THE RAMPANT STEREOTYPES

IT’S NOT OUR REPUTATION THAT PRECEDES US !!!

In my 10 years of marketing experience, I have travelled to almost all parts of India. I have come across people from different cultures, religions & groups. Though their beliefs & customs are often different, but two things have always remained the same. The way they addressed me, “Bhaaji, Oye-Bhape, Chak-de-phatte and sometimes Sardar ji (Sikh, Which I am not)” and the food-dish they all thought I would love- Butter chicken (which I don’t).Doesn’t matter which part of the country I was travelling to; these things have always preceded me. Over the years I have realized that, these types of preconceived notions aren’t just stuck to me, but something or the other is stuck to each on of us. You can observe it in the statements that people make:

• “Wait, what? You are a vegetarian & You don’t drink? You are a fake Punjabi”
• “Ah! You are from South India, so basically you’re a Madrasi … Vannakkam!”
• “Dude, you are so Kanjoos (Stingy), Are you a Sindhi?”
• “Bro! I can’t eat your Gujarati food, you put sugar in everything”

Here the point to ponder is that how people associate some characteristics with a particular religion or group? The answer is because we Stereotype them. 

Yes! it’s the stereotypes that even precede our reputation.

What’s a Stereotype?

Stereotype is a preconceived, generalized and fixed opinion about a particular group of people based upon their Gender, Religion, Ethnic background, Age, Country, Language or even Skin Color etc. If you are considering everyone in the group as being “all the same” and making a judgment about them without knowing them, you are stereotyping.

India’s Obsession with Stereotypes

India’s biggest obsession: Skin color complexion of a person

From “Hum Kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai?” to “Chittiyan Kalaiyaan ve” (Hindi Songs: “I am dark skinned but have a big heart” & “Fair complexioned wrists”)

It’s a widely spread & openly practiced stereotype in the country. The fair skin has all positive virtues & dark skin has all the negative ones associated with it. Need a proof? Watch an advertisement of any fairness product. The person with dark complexion is always depicted as insecure, low on confidence and a total failure in life. s/he starts using the fairness product and transforms into a star performer. Everybody starts respecting & liking the same person, because s/he is fair now. So, in short “Fair is beautiful, confident, worthy & successful” & Dark is just the opposite. People who are looking to get married or are already married will have the first-hand experience of this. How did your family describe the dark-skinned girl/boy they met? Kaali – Kaluti, Baigan Looti (Blacky-black smeared, she robbed the color of an eggplant).

India’s obsession with “Sarkari Naukri” (Public Sector Jobs)

Growing up in a Punjabi middle-class family I knew of only 3 career options- to be a Doctor, Engineer or a getting a Sarkari Naukri. I was told that only these provide stability, social status & a peaceful life.

“There is izzat (dignity) in Sarkari Naukri. Private Company can close any day!!!”

The private sector employees are stereotyped as working 24X7 and having no family life. The Bollywood visualized boss treats them as servants, and they have no izzat (dignity) at all. Today millions of the educated & unemployed youth in India prefer a taiyaari for sarkari naukari (preparation for selection exams) over the private sector jobs. And The odds of getting public sector jobs are shrinking every year, as per the data published in a study by CES*, Uttar Pradesh government received 23 lakh (23,00,000) applications for 368 clerical jobs in 2015. It’s the matter of dignity Afterall.

India’s obsession with person’s fluency in English language

“Dhikra! (dude)…Your ingliss (English) is very good !!!”

Who said language is just a mode for communication? In India English is regarded as ‘a style statement’, ‘status symbol’ or ‘a benchmark of competency’. There is a certain faction of our society that has made English a standard to judge people. Data from the Lok Foundation survey shows that English speakers are richer & more educated. Yes! the Elite class in India prefers English.

Though one must agree that in this globalization era, English has opened the doors to reputed white collar jobs not only in India but across the globe. But one might wonder what is this hullabaloo over one’s social status & command over the English language? Are we still living in the hangover of Colonial Era? In my community one isn’t considered well educated when s/he completes a professional degree or any degree but when s/he starts conversing in English.

India’s obsession with Masculinity

It’s not just the women who are stereotyped, it’s Men too. In our society men too are penalized for not acting in accordance to the Masculinity stereotypes. There are set of norms, ideas & belief one needs to follow in order to BE A MAN.

“Come-on be a man, don’t cry like a girl!”

As prescribed by the Gender police, guys should be physically strong, aggressive, dominant, not exhibiting vulnerability, compassion & modesty. Our film industry has played a major role in glorifying this type of Masculinity- “Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota” (Men don’t feel pain). Failure to comply with these norms leads to being labelled as ‘feminine’, ‘gay’, ‘Transgender’ or ‘Incompetent’. So, guys comply to these masculinity standards seriously, even if you’re using a facial cream make sure it’s Mardon wali cream (cream from men). There is such thing, google it!

Don’t rob someone of his/her individuality!

Remember the school days, when teachers used to punish someone by making him stand on the bench in hands-up position, while others laughed at him. It’s not the punishment that hurt more but the humiliation of being laughed at. Similar is the impact of being stereotyped, it can make people anxious. It feels like the spotlight is on them all the time and the others are noticing their flaws, making jokes on their appearance, gender, culture & religion. They can’t focus their full attention on the jobs, studies or whatever they do. It makes them doubt their decisions, that might lead to decrease in the performance & low self-confidence.

These stereotypes are planted deeply into our subconscious mind. It come as natural thoughts, hence never put your responses on the auto-pilot mode. It’s good to keep a conscious check on the responses, get to know more about the individual before you make a perception. Treat Everyone as an Individual so that stereotyping & prejudice doesn’t lead you to discrimination. Remember:

“We aren’t the derivative of our group averages?”

Those who say otherwise don’t believe them. They might have their own interests behind glorifying a stereotype. Many big businesses are built around these stereotypes like- Fairness products, English coaching centers, Coaching centers for Competition Exams, even political campaigns are also run based on the widely prevalent stereotypes.

So, what do you think about stereotypes? Have you encountered any stereotype related to your religion, skin color, gender or region? Do share with us.

References:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html

Between Aspiration & Despair- Government jobs & the predicament of the educated unemployed, A study by Center for Equity Studies* by Usman Jawed Siddiqi & Anirban Bhattacharya

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/in-india-who-speaks-in-english-and-where-1557814101428.html

Blog image- Burning House- Pixabay & Car accident- Unsplash