When people find out I am from Australia they often imagine I am attractive, blond, tall, athletic, sporty, love surfing and love sports. They imagine I live in a sunny climate near the coast. They would be wrong on every account except being attractive!! Not!

Every culture and country has so many stereotypes, some can be true and some not.

Mental health is full of stereotypes. If there was a person with a mental illness they were often portrayed as being dangerous.

Many people shy away from the idea of making decisions based on stereotypes. Why? Stereotype has a bad connotation. A stereotype is simply a generalisation about how a group of people behaves. It may be statistically accurate but not always valid.

Many believe we should not make decisions on an individual based on a stereotype, even if it is statistically accurate. 

Age requirements. Most accept that a person should be a certain age to vote or drive a car. Neither is based on universally valid generalisations: Some 25-year-olds should not be voting, and some 16-year-olds would be competent to do so.

How, then, should we think about stereotypes? When a stereotype moves into racism, I think it has gone too far. Can you think of a stereotype people have thought about you or that you have thought about others. Was it true? Does it matter?

Leah 

A Moodscope member