Teen Stereotypes

Stereotypes are found for every social aspect of our society. There are stereotypes about ethnicity, age groups, gender, sexual orientation, people with mental disorders and anything else to do with different groupings in society. However are all stereotypes negative? Men have traditionally been seen as the “stronger” sex. When they excel at things like business or jobs where you have to be stern and have a strong resolve they are depicted as being strong leaders. However when a woman does the same, like Hilary Clinton, they are seen as too stern and not “feminine” enough. Donatella Versace even said that Hilary Clinton should wear skirts more often to appear more feminine. In my personal opinion there are more negative stereotypes than positive
People have this vision of teens being irrational and incapable of making sensible decisions. Often, teenagers or people just coming out of their teens are blamed for crimes, such as graffiti or vandalism. Teenagers are immersed in a variety of cultures at their age. They dress in ways that could be considered provocative, or they dress in a way that gives them the label of “punk” or “thug”, even if that doesn’t match their true personality. Teenagers are also deemed incapable or their age is blamed when something goes wrong. “They’re at that age” is a common phrase when dealing with teens, supposedly signaling hormonal changes but that is blamed for almost everything that goes wrong. Another age group of people who are often stereotyped is elderly people. They are seen as helpless and disabled even though many elderly people do not require assistance. There is one age group that has purely beneficial stereotypes: young adults. After you reach that 18-44 age group you are suddenly seen as capable and trustworthy. People within this age group have supposedly hit their peak of attractiveness, and we live in a society where great emphasis is placed on how a person looks; it gives them credibility and would probably take priority when considering who to hire for certain jobs. This age group is usually the one where people start their careers and finish up their education. This age group is associated with getting a degree
For example, a police officer or firefighter’s uniform is a positive stereotype because it invokes a feeling of being safe and knowing you can call on that person if you feel uneasy. Another example of a stereotyped uniform is that of a security officer or someone at a store. You automatically think “I can ask this person for help” and it creates the feeling of being secure. Any occupation where a uniform is required is bound to invoke a response in a person, whether it be a positive or negative one. Another generalization of an occupation would be that of a man in construction. Because it is so important for a man to be “tough” and “strong” in society, men in construction, who are usually doing hard labor, are seen as men’s men and tough guys. Men who are in professions such as hairdressing can be seen as effeminate and “gay”. Unfortunately this stigma seems as though it will remain even though the number of men doing “women’s work” is changing. According to statistics from the US census in the 90’s, only five percent of all nurses in the United States were male (Williams, 1995, pg.3). Another occupation that is stigmatized is that of the modeling industry. You see a model and automatically think “she has an eating disorder”, regardless of whether you know if she does for sure or not. The same goes for actresses who stay extremely thin to fit into sample