''Stereotyped beliefs have the power to become self-fulfilling prophesies for behavior.''
Elizabeth Aries, Professor of Psychology, Amherst College
From her book Men and Women in Interaction, Reconsidering the Differences
The influence of stereotypes can be overwhelming. It is difficult to think of yourself as you really are when everyone and everything claims that you something different. As a "quirky", Black girl it was very difficult to totally be myself. Many of the kids in school thought that I should be listening to rap music, and many were surprised to find me in many of their AP classes and even more surprised that I was just as competent as they were. Sadly, it wasn't always that way. In the beginning, I was the "token black kid". It is a role clearly defined by the media, so it kind of gave me the impression that it was the way for me to behave. You know the girl who is always prepared with a funny comeback, says fun, "urban" exclamations such as "you trippin", and is very concerned with being at the best party on Friday night. To be honest, it wasn't all that difficult to play into that stereotype. I could make that smart comebacks, say all the funny things, and had all the right moves. It was easy because that's all I thought that I could do or wanted to do. It became overbearing when I realized that .And I dropped the act. Some of my friends didn't feel comfortable and slowly stopped hanging out with me. Many stayed but had to some difficulty adapting to the new "Leslie". I had to deal with being called "white girl, or more notably "oreo", innocently and jokingly most of the time. It was difficult. I was trying to be the best me I could, while having others label me as trying to be something I wasn't. I had to realize that as easy as it might be to conform to their ideas of how I should behave and what I should like, I had to be strong enough to be myself.
Elizabeth Aries, Professor of Psychology, Amherst College
From her book Men and Women in Interaction, Reconsidering the Differences
The influence of stereotypes can be overwhelming. It is difficult to think of yourself as you really are when everyone and everything claims that you something different. As a "quirky", Black girl it was very difficult to totally be myself. Many of the kids in school thought that I should be listening to rap music, and many were surprised to find me in many of their AP classes and even more surprised that I was just as competent as they were. Sadly, it wasn't always that way. In the beginning, I was the "token black kid". It is a role clearly defined by the media, so it kind of gave me the impression that it was the way for me to behave. You know the girl who is always prepared with a funny comeback, says fun, "urban" exclamations such as "you trippin", and is very concerned with being at the best party on Friday night. To be honest, it wasn't all that difficult to play into that stereotype. I could make that smart comebacks, say all the funny things, and had all the right moves. It was easy because that's all I thought that I could do or wanted to do. It became overbearing when I realized that .And I dropped the act. Some of my friends didn't feel comfortable and slowly stopped hanging out with me. Many stayed but had to some difficulty adapting to the new "Leslie". I had to deal with being called "white girl, or more notably "oreo", innocently and jokingly most of the time. It was difficult. I was trying to be the best me I could, while having others label me as trying to be something I wasn't. I had to realize that as easy as it might be to conform to their ideas of how I should behave and what I should like, I had to be strong enough to be myself.