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American Identity Stereotypes

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American Identity Stereotypes
American Identities PBL Essay

Stereotypes have shaped the world by pushing those affected by them further and further. Stereotypes can force people to work harder in order to be noticed, and can cause others to be overlooked because the community believes they are just another label. Stereotypes have shaped aspects of everyone’s lives and have definitely shaped mine. The gender stereotype, my appearance in regard to my age, and the social stereotype at school have all been stereotypes that have forced me to work harder in my life. The gender stereotype has definitely forced me to work harder. Although it is not as prominent as it once was, guys and girls are still treated differently. Many people think that they achieve their academic
…show more content…
In my case, it is specifically my appearance in regard to my age. I am very small for my age and I am also one of the youngest students in my grade. This sometimes has caused people to underestimate or overlook me. In addition, it has caused people to overestimate me because they think that since I am younger, I should be really smart. The stereotype has affected how people think I will play violin as well. They assume that since I am younger, I can’t play as well, and it makes me practice harder. It makes me feel good when people are surprised by how well I can play when I’ve only been playing for around six years. The reason that I am a grade ahead than where I’m supposed to be is that when I was in Pre-K, I had a wonderful teacher who saw that I should be moved up because, according to my mother, “[I] was telling the rest of the kids how to do the activity we were supposed to be doing instead of doing it [myself]”. Unfortunately, the director of the school just saw that as misbehavior. She underestimated me because she was close-minded and refused to let me into a higher level simply because of my age. My parents moved me to a different school where they placed me in kindergarten because they didn’t let the age stereotype affect their opinion. My mother also said, “It was really inconsiderate of the administration to call her misbehaving, when it was obvious she was bored at that level and needed to be challenged." This is …show more content…
"Gender Role Stereotyping." Education.com. N.p., 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Used For the Product:
"Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-year-old Girls." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2006. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Edwards, Jim. "A Thin Line: Pretzel Company Uses Anorexics ' Mantra as Ad Slogan." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 9 Aug. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Hoskins, Stephanie. "The Negative Effects of Barbie on Young Girls an the Long Term Results." Divine Caroline. N.p., 2013. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Marine-Street, Natalie. "Stanford Researchers’ Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls." Stanford Researchers ' Cigarette Ad Collection Reveals How Big Tobacco Targets Women and Adolescent Girls. N.p., 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Palmer, Brian. "On Romney 's Odd Complexion: When Did White People Start Tanning?" Slate Magazine. N.p., 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2013.
Roedel, Andrea. "The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man." Thesis. N.d. The Evolution of Masculinity: Marketing and the Appearance of Man. Web. 6 Oct.

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