Stereotype

[noun] a standardized and usually oversimplified conception held in common by many people (i.e., the assumptions that black people are good at sports, Jewish people are stingy, and women are bad drivers.)

[verb] to make an assumption about a person, group, place, or thing based on a standardized and usually oversimplified conception held in common by many.

Ex: Carmen assumed her gay boss dressed neatly based on the stereotype that gay men care a lot about physical appearance.

Ex: When the blonde girl walked into the store, the clerk immediately stereotyped her as dumb.

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Take a look around you—words are everywhere! On TV and the radio, in magazines and newspapers, online, at school, in the mall, even at sporting events. Many people are trying to give us information, and they’re using words to do it. Of course, that seems fairly obvious; how else would someone try to tell you something, right? But have you ever stopped to think about why people choose certain words? Have you ever wondered why they might have picked those specific words to communicate their messages?

Consider, for example, the multip...

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Power Words

Stereotype