Stereotyping

I listened to the radio the other day (like you do!), Jeremy Vine had his usual discussion topic on Radio 2 and there were two very pompous sounding individuals discussing (arguing) the topical case of the Tory chief Whip swearing at two policemen. No for those of you who may not know who or what a chief whip is let me elucidate. The chief whip keeps the party in line. That’s it really, not much more to it and I suppose the clue is in the title (although no actual whipping is involved although that would make British politics much more interesting.

The issue for discussion was that he was a cyclist using the motor vehicle exit of parliament and the two individuals on the show used it as a soapbox to either defend or attack cyclists.

The discussion ranged back and forth between the two, one defending the cyclists right to use the road and the other denigrating cyclists as rude and obnoxious however that isn’t really the point I wish to make. The interesting thing which kept me listening was the subject of stereotypes and groupings. Both guests on the show were happy to lump whole sections of the populace into two camps - cyclists and non cyclists and then make broad statements about their behaviours. I believe (I may be wrong) that a large proportion of the listening audience would find themselves siding with one or the other and thus reinforcing the stereotype (even I'm stereotyping there with my assumption).

So is stereotyping wrong. Are you doing an individual a disservice and therefore discriminating if you stereotype them. Do you find yourself stereotyping people and if so how does it make you feel. Well seeing as this is my blog I’ll tell you all about what I think.

Stereotyping is a good thing.

Hmm maybe I should clarify. Stereotyping is a good thing as long as you know you are doing it and also why. I stereotype based on my past experiences, things that I have learned and things that I see (appearance, behaviour etc). I do this to allow me to be prepared to deal with a given situation; whether that be work based or socially. It means I am prepared to respond should the need arise or to avoid contact/interaction. Now the important thing that I need to do, and this is something that I have to consciously do is to react to the stereotype should it be wrong. For instance in my job I have to interact with a wide range of people with different social backgrounds, levels of learning and ethnicity. On contact I have about 15 seconds to adapt to the individual(s) to ensure I communicate effectively. In a previous role I had to routinely interact with board directors and shop floor workers in the factory and there were clear differences in effective communication (and both stereotypes were important to the business of the organisation in different ways).

So back to the first paragraph. A national radio show had two guests that stereotyped whole sections of the UK population on just a single attribute - cycling. And then proceeded to denigrate or defend them irrespective of any other attribute. So maybe I’m wrong and stereotyping is a bad thing. Or maybe media is about money and the discussion wouldn’t have made good radio if the two guests made informed and reasonable comments and therefore maybe the masses (you and me) wouldn’t listen and therefore generate their funds.

Hmm, did I just stereotype media?