How stereotypes come about

• How stereotypes come about
  

  

  Martin

  
  

  Hi all,
  Something happened last night which I thought might be worth discussing here.
  On the train home from work this dude got on next to me - he had absolutely fantastic hair, shiny and well cared for. I was debating whether to comment on his fantastic hair but I'm glad I didn't because he almost immediately started behaving in a hostile manner (swearing, threatening people, mood swings from rage to laughter back to rage etc). However none of this was directed toward me.
  He got off at the next station but I noticed a couple of people looking anxiously at me out of the corners of their eyes, probably wondering whether I'm going to start behaving like that too, and I realized that this incident is going to reinforce everyone's negative perception of long haired men.

  You could have ten incidents like this, nine could involve shorthairs and one a longhair and it's the latter which people will remember most. I think this is because, firstly, longhairs are already perceived negatively and second, because the long hair is something noticable and "unusual" enough that it sticks more in people's minds.
  What do you all think?

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  • Re: How stereotypes come about
    

    

    ChrisG

    
    

    That must have felt weird I bet! I'm just imagining after the other guy gets out and you're left with a "hey don't look at me" expression. Its not really funny I guess but the way you described it made it seem so. You're just good at describing the situation I guess :)

    You're right that some people might have made that leap from that guys behavior to his longhair to yours. If somebody who doesn't get (understand) longhair and also doesn't know anything about mental illness they might well put these 2 unknown variables together as related. I'm sure any other things that that guy had in common with you or other people on the train were overlooked because they were "normal" (as in understandable to the other people)characteristics, like what color or type of shoes he wore, or his clothing, or even his accent.

    I think that other stereotypes about longhairs also come about this way probably, and even weird misconceptions connecting being gay and longhair. People lump two things they dont get together. What do you guys think causes these misconceptions?

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  • I Agree n/t
    

    

    Raul

    
    

    Hi all,
    Something happened last night which I thought might be worth discussing here.
    On the train home from work this dude got on next to me - he had absolutely fantastic hair, shiny and well cared for. I was debating whether to comment on his fantastic hair but I'm glad I didn't because he almost immediately started behaving in a hostile manner (swearing, threatening people, mood swings from rage to laughter back to rage etc). However none of this was directed toward me.
    He got off at the next station but I noticed a couple of people looking anxiously at me out of the corners of their eyes, probably wondering whether I'm going to start behaving like that too, and I realized that this incident is going to reinforce everyone's negative perception of long haired men.

    You could have ten incidents like this, nine could involve shorthairs and one a longhair and it's the latter which people will remember most. I think this is because, firstly, longhairs are already perceived negatively and second, because the long hair is something noticable and "unusual" enough that it sticks more in people's minds.
    What do you all think?

    reply close reply form
  • Re: How stereotypes come about
    

    

    LukeB

    
    

    You could have ten incidents like this, nine could involve shorthairs and one a longhair and it's the latter which people will remember most. I think this is because, firstly, longhairs are already perceived negatively and second, because the long hair is something noticable and "unusual" enough that it sticks more in people's minds.
    What do you all think?

    Mmmm, I don't think it's as clear cut as that. I guess it depends on your facial appearance. Long or short hair, your face is a real contributor to other people's perception, trust me, I know. Whilst I don't consider myself ugly, I do have (it would seem) a very expressive face that reveals my thoughts the instant anyone speaks to me. If I'm the slightest bit unhappy with what they say to me, my face changes without my knowledge and people analyse me. This happens all the time which irritates me greatly, but I digress...

    What I'm saying is, some longhairs don't look the slightest bit threatening, while some short hairs look bitter and angry and ready to rip your head off. So I don't think having long hair is automatically the reason you'd experience this animosity. Sometimes, yes, but not always.

    Luke

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