Please what is the meaning of stereotype in a simple way? can you give me examples? can you give me synonyms?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) Your question is a hot potato, as we say in the United States. (Well. at least some of us older people do.) Hot potato = a super controversial subject that people do not want to discuss.
(2) The word
stereotype is used in a negative sense, as one of the posters explained
in his
excellent post. If you come to the United States, never repeat in public any of
those stereotypes that were mentioned in his post. If you do, you will hurt some
people's feelings. There are some stereotypes that are so powerful that you will
lose your job if you say them out loud; and if you say them to certain people, those
people may physically attack you!
(3) Of course, a few people feel that a stereotype is nothing more than a
generalization. If 75% of Group X eats only vanilla ice cream, can we say that
most Group Xers eat only vanilla ice cream? If you do, many people will accuse you
of stereotyping Group X!
(4) Thus you should do what most people do: keep your opinions to yourself. If you
think that a certain group does. indeed, have a large percentage of members who
act in a similar way (especially in a bad way), do not say anything.