::: this is the essay that I mentioned earlier :::
It seems that stereotyping, with all of its -isms, is alive and thriving despite enormous efforts to change people’s views. I often hear people say things like, “I am not racist, but…” or: “I am not being Anti-Semitic, but…” and then go on to say something racist or Anti-Semitic.
This is particularly troubling to me because I have participated in many events in an effort to change public views and policies. I have rallied against the KKK, protested the nomination of an ultra-conservative to the U.S. Supreme Court, marched for Gay and Lesbian rights, and helped coordinate buses that traveled across the nation for the first unfolding of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. With my mother, I demonstrated against the outrageous cost of the senior Bush’s inauguration, and I have marched for peace, for choices, and for human rights. I have invested a great deal of time and energy working for the rights of Americans, a piece of which is shedding light on the misinformation that leads to stereotyping.
Stereotyping disturbs me whenever I observe it, yet it is especially appalling when it finds a home in an institute of higher education. College is where students learn about the world, where horizons can be expanded, and a place where students learn how to become better citizens of the world. I envision college professors as those charged with leading students towards those ends. In stark contrast with that ideal, however, one of my professors frequently exposes her ignorance by encouraging stereotypes and racist and homophobic ideologies in the classroom. Particularly absurd is the fact that Lily White is a professor of Speech Communication, using a textbook that makes clear the importance of understanding that people have many ways of being, different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. One chapter features a discussion about stereotypes, and another focuses on cultural differences. Both include evaluation exercises, designed to help students look at their own beliefs and behaviors, and to learn to monitor and even change any distorted ways of thinking they might have.
To demonstrate that “we stick to our own kind,” Professor White brought a stereotype to life before our eyes and then failed to dispel the myth with facts. Professor White selected two male students to stand on either side of the classroom aisle. One of the men, a slender Caucasian fellow, stood to the left, and the other, who is very muscular with brown skin, stood to the right. Professor White moved down the aisle so that she was facing them from several feet away. She asked the class, “Now, if I was walking down the street alone at night, and these men were on either side, as I have them here, which side would I go to?” First there was silence, and then someone offered, “To the side with the muscular guy?” Professor White rolled her eyes and said, “No! I would go to the side that this guy is on!” pointing to the Caucasian man, “Because he looks familiar to me! He looks like people I went to school with, like people in my neighborhood!” Then as a second thought, she added, “I’m sure he’s really nice,” pointing to the brown man, “but he doesn’t look like people I know. See? We tend to stick to our own kind. It’s nothing against people who look different, we just feel safer with people who seem familiar.” With that, the stereotyping lecture had become a how-to lesson, and I had a quick mental image of the class donning white sheets and hoods for a fieldtrip. Well, not everyone, of course — just those who matched the sheets.
Stunned, I asked Professor White, “Exactly who is my own kind? Who is in that group?” She gave me a tired look, eyes rolling up towards the sky like Jesus painted on cheap velvet, and said, “Does he,” pointing to the brown man, “look like someone you went to school with? Or does he?” with emphasis, pointing to the white man.
“They both look like guys I went to school with,” I said. “They both look like friends of mine.” With a snort as her reply, the lesson was over.
Another time, as we discussed cultural differences, Professor White mentioned a practice common in some cultures wherein people, including men, kiss one-another on both cheeks in greeting. Not to have their masculine sensibilities betrayed, several of the men in class shouted, “No way! If I was over there and a man came up and kissed me, I’d punch him in the face!” Now my eyes were rolling upward as I silently begged God to please step in and stop the madness, but God stayed out of it, and a shouting match ensued. Soon enough we’d stepped right into that creepy land where straight men protest just a little too much about something they’ve perceived to be Gay. I begged Professor White to explain that this was all contextual, even that men embracing one-another is fine, that Gay men embracing is fine, for crying out loud, and that this was out of hand. She ignored me, and it continued on, Professor White breaking into laughter as she asked the men if, for example, they didn’t ever hug or kiss the cheeks of their fathers. None of them had ever, in their entire lives, touched any other man unless there was an outdoor sport involved. That the preferred sport in this instance is one in which the players wear snug fitting, shiny pants and pat each other’s hinies for encouragement made it even more ridiculous, if not a smidge hypocritical.
As the class began to simmer down, one of our classmates announced that she is Lesbian and requested that we watch what we say about Gay people, or she might be offended. Obviously anticipating another demonstration along the lines of the “we stick with our own kind” lesson, this student was alerting us ahead of time, and who could blame her? But ahead it went, and before you could say “stereotypical homophobic nonsense,” we were listening to Professor White tell us about Gayness. She pointed out that the self-identified Lesbian student does, in fact, look like a Lesbian. However, if the good Professor was out with one of her girl (space) friends, nobody would mistake them for Lesbians - it would be different, as she is so very feminine. However, if the Lesbian student were out with a girl (space) friend, it might be confusing due to the appearance of the student - one would not be able to tell if they were girl (space) friends, or girlfriends. I pointed out that there are many Lesbians who are quite feminine and many straight women who are not, but it was lost in the voices of dissent.
The semester is still young, so who can say what lesson will be next? I can only imagine, though, that somewhere right this minute, someone is denying the very behavior that they’re acting out, later saying, “I’m not being racist, but…” And from whom did they learn such things? With Professor White and others like her bringing stereotypes and
“-isms” to the classroom, the lessons of the past continue to be taught. It is unfortunate that these are not lessons learned from past horrors, but instead lessons based upon past beliefs and condoned by people in leadership positions by their very actions.
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