Stereotype Response: Jiwon Ha

What stereotypes do people have about you?

Not all people hold this particular stereotype about me, but since my other group members have already written every possible type of streotype (: bloodtype, ethnicity...), I am going to talk about the streotype I "gained" due to my appearance. Here in TCIS, teachers and students do not judge students or peers by how they dress or how they look, compared to Korean society. Ever since I've come to TCIS, I started to be more conscious about my appearance than when I attended Korean school. Also in my sophomore year, I pierced my ear. And recently I dyed my hair to light brown. These changes seem to bother nobody here in TCIS, however, it seems to bother everyone I know in Cheongju, where I live. When I pierced my ears, all my friends from middle school, which was Korean public school, were shocked by my "rebellious" action. I didn't make a big deal out of me piercing my ears for most girls in TCIS have thier ears pierced. But for my friends who go to Korean highschool in a small city, ear-piercing is rather taken as an extraordinary, rebellious action, which is only done by troublemakers. So I had to confront my close friends' condemnationm all of sudden only because I got a hole in my ear. When I dyed my hair, too, I was caught in similar situation. My grandparents were mad at me for dying my hair. They somehow concluded that I am not studying hard enough. These streotypes I suffered through are due to the culture differences between TCIS community, which is more Americanized, and Korean society, which is more conservative.

What stereotypes do you have about other people?

Although I've experienced same streotypes, I often judge others by their appearance. Whenever I see a person with five ear piercings on each ear or dyed bright yellow hair, I unconsciously make an assumption that the person must be a troublemaker. Of course, that is not true at all.

Another huge streotype I have about other people is the bloodtype. I sometimes get offended when other people make weird assumptions about me only because my bloodtype is A, but I also tended to make assumptions about others according to their bloodtype.

Moreover, I have a racist streotype which I know is wrong but just can't help it. When I was living in the States, I've met many mexicans who are very rude and noisy. I know there must be some nice mexicans as well, but I ended up having a bad stereotype about Mexicans. So, whenever I see something related to Mexico, I just think of it negative.

Are stereotypes beneficial or harmful? Why do you think this?

I think stereotypes are harmful in most cases, because they usually limit your thinking. With streotypes stuck in the back of your head, you just can't help making wrong assumptions and unfair judgments. Yet sometimes streotypes can be beneficial, too, when they are right.