What are social stereotypes?
Throughout history, social stereotypes have become an unavoidable and intricate part of our society. They are seen everyday and everyone continues to keep them alive even if they do not know it. People’s perceptions of others are engrained in their minds from a young age, and it is hard to change these views, even when we know they are wrong. An few examples of social stereotypes are "all engineers are nerds", "professional athletes are snobs", "all fraternity members drink", or in the case of the Harry Potter houses, "Gryffindors are brave and courageous", "Slytherins are all dark wizards". These stereotypes can be hurtful and untrue. People who join groups end up feeling like they need to embrace that groups stereotype to feel accepted, even if it is not something that they want to embrace.
Are these stereotypes avoidable?According to my research and a close analysis of the Harry Potter series, they are not. Group interaction inevitably leads to a full embodiment of that stereotype. Neville Longbottom goes from a shy, introverted kid who never would have fit into the brave and courageous Gryffindor stereotype, to the most brave person in the series. After being placed in Gryffindor, Neville knows he must conform to the Gryffindor stereotype in order to be fully accepted into that group. Neville wants to enjoy his time at Hogwarts, and the only way to do that is through embodying the ideals of Gryffindor. Click here to learn more: The Research
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