While simply practicing her sport, junior Nyla Garrick encountered racist remarks from commonly muttered stereotypes about Black Americans.
“I was swimming [during] water polo, [and] we were warming up, and [this kid] was like, ‘Yo Nyla. I thought Black people couldn’t swim,”’ Garrick said. “In my head, I’m like, ‘Damn. Do you know how many kids are out here in this water with me? And you’re just gonna say that, and then proceed to walk away after, [like] you didn’t say that to me?’”
Remarks like these reinforce harmful stereotypes based on race, perpetuating assumptions about individuals solely due to their background
“A lot of first impressions [are] based off of when you first see [a person],” said senior Quincy Romero. “And one of the easiest things to see about people is race, and going off of that, you [might] try to guess what the person is like.”
Garrick has been no stranger to stereotypes about her own race that circulate through the media and even from student to student.
“I’ve heard that Black men are more aggressive and violent,” Garrick said. “And even that black women are controlling. I’ve heard that a lot, even though I don’t see it within my family.”
Garrick has also been privy to stereotypes that are attributed to other groups, but finds them to be true only in some cases.
“I have heard [that] Hispanic girls are toxic, and they look for fights, [while] Hispanic men are cheaters,” Garrick said. “Even though [these] things [might] be true, they’re going to be true within the human race in general.”
At the same time, many TV shows and movies have made efforts to include more diverse casting choices. However, when implemented poorly, some find these choices can simplify characters down to one-dimensional walking stereotypes.
“There’s been an increase in representation in different fields,” Romero said. “Sometimes shows or movies have this token minority to be like, ‘hey, look, we got a minority. Come watch our movie.’ Whereas some are like the movie “Black Panther,” where it was an actual representation of the race’s culture and heritage. Rather than just having a Black character to have a Black character, they had a personality and individuality.”
The prevalence of racial stereotypes today, especially in online spaces, has also led many to begin viewing certain ethnic groups as more favorable for dating than others.
“People have specific preferences based off what they’ve seen off the internet,” said freshman Alma Monzon. “A lot of people have picked Asian men now because … they’ve seen TikToks where people have these dreamy versions [of Asian] men.”
It can be easy for many to develop an image of a whole race based on a limited amount of information found online. Others may have warped views of a group as a whole because they expect every single person within a group to act a certain way.
“People [may have] Asian fetishes because a lot of Asian people are shorter [and they think they] can control them,” said senior Charles McWhorter.
Expecting some groups to look a certain way because of pre-existing notions about their race can put pressure on younger people to strive towards unrealistic standards.
“People are expecting Hispanics or Latino people to look [a] specific [way and] if the women don’t look like these hot, hourglass copy and paste Latinas, they don’t want them,” Monzon said. “People often want these really hard to reach [standards] … and at a young age … you’re already getting put on this pedestal.”
As individuals navigate their social life, stereotypes will influence their perceptions in ways that affect everyday interactions, media portrayals, and personal expectations, shaping how people view and relate to one another.
“At the end of the day, people can say as much as they want,” Romero said. “They can say, ‘oh yeah, I don’t discriminate by race’, but it’s completely different when [you’re] putting it into action and actually making a change and living up to the words that you say.”
