Stereotype impact on contemporary society

• Author: Florentina Nina Mocanasu
• Position: Faculty of Law, Journalism, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Hyperion University, 90-92 Popa-Nan St., Bucharest, Romania
• Pages: 91-97

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicaljournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 1 (2014), pp. 91-97

91

STEREOTYPE IMPACT ON CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

F. N. Mocnaşu

Florentina Nina Mocnaşu

Faculty of Law, Journalism, Psychology and Educational Sciences,

Hyperion University, 90-92 Popa-Nan St., Bucharest, Romania

*Correspondence: Florentina Nina Mocnaşu, Hyperion University, Bucharest, Romania

Email: motornina@yahoo.com

Abstract

On analyzing the society we live in, we can say that transition from industrial to

modern and postmodern society up to now has led to a change of the roles well established by

our society, namely women perform men’s tasks and they get jobs which seem specific to

them, and men start to develop furthermore this side of relationing which is basically specific

to women. The household issues are solved by both life partners and within organizational

environment women have begun to occupy important executive positions. However, there are

specific stereotypes including at the level of these changes.

Stereotype analysis draws ou r attention to int erpretations which might devalue

individuals or create a negative conte xt without allowing any possibility to exploit certain

potentials of individuals. However it is necessary to recognize the complementarity between

the two genders. Stereotypes are more and more underlined in the Romanian society as they

keep on perpetuating. The emergence of these stereotypes o wes basically to changes occurred

within society.

This study seeks to show the way these transformations aim the individuals’ lif estyle

and how these stereotypes coordinate our entire existence. There are opinions and

discriminations within a society in relation to personalities of individuals which are part of a

certain social category and we learn the most of them from the ones around us and depending

on them we guide ourselves when meeting people. Stereotypes are harmful in their meaning

and they hurt us by prejudice and discrimination.

Keywords: stereotypes, discrimination, change of roles, complexity of genders,

transformation

Motto:

We do not see before defining, but define before seeing.

Lippman

Introduction

Identification of stereotype notion

Cambridge dictionary explains the notion of stereotype as a “fixed idea people have

about something or somebody, in particular about something wrong”. 1According to the same

dictionary, prejudices are “an opinion or an unfair and unreasonable f eeling formed without

enough thought or knowledge”.2 In other words, stereotypes are preconceptions, clichés

which individuals use frequently while prejudices are irrational feelings of fear and dislike.

These can be understood as protection filters against the multitude of information which

allows us to judge people without interacting personally with them or knowing them only

superficially: they limit our view to reality.

1 Boia, Lucian, Istorie şi mit în conştiina româneasc, 2nd Edition, “Humanitas” Publishing House, Bucharest,

2000, pp. 112.

2 Idem, pp. 123.