The Collegian

Issue date: 3/17/06 Section: No Limits

Media Credit: James Snyder Name That Stereotype

Today I am going to overindulge in the erroneous, callous act of "stereotyping." The reason for my particular bias on this subject is a simple phrase that was projected toward me earlier this week.

I was asked what CDs I had in my car, but when I rattled off a bunch of random artists, I received this response from a voice that speaks ignorance: "But Pam, you're one of those rocker chicks; you guys don't listen to that kind of stuff."

"You guys" is the phrase that caught my attention. I had just been signed, sealed, and delivered in a little brown paper package labeled, "rocker chick," and truthfully, I found it embarrassing.

This phenomenon is not uncommon with younger adults and teenagers. No longer is it the hemp, peace signs and war protests our mothers and fathers had become accustomed to.

With each generation their heartbeats became stronger and more abrupt. Today could be considered some of the most extreme in self-expressionism of our nation's history. However, We still have the 80's teen movie clichés.

Is this possibly where the stereotypes originated? Ah no, I believe it was much, much earlier on in the world of humans that we started to create groups, identities and thus birthed the stereotype.

From the "rockers" to the "hippies" to the "mods," there are countless labels where we each store our own interpretation. The movie "SLC Punk" has a rather humorous interpretation of the different groups and how each beats the other. There are indeed those who find that cubbyhole and nestle themselves comfortably under its label; they find flattery in being called their chosen label. But I realized early on that even beautiful, fat and ugly are stereotypes as well. As much as any of these words is descriptive, it is also a comfort zone for some people.

So let's talk labels. There are hundreds of them, but I'd like to capture the essence of what I've found true to these next stereotypes:

The Scene Kid: This is the easiest of many species to spot in a crowd, usually donning a tight shirt and pants-well, tight everything. Over- dyed, over-gelled, over-spiked hair. Big belt buckle, black "X" across top of hand. Usually a Band T-shirt and black hoodie.

Continued...

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