Overcoming Prejudice: Challenging Cheerleader Stereotypes

Ever since I was little, I have had a stereotype against cheerleaders. In my mind, no matter who they are, or even what they look like, I just assume they are mean. This feeling somewhat stems from the experiences I have had with cheerleaders in both middle and high school. In middle school, I remember that if you were not a cheerleader guys would have absolutely no interest in you, and if you were in a class with a group of the cheerleaders, they would always form a group and exclude everyone else.

In high school however, a more significant experience happened that again lead to this stereotype, I had been nominated for the homecoming court over a few cheerleaders who had assumed they were going to get on it, and I overheard them saying that no one on the court deserved it. At that moment it was as if all the unjustified reasons I had previously thought about them being mean, had been justified.

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One of the ways I continue to maintain this stereotype is through the process of subtyping. Subtyping is just a way of taking the people who do not fit the stereotype and giving them their group. For me, every time I would meet a nice cheerleader I would essentially create a group of exceptions to my stereotype. This is essentially just me saying that if someone does not fit into this mean cheerleader stereotype, then I assume that they do not fit the mold or they are different, but I still do not debunk the original stereotype I have.

Another way that I maintain this stereotype is through the process of fundamental attribution errors. Fundamental attribution errors are a way that judges someone based on an internal personality trait rather than judging their response to a specific situation or event. In my stereotype of cheerleaders being mean, I have never thought of the underlying reason as to why they would have presented themselves in meaningful ways. I had always just assumed it was a direct reflection of their inner characteristics. However, I never thought about a personal issue or life change altering their personality, they could have been broken up with, or their parents could have grounded them; regardless of the exact cause, I was ignorant to the fact that their behavior could stem from anything other than an internal disposition.

The last way I continued to maintain this stereotype is through the process of illusory correlation. This process is a way of creating correlations that do not or very rarely exist. It can be easy to exaggerate these correlations if the only people someone encounters fit the desired stereotype. It also demonstrates how in life, the negative experiences tend to make the biggest impact on someone's life, and subsequently their overall opinions. In my life, every time I had these bad situations with cheerleaders, I would ignore the fact that for every one bad experience there were potentially ten good experiences I had paid no attention to.

After analyzing all the ways I have continued to maintain this stereotype against cheerleaders, I have realized that this negative stereotype has only been the result of very few interactions. I had never really allowed my brain to take in or even pay attention to all the nice cheerleaders I was coming into contact with every day. Going forward, I hope my knowledge of how I have maintained this stereotype, and where the generalizations come from, can help me turn away from my belief in this stereotype. I hope that I can think about all the kind and nice cheerleaders I have known and go forward in my life as to not so judge a person's individual personality based on their reaction to a singular event. ,