yichen sun oo social stigmas draft 4

8/13/2019 Yichen Sun OO Social Stigmas Draft 4

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Yichen Sun

James Logan High School

July 19, 2012

An Introspection of Preu!ice

"al# through any high school cafeteria, an! this is $hat you%re going to see&' reshmen,

()*+ guys, preps, J- oc#s, Asian ner!s, cool Asians, -arsity oc#s, unfrien!ly hotties,

girls $ho eat their feelings, girls $ho !on.t eat anything, !esperate $anna/es, /urnouts,

socially actie /an! gee#s the greatest people you $ill eer meet, an! the $orst At least,

this is $hat you%re suppose! to see, accor!ing to ean 3irls After all, eeryone #no$s high

school is practically synonymous $ith stereotyping others4 an!5 stereotyping is /a!, right6

7ut !i! you #no$, eenthinkinghigh schools hae these stereotypes is, in an! of itself,

stereotyping *his sort of la/eling starts $hen $e%re chil!ren 8Stossel, an!, Harar!

:niersity.s Implicit Association *est fin!s that een a!ults $ho feel they hae oercome

stereotypes in fact still hae strong, lingering /iases An! these types of su/conscious

preferences /all up into $hat I li#e to call stereotyping%s eil relatie ; the social stigma

*o!ay, I%m going to first e


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foun! that the parents of oer$eight $omen are actually less li#ely to pay for their !aughters.

college e!ucation than are the parents of aerage$eight $omen 8PuhlAn! a test on

policemen%s shooter /ias, $here a person appears on a screen hol!ing either something safe

li#e a cell phone, or something lethal li#e a gun, an! the policemen hae to ma#e a split

secon! u!gment as to $hether or not to shoot, foun! that the participants $ere uniersally

more li#ely to fire at /lac# men ? $hether the shooter $as young, ol!, male, female or een

/lac# themseles Joshua +orrell, a psychologist at the :niersity of +hicago, $ho con!ucte!

the test, e


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Sun E

stu!ents an! staff +hase ha! Asperger%s syn!rome, attention !eficit hyperactiity !isor!er,

an! !ysgraphia In other $or!s, his !isa/ilities $ere ery noticea/le, an! this inite! icious

/ullying from other stu!ents *he response from school officials, !espite the seerity of the

situation, $as !escri/e! to /e Capathetic% an! een Cnegligent% +hase attempte! to hea! off

his /ullies /y returning threats ; an! he $as the one pulle! into the office, interrogate!, an!

suspen!e! for ten !ays After returning to school, the /ullying continue!, an! een escalate!

in scale, lea!ing to +hase%s parents ultimately !eci!ing to pull +hase out of the pu/lic school

system +lint (ose, +hase%s father, tol! the Fe$sHeral!& @(ight no$ he%s not capa/le of

returning to the pu/lic school system, an! they%re /asically in !enial 8"ar! An! sa!ly, this

isn%t uts one isolate! case ; a stu!y pu/lishe! in the Journal of Psychology, con!ucte! /y the

:niersity of Fe/ras#aLincoln, foun! that #i!s $ith o/sera/le !isa/ilities are far more

li#ely to /e /ullie!, an! that across the states, school reactions hae often /een slo$ an!

ineffectie 8@Gi!s $ith )/sera/le >isa/ilities 7ullie!

Stigma ma#es us categori=e people, an! allo$ us to thin# in terms of Cus% erses Cthem%

*his lin#ing of la/els allo$s us to /eliee there are people $ho are in some $ay

fun!amentally !ifferent from us4 $hen this min!set is !eelope! to its e


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Sun

7ruce Lin# an! Jo Phelan from +olum/ia :niersity e


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reinforces stigmas4 this $ill allo$ us to /etter interact $ith the $orl! an! people aroun! us in

a $ay free of any /ias 8cillin *hen, $e shoul! /roa!en our hori=ons /y rea!ing more or

ta#ing a more actie role in learning a/out controersial issues of the !ay4 this $ill open up

our eyes to the /iases of each si!e an! allo$ us to /e impartial an! ta#e the correct stance

8(itsher 'inally, $e can actiely counteract the effects of stigma aroun! us4 engage a little

$ith the special nee!s #i!s at your school4 gie a smile to someone you see in a $heelchair

on the street 8Penn If eeryone can ta#e such steps, then slo$ly /ut surely $e can !e

stigmati=e society as a $hole

If it is a part of human nature to stereotype an! stigmati=e, then it stan!s to reason that

human nature $ill only change if $e ma#e an effort to change it "e complain a/out society

/eing !egra!e!, fa#e, inhuman4 $hat $e fail to reali=e is that $e are, all of us, in!ii!ual

cogs in the machine of society as a $hole Just li#e +a!y loosing sight of $ho she $as in her

attempt to fit in /etter $ith *he Plastics cliue in ean 3irls, as $e attempt to Cfit in% an!

comply $ith the unspo#en rules of society, $e /egin to lose ourseles Ho$ often !o you

hear someone complaining a/out ho$ the $orl! is going !o$nhill, or that society is loosing

its integrity6 7ut $hat%s often not un!erstoo! is that $e are society )nly /y $or#ing to /etter

ourseles can $e /etter society as a $hole4 an! the first step to$ar!s that i!eal is to thro$

a$ay our preconceptions, misconceptions, an! get ri! of our stigmas


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Sun K

"or#s +ite!

Ar/ole!a'lore=, Julio "hat +auses Stigma6 World Psychiatry11 82002& 2

2KNational Center for Biotechnology Information :S Fational Li/rary of

e!icine, Fational Institutes of Health "e/ 19 July 2012

+orrigan, Patric# ", an! Amy + "atson :n!erstan!ing the Impact of Stigma on People

$ith ental Illness World Psychiatry11 82002& 1K20National Center for

Biotechnology Information :S Fational Li/rary of e!icine, Fational Institutes of

Health "e/ 19 July 2012Ilan, eyer H Preu!ice, Social Stress, an! ental Health in Les/ian, 3ay, an! 7iseec 2001 "e/ 19 July 2012

(itsher, Jennifer, an! Jennifer 7ernstein Internali=e! Stigma Dro!es oraleInternali+ed

Stigma (rodes #orale Successful Schi=ophrenia, n! "e/ 19 July 2012

Sch$art=, 7el#y Pere= Psychology of -iolence& *rayon artin >eath >ue to Shooter

7ias(,aminer-com D


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Sun M

"ar!, atthe$ 7ullying (esponse Cnegligent% Suffol# Fe$s Heral!, 1 June 2012 "e/

19 July 2012

yichen sun oo social stigmas draft 4

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