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stereotype

Definition of Stereotype

(noun) The characterization of a group of people as sharing the same behavior and features.

Stereotype Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ster·e·o·type

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /stAIR-ee-uh-tiep/
  • British English – /stE-riuh-tiep/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈstɛrioʊˌtaɪp/
  • British English – /ˈstɪərɪətaɪp/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: stereotypes
  • A type of exception fallacy.

Related Quotations

  • Ageism, like other expressions of prejudice, may have some foundation in reality. Statistically speaking, old people are more likely than young people to be mentally and physically impaired. But we slip into ageism when we make unwarranted generalisations about an entire category of people, most of whom do not conform to the stereotypes” (Macionis and Plummer 2012:418).
  • “Prejudice against the elderly is prominent. The elderly are often thought of as childlike and thus incapable of adult responsibility. Prejudice relegates people to a perceived lower status in society and stems from the stereotypes associated with different age groups” (Andersen and Taylor 2011:92).
  • “There’s another part to sexism: assumptions about the other sex that are based on stereotypes even if you don’t believe these stereotypes have targeted women, let’s be clear that we’re no fans of stereotypes about men—that we’re naturally violent, that we only want sex, that we’re incompetent when it comes to looking after babies. Of course these sexist stereotypes are just as likely to be pushed by men as women, but all sexism sucks” (Kaufman and Kimmel 2011:144).

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Additional Information

Related Terms


References

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Kaufman, Michael, and Michael S. Kimmel. 2011. The Guy’s Guide to Feminism. Berkeley, CA: Seal Press.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

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Cite the Definition of Stereotype

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “stereotype.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/stereotype/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

stereotype. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/stereotype/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “stereotype.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/stereotype/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“stereotype.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/stereotype/>.