock, hip hop/punk, rap, etc. (yuck!). I also play the guitar and piano, though I'm not an expert by any means. I have hopes of someday learning the violin, but that's a rather expensive hobby for now.
      
      Oh, and last but not least, I'm an aspiring writer and hope to someday quit my job and write full time. ^_^
      
      So, classify me. ^_^

 

I kinda fall into the Preppie/musician/poet stereotypes. I think american schools should get uniforms also. Although it skinda constricts my style it won't matter much if it brings the whole school come together as one and not have so many stereotypes. I think uniforms look kinda cool actually. Not the american ones but teh japanese ones. those are rockin lol!

 

Stereotypes: Of course, some are true and some aren't. But if we take away the political dimension to my resposne, I think that stereotypes are, at the very least, apt to a very large extent. They are made up for a reason.

Cliques: It's the idea of 'situational-based' friendships. This formula doesn't apply to just schools. It applies everywhere! When you leave high school and enter the workforce, you'd be surprised at the number of people who you don't keep in close contact with because you do not see them on a day-to-day basis or have any conflict of or common interests with them. People who play in the 1sts Soccer Team stick together because they have common grounds, just as much as politicians (however much they might secretly loathe one another) stick together and have lunch together.

 

In my school there is the Skaters/popular people(skaters are the most popular people) the popular people who are hip hop people, the quiet shy people, the ultra super religious people and the freaks/anime lovers/posers(Yes I as a obsessive compulsive fan of the dear spirit of anime am a freak)
See at the beginning of the yeareveryone wanted to be a skater but eventually i figured I'm not a skater. so even though I'm friends with people who desperately want to be rockers I don't try to be one. Then I started following the religion of Wicca so that alienated me and got me some new friends so I'm also part of that clique. Oh Yeah and I go to a school with uniforms and believe me there aren't any less steryotypes.

 

Just to revive an old discussion, I would like to note that stereotypes are alive and well among the university students of Waterloo.
Tonight I traversed the road from Laurier to the larger University of Waterloo to visit their on-campus arcade with one of our school clubs. The main attraction: Dance Dance Revolution. I was watching two of my group do their thing with the game, and was just standing there when these two guys came up to play the next game. They looked at my t-shirt (one of my hard rock-themed ones), then kind of sneered and kept looking at me funny. I thought there was something on my face or something like that. I said hi to these two and asked what was up. They asked me why I was even there. Apparently, at UW, punk rockers aren't allowed to be friends with techno fans. I guess I was supposed to be out getting stoned or trashing someone's house.