In the communication field, a stereotype is an over-simplified representation of a social group, a thing or a concept. It is commonly shared by a culture or a group. 

The silhouette of a woman in a black alley

What is a stereotype?

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​The ambivalence of stereotypes

​Stereotypes are useful and necessary for our brains to simplify and comprehend the complexity of the world around us. They are part of the very functioning of our brain, which needs to classify and ‘put into boxes’ the numerous pieces of information it receives every day. Social categorisations can promote social cohesion by facilitating communication between individuals who share the same codes and by promoting identification with a social group.

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​Beyond their social utility, stereotypes become problematic when they are exploited to disqualify a social group or idea.

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The coarse features of stereotypes make the nuances of reality disappear and encourage prejudice, or even discrimination and hate against certain social groups, or promote false ideas that prevent a correct understanding of reality. 

From stereotypes to...​

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is the unfair or unequal treatment of a person based on personal characteristics. 

Discrimination

is a negative attitude or opinion based on preconceived notions, unfounded judgments or stereotypes.​

Prejudice​

What stereotypes are attached to males and females? What societal norms and patterns do these stereotypes support?

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Essentialization​

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consists of considering that the characteristics associated with a category of people are innate, ‘that there is an underlying essence to the members of the group or, in other words, the idea of a common natural trait that would unite all the member’.

For example, it is common to hear that women are ‘naturally’ more gentle, calmer, more patient, without taking into account that ‘the specificity of each gender is largely a social construction, partly defined by media models and taken up in the social field, and vice versa.’(Collard, 2017)​

For example, if a woman has a car accident, it will be assumed that it is because she is a woman (categorisation) and that women are bad drivers (essentialising stereotype), without taking any further interest in the context surrounding the accident.

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