Stereotypes
This week in Girl Scouts our troop worked on identifying stereotypes. It was a great exercise. In the middle of the page they drew a circle and put their name in it. Around it they put more circles with words that identified them. The next step was to identify stereotypes (if any) that went with those identifying words.
Example (stereotypes in italics):
- Girl X
- Tall = Basketball Player
- Quiet = Shy
- Blonde = Dumb
- Glasses (non designer) = Nerdy smart
They discovered that some stereotypes really did describe who they were, and some did not. Each person was different. They broke into groups of 3 afterwards and discussed with each other what they had found. Some stereotypes made them mad, others they did not care one way or the other. Not every describing word came with a stereotype.
The important thing they learned was to not so quickly judge others, or themselves, by the words that describe them.
What a great exercise!
Donna
I might have to try that!
That's a great exercise! You come up with the best ideas. I've always been blonde and nerdy. I was afraid of the nerdy side so always tried to downplay it and use words that didn't sound lofty. Now I have reading glasses so I don't need to be afraid to be nerdy : )
This sounds like a great exercise. I may do this tomorrow with my 6th grade Cadettes. We're starting the "MEdia" journey to take a closer look at all things media – and stereotypes is right up there in tv and books.
Thanks for the idea 😉