Stereotypes

Stereotypes

"Reflect ideas that groups of people hold about others who are different from them.

A stereotype can be embedded in single word or phrase (such as, "jock" or "nerd"), an image, or a combination of words and images. The image evoked is easily recognized and understood by others who share the same views.

Stereotypes can be either positive ("black men are good at basketball") or negative ("women are bad drivers"). But most stereotypes tend to make us feel superior in some way to the person or group being stereotyped. Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of individuals by painting all members of a group with the same brush."

-(http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/toolkit/stereotypes/what_are_stereotypes.cfm)

 This quote about stereotypes does a good job of explaining what stereotypes are and why they exist. Stereotypes are a product of prejudice, people make generalizations about specific groups to make themselves look more powerful to others. There is no such thing as a good stereotype though, saying one is positive means that it isn't a stereotype making fun of a specific diversity but rather a generalization about a whole diversity that isn't true.