Stereotypes, Shmereotypes

The Pavlenko article from class references a divide between ‘old immigrants’ and ‘new immigrants.’ I had not previously thought about it, but it makes sense. Those who came to the United States before 1880 distinguished themselves from the newcomers, creating two different sects of immigrants. Below these there were also linguistic and cultural divides that led to the creation of cultural neighborhoods that procreated with their own kind—which is essentially why I am related to half of Belleville, IL.

In the Holliday book the phrase ‘postmodernism’ is used. It describes the period we are in now where we can’t quite use the phrases of yester-year to describe who we are and our background because they are not quite relevant anymore. 50 years ago someone could say they are an Irish-Catholic from Chicago and it meant that they were strictly of Irish heritage, likely racist, and very Catholic. Nowadays, the same turn of phrase means you are a good bit Irish in ancestry but do not follow Celtic traditions, probably go to Church on Christmas and Easter and are from a big city. Frames of reference are changing. This is to say that when you hear a characteristic of someone, what you recollect about that characteristic is not as standard as it used to be. A small-town guy may not swim in the ‘crik,' drive his International Harvester to school and have the same last name as half his town. A more open-minded culture has blended the edges of cultures in our country to the point where stereotypes, although recognized for a reason, are not true across the board.

Another reason to open our minds to larger frames of reference is the tale of Ming and Zhang, two Chinese students in an American school. Confucianism has traditionally bound students to be quieter in classrooms by not questioning those of authority. One student translated this to mean not asking questions in class, which falls in line with the traditional stereotype that Asian students are quiet. However, the other student explained to the teacher how this traditional view has been shifted and classrooms in China are now more open to class discussions. After a stereotype is broken, it is hard to keep other stereotypes from also loosening up.

I grew up in a pretty racist town (shout out to Mahomet, IL!) and when I moved to Rantoul, IL, was shocked. My current hometown is 1/3 White, 1/3 Black, and 1/3 Hispanic. We also have a growing Asian population. I was shocked my first summer living there-I had no idea there could be so many African-Americans in one place. My old Junior High of 600 students had 3 Black-ish kids. Walking through the isles of the town IGA (think Jewel Osco) I heard more Spanish than ever before. I also met my first Jewish kid-and he didn’t have a big nose or speak Yiddish. Through that change in my life, my frame of reference was greatly altered. Although some stereotypes can be used as background information, I try to avoid them at all costs. Especially now at a University, in a place as large as Bloomington-Normal and after having studied abroad, it can be very difficult to generalize a group of people. And it should be-we are not generic!

Everyone has a different back-story, even from the same neighborhood. I am from a town of 12,000 documented residents but have still managed to not live on a farm, wrestle a greased pig or kiss my cousin.

¡Bienvenidos!

Hello dear readers :) My name is Monica Garey. I am taking the Cross-Cultural Issues in TESOL class at Illinois State University this spring and will be doing weekly blog responses for the aforementioned class. Vaya con Dios, Monica