Introduction
How children and adolescents are taught about race and ethnicity shapes their attitudes toward race and biases associated with the topic. This is why it is important to ensure that these individuals are educated on the topic of ethnicity and diversity, which is something that I did not have when I was growing up. This lack of education has led to me adopting these biases and using them to make judgments about people before getting to know them. This paper will discuss the lessons about race and ethnicity I learned when growing up and the stereotypes that still exist in American society.
Main body
Unfortunately, I grew up in an environment where the community and my social circle did not discuss race from any viewpoint. Hence, I did not adopt a healthy attitude towards race and racial differences when I was a child. I would say that the most important influences on my racial beliefs were my family, community, and schooling. Specifically, I think that the biggest influence on me was the schooling I received and the environment of the middle and high school because there was an evident division between the students.
African-American students would usually make friends with the representatives of their community, and the same pattern was true for Hispanic and Asian-American students. I think that the formation of these small communities was natural since we were not taught about diversity and inclusion. Thus, the way the other students and I viewed the cultural and behavioral differences that prevailed in some communities was influenced by racial bias. It is very unfortunate that when growing up, I did not receive a proper learning experience that would teach me to embrace differences because, in that case, I could communicate with a broader circle of people and network with individuals of different ethnicities, which would culturally enrich me.
The main belief about race and ethnicity that I had when growing up was that having a certain color of skin means belonging to a certain ethnic group. Now I understand that this is a very simplified explanation that fails to account for the many factors, such as upbringing and culture, which are more important in defining one’s ethnicity.
Currently, there are still many stereotypes relating to race in American society; for example, where I grew up, Latino people were considered loud and cheerful. This placed certain expectations regarding the behaviors of the members of this community because others would judge a particular person using these stereotypes and not the behaviors of the individual. Next, a common stereotype about Asian-Americans is that they are intelligent at an above-average level and dedicate most of their free time to studying.
In the article for the American Psychological Association, Abrams addresses some of the critical stereotypes that still affect the Asian-American community to this day (26). The main issue is that this community is often overlooked in the public discussions of race and racial biases. Partially, this may be linked to the fact that Asian-Americans are among the lesser discriminated minorities in the United States; however, this does not mean that there are social stereotypes that shape the attitudes towards this ethnicity. According to Abrams, “Asian Americans report less discrimination in employment, housing, and criminal justice compared with other racial minorities in the United States” (26). Still, they suffer from the bias of other ethnic groups since the latter perceive Asian-Americans as inherently successful and well-adapted to the cultural environment of the state.
The biases towards a certain ethnic group may not be evident at first sight. The specific instances of the bias that Abrams recalls are linked to employment opportunities and the inclusion of this minority in clinical studies (26). For example, the representatives of this ethnicity are more often denied the opportunity to become leaders in organizations when compared to other groups. Moreover, there is a lack of inclusion of this ethnic group in the clinical research and studies, which means that their results cannot be generalized to this population. Abrams notes that “despite the fact that the population has increased by 72% since 2000, making it the country’s fastest-growing racial or ethnic group clinical research efforts focused on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations have made up only 0.17% of the National Institutes of Health budget since 1992” (26). Hence, the bias towards this group and other minorities is reflected in the policies of the government.
Summary
In summary, this paper is an analysis and a reflection of how I learned about race and ethnicity when I was growing up. Unfortunately, I was not educated on this subject until I went to college since there were no lessons dedicated to this subject at my high school. I learned from the social environment at school and in my community, where the divide between ethnicities was evident. To this day, American society is affected by racial bias; for example, Asian-Americans are viewed as well-adapted, intelligent, and successful. However, studies show that this minority group is denied opportunities and is excluded from state-funded research studies.
Work Cited
Abrams, Zara. “Countering Stereotypes about Asian Americans.” American Psychological Association, vol. 50, no. 11, 2019, p. 26.