How can I get people to see ME and not my stereotype?

The reason people use stereotypes is because they just don’t know enough about you.Psychologists have actually done research which shows that teens are less likely to pass judgments on a person based on a stereotype if they know more about the person himself. They asked ninth and eleventh graders some questions about who should be allowed to enter clubs or receive scholarships based on which group they hang out with. For some of the questions they also included info like “she is good at basketball” or “he is well liked by teachers” and these little facts made people less judgmental towards the characters. This is something you should remember because a stereotype is not a personal attack it is an overgeneralization.Still, many times it is still just as insulting.

It is obviously not possible to make friends with every kid in your class to avoid being stereotyped. Your classmates don’t know your values, your beliefs, your sense of humor, your favorite book, they actually know very little about you so there is no basis for their opinion of you. In a specific situation you can do your best to get to know the certain person or group a little better and then they can get to know you as well. This keeps both sides from making artificial judgments and may actually lead to a new friendship.

One thing to be careful of is becoming more like the stereotype because another person labeled you. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Say there is a kid named Jon who listens to heavy metal and made friends with a group of guys who he could talk music with. These guys also happen to do drugs. Soon his classmates assume that Jon is a druggie because he hangs out with those kids. Jon figures that he may as well start doing drugs since everyone already thinks he does. This is an extreme scenario but it applies to things like wearing certain clothes or listening to certain music just because you think that this is what everyone else expects of you. You should never let anyone force you into a role.