Stereotypes, we all know them. They bracket people into neat boxes and render all differences between us invisible. Nonetheless, we are all guilty to one extent or another of committing the act of stereotyping. It seems so easy, so convenient, and at times, so plausible. After all, we do live in a multi-racial country where we are constantly bombarded with the message of "tolerance and sensitivity", implicitly suggesting that we have irreconcilable differences that cannot be understood. Racist jokes and sexist jokes have never travelled as fast (and far) in the modern age of technology, where a good chuckle is just a click away.

What are stereotypes? They constitute a set of fixed characteristics that are placed upon a group of people apparently sharing the same identity or constitution. I'm sure you can think of one right now, it usually starts with, "Chinese/Indian/Malay/Sikhs/Women/Men/Etc. are all like that, they always… [fill in the blanks]," usually ending with some warning or another.

But honestly, we all don't really believe in them right? After all, you might think, some of your best friends are Chinese/Indian/Malay/Sikh/Women/Men/Etc. [circle the appropriate group that you're currently slagging off]. So why do we make them? Why circulate them? Why pass them on as our two sen worth of street wisdom? Maybe it's just that in every group, there are exceptions. So logically, this would mean that the group as a whole usually behaves in that way, but we live in an age where we understand that there are differences between individuals and there are always special cases, and aren't we lucky that these special cases always happen to be "our best friend". This seems like a twisted sort of logical reasoning, convolutedly applied only when it serves our individual interest. In short, selfish and irrational.

We may think that stereotypes don't go any further than jokes or basic reasoning for particular events, but their impact is far and deep. Stereotypes shape the way we relate to one another. On a personal level, when we resort to stereotypes to express our frustrations at someone else's apparent 'misbehaviour', rudeness, laziness or a host of other negative attributes, we ignore the fact that one (or even ten) persons do not represent the entire group of people who seemingly share the same identity. When doing so, we deny ourselves the opportunity of getting to know people from that understood category better by limiting ourselves prematurely to quick fixes and conclusions.

Stereotypes can also deny and exclude a large group of people from participating fully in society, making false boundaries on where a person can or reasonably cannot go (unless they are 'super exceptional'). Look at Tiger Woods, how amazing it is that a black man makes it into a white man's classy sport. But as you celebrate that, think of the millions of other nameless black/coloured wo/men who did not have the chance to even begin to think of hitting a small white ball into holes because they don't have the same opportunity as the dominant race/class/gender group to access these activities either as a hobby, sport or career. If this seems a bit remote to you, wake up early in the morning tomorrow and check out the garbage collectors at your area. Have discussions with your friends to find out if their garbage collectors belong to the same identity group. Think about why and whether your stereotyping contributed to this reality. Wonder if they would really like to do this job, or if given the opportunity to even dream, would they rather be doing something else.

Stereotypes can also bleed into governmental policies. Sexist and racist stereotypes on foreign domestic workers not only make them more vulnerable to violence and abuse. They justify appalling remarks by government representatives on the dangers of 'cultural pollution' to our (implied) cultural 'superiority'. The National Economic Policy of 1971 which provided for affirmative action and quota systems (now replaced) was justified arguably by such stereotypes. As a result, we now have an invisible barrier of not being able to critique or discuss certain issues except in the extreme safety of privacy when it comes to race and economic opportunities issues.

But how real are stereotypes? They must have a certain measure of truth for it to blossom into such concrete facts, surely? However, taking from its basis in identity, identity in itself is problematic and fluid. In an age where notions of pure origins are dubious and most of us are at least bi-lingual in a rojak culture termed loosely as Malaysian, how fixed are our identities? What makes a Malay, a Malay? Is it the colour of the skin, the religion, the language, the dialect, the food, the kampung, the places s/he has been and the experiences and knowledge learnt through that, the festivals celebrated, the clothes? What about a Christian Indian girl who wears baju kurung to school, loves Cantonese stir-fried noodles and excels at rugby?

Think about your own identity five years ago and now. Has it changed at all? Fix available stereotypes to your own identity, how true are they? If everyone we have ever encountered views us within a stereotype, how would this have limited our lives? Have known stereotypes in fact, helped shape who you think you are or should be, or the types of characteristics that you think you ought to have?

Stereotyping are shortcuts with no justifiable - in evidence or ethics - basis. They cause identity-based exclusion, oppression, violence and injustice; we need to constantly and consciously interrogate these beliefs and assumptions so that none of us fall prey to our own limiting perceptions.

Jaclyn Kee
11th January 2004

Fortnightly Column by WAO on Sunday Mail