Stereotype and Diversity

Stereotyping as we know, is a double-edged sword. It can be a highly effective method of creating a character, but it can also be offensive and/or insensitive. But when you look at stereotyping in comics, animated film or television, and video games, personally I do not believe it is a necessity; However, I don’t believe that it is something we need to do away with either.

The Oxford dictionary definition of stereotype is: “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” So naturally, when it comes to individuality, it is unfair, in both entertainment and real life. Though I personally see no harm in using it as a method of establishing a character who later breaks free from those preconceived assumptions, or to create a simple and humorous collection of background characters.

  A stereotype isn’t based on a false idea of a certain group of people, and it’s hard to argue against the existence of “stereotypical people” within our culture. If a stereotype wasn’t based on a collection of true facts, it wouldn’t be used, because it wouldn’t make sense. A stereotype is an unfair thing to apply to anyone of any race, and that unfairness doesn't fail to reach all races either. Most rational people who see a black character in a comic book, realize that most black people don’t love watermelon more than anything, or walk with their pants halfway down. Just as any sensible person realizes that most white girls aren’t complete ditzes, and don’t only live off Starbucks.

An interesting thing I’ve noticed about the pursuit of civil rights, is how far off the mark we've gotten. Don’t get me wrong, diversity of race, culture, and ideas can be great, but when we make things like diversity of race our main focus in everything we do, that’s where things become counterproductive. If you really look closely at the progressive approach to diversity, it has simply become a “checkbox”. A “checkbox” that schools and businesses now use as a method to claim immunity against accusations of racism, regardless of whether genuine racism exists in those paces or not. Diversity has now become a gauge by which our culture  determines whether or not someone or something is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. They look at it as a set of rules to follow, thus turning people of minority groups into playing cards. People become things. Not necessarily objects, but things. Rather than people, rather than individuals, we simply become a “black man/woman” a “white man/woman”, an “asian man/woman” and so on. We are reduced down to only what people can see about us for others to make judgements — And that’s what’s so counterproductive about the progressive’s approach to diversity. It rewires us to look only outwardly at others and ourselves as part of a race, and not as an individual.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words were this — “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” — Is that not the end goal of abolishing racism and racially based stereotypes? So why do we spend so much time focussing on the color of our skin and separating ourselves accordingly? I share Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. To one day look at every man, woman and child, not as a member of a specific race, creed, or way of life, but rather as an individual, unique, complex human being.