Do you have stereotyping glasses？

【Abstract】This article starts with a short video about the stereotypes of people and customs in various countries and points out which stereotypes are incorrect and discriminatory. Then， the author conducts a detailed analysis of the stereotypes of Chinese people in other countries. Finally， the author urges everyone to pay attention to each others connections and not to use stereotypes to look at others.

【Key words】stereotyping glasses； cultural customs； Chinese stereotypes； connection

【作者簡介】陈薏仁，杭州师范大学。

I once read in an article：“ Heaven is a place with an American house， Chinese food， British police， a German car， and French art. Hell is a place with a Japanese house， British food， German art， and a French car.” While these national stereotypes fall short of absolute truth， they are accurate enough to show us the characteristics of these countries. Stereotypes can help us deal with some information in a world with which we are often uncertain and unfamiliar， but we cannot stereotype on someone by his appearance or nationality. This stereotype is a breeding ground for errant generalization about others that easily leads to racism， sexism， and other forms of bigotry.

In the video “Stereotyping Glasses”， the pair of glasses attributes the characteristics of a country to individuals. Whatever people are wearing and doing in the video， through the glasses， they are all stereotyped by their country and culture. There are ten examples of stereotypes in the video： behind the glasses， the Irish are drinking freely with each other； Indians are dancing distinctively； the passionate Italian man is kissing a woman； Arabs are very rich that they are throwing their money everywhere； Poles are stealing a car； Spaniards like bullfighting and people in the countries which along the Danube Basin are waltzing under the music the Blue Danube. Whats more， which impressed me most were the three stereotypes of America， France， and Africa. Behind the glasses， the America wearing a baseball cap is eating hamburger and drinks coke in large mouths， which reflects the American unique fast food culture. The French boy holds wine in one hand and croissants in the other， both of which are typical French foods， representing French wine culture and baking characteristic. The most extreme stereotype is the racial discrimination against black people. It treats black people as primitive indigenous people and gives them a very low social status. Just as Europeans think Poles often do something sneaky， Americans think blacks often do bad things.

Actually， as for me， I once stereotyped Indians， Arabs， Spaniards and their countries in a similar way. Firstly， at the mention of Italy， I would think of pasta and pizza， which are representative foods of Italy. Secondly， for French， in my view， it is the capital of art where has Eiffel towers and lavender， and the French are very romantic. Then， I have never thought that Africans are indigenous people. I think they should be treated the same as ordinary people are. We cannot discriminate against them because of the difference in color. Finally， because I am not very familiar with the cultural features of other countries， I dont treat the Irish， Poles and people near the Danube Basin with the tinted glasses.

For Chinese stereotypes， foreigners usually think that we are conservative and are not good at expressing our emotions. There is no doubt that Chinese are indeed introverted and not as open as foreigners. However， with the progress of the country， the Chinese thought have become more and more developed and can easier to accepted new things.

The other stereotype， which makes me very angry， is that foreigners always lock down on the quality of the Chinese， and think we are uncivilized and ungracious. In many foreign attractions， “Keep Silence”， “No Scribbling”， “Please flush the toilet” and so on， are clearly marked in Chinese in order to remind us. Whats more， there is a Chinese slogan “Forbidden to urinate anywhere” outside the Louvre in France. In my view， the stereotypy has risen to the national discrimination. This is an insult and disrespect for the Chinese people. At present， our country is paying attention to strengthening quality education of the people. Meanwhile， we will take actual actions to prove our quality to the world and thus correct peoples stereotypes.

In our daily life， it is impolite to stereotype others directly. Some stereotypes are over-simplified， over-generalized and some of them are half-truth， distortion， and other untrue premises， so they may result in prejudice and discrimination. Everyone has their own characteristics， it will be better for us to contact more with them to understand them well. Fewer stereotypes will reduce fewer misunderstandings and increase more kindness. We should contact more with them to know their characteristic well. Everyone has a pair of stereotyping glasses. Its your choice of how to deal with it. Now， I will choose to throw it away， how about you？