Stereotypes And Stereotyping: A Moral Analysis

Stereotypes are false or misleading generalizations about groups held in a manner that renders them largely, though not entirely, immune to counterevidence. In doing so, stereotypes powerfully shape the stereotyper's perception of stereotyped groups, seeing the stereotypic characteristics when they are not present, failing to see the contrary of· those characteristics when they are,. and generally homogenizing the group. A stereotyper associates a certain characteristic with the stereotyped._group--forexample Blacks with being athletic-but may do so with a form of cognitive investment in tha( as·sociation that does not rise to the level of a belief in the generalization that Blacks are athletic. The cognitive distortions involved in stereotyping lead to various forms of moral distortion, to which moral philosophers have paid inadequate attention. Some moral distortions are common to all stereotypes-moral distancing, failing to see members of the stereotyped group as individuals, and failing to see diversity within that. group. Other moral distortions vary with the stereotype. Some stereotypes attribute a desirable characteristic to a group (being good students, for example) and, ceteris paribus, are less objectionable than ones. that attribute undesirable characteristics. Yet the larger historical and social context may attach undesirable characteristics to the desirable ones-being boring and overfocused on academic pursuits, for example. The popular film The Passion of the Christ purveys negative stereotypes of Jews that have been historically powerful and damaging along with negative portrayals of Romans that have not . . Although the idea of stere.otype was introduced into English only in the 20 century, it is now widely used in ordinary parlance. In gene~al, to call something a 'stereotype', or to say that someone is engaging in 'stereotyping', is to condemn what is so characterized. Stereotype . generally has. a negative valence. What is .the character of the value judgments accounting for this valence? Are these judgments warranted? Moral philosophers have given scant attention to these questions. Two , fields have dominated the study of stereotypes. Cultural and media studies has examined the content of ailturally salient stereotypes of particular groups, the processes by which these are historically and socially constructed and disseminated throughout society, and the social functions seIVed by stereotypes. Social psychology has looked at the