Stereotypes have existed long before Arlington High School and. Everyone has done it, subconsciously. We put people into groups in our minds, and the groups that we may put someone in have been built from our own experiences, good or bad.
Stereotypes can be rooted in reality or be the furthest thing from it. While stereotypes evolved throughout time they all stem from the same things, race, gender and what extracurricular activity a person does. Stereotypes can be used to simply try and figure a person out, or they can be used to intentionally harm one.
“I would say it’s pretty common for people who act the same or are in the same like stereotypes to all be friends to a degree and like to get along, which impacts how friend groups are seen,¨ said Kendan Roberts (‘28).
Everyone has been stereotyped in some sort of way, these stereotypes can cause divisions between students based on how they look or what they do. “It definitely creates, like, a divide between people. You don’t often see people doing sports and music or theater. A lot of people get told you can’t be sporty and interested in this. You have to be one stereotype or one thing. And so I think it just creates, like, a social divide between a lot of people. And it makes people feel bad for liking multiple different things or not fitting into a stereotype,” said Apollo Morin-Cotton (‘28)..
Stereotypes may be hurtful for some people, or maybe they lean into them and let them be their identity. But one thing hasn’t changed is the “stereotypical” stereotypes. The old Arlington High School was built in 1936, and the current building opened for students in 2003. Throughout all that time and different groups of kids in the halls, most stereotypes evolved with them.
¨There’s still those same issues, you know it’s funny as a white guy, somebody like me, I remember being from a small town you get stereotyped. Like oh he’s from a small logging town he must be racist or he’s backwards, and I think a lot of the times when I look back to going to college I feel judged differently because I was from a small town,¨ said Jeff Bryson.
Though not all stereotypes have changed, and they are not only in our community. Shows and movies use stereotypes as comedy bits or to highlight an issue. These examples make stereotypes give the impression that they aren’t harmful.
“A lot of the kids I hang out with like theater and choir kids get stereotyped as weirdos or just strange and unusual, and I think a lot of times in this school, we get stereotyped based off of the activities we do,” said Morin-Cotton.
