He’s Just Had Coffee

Commonly held stereotypes about Asian men include that they’re not masculine, that they’re small and that they have no beards or body hair. Street life in inner city Sydney has many examples of tough, macho, masculine looking and acting Asian guys, hairy and bearded Asian guys (including gay Asian men on the scene) and tall Asian guys.

If ones perceptions line up neatly with stereotypes about a certain ethnic group, I have found that it is prudent to view those perceptions with deep suspicion. Thirty years of cognitive psychology tells us that stereotypes constrain our perceptions so that we look for data that confirms what we already “know”.

We can try to deliberately test those perceptions by seeking out disconfirming data, experiences that are the opposite of what we assume. Sometimes when we do that we discover that we were blind to what was right in front of us. In the case of racial stereotypes we can come to realise that our perceptions were faulty, that our view of the world was broken and finally that our assumptions wound us just as they hurt the people they’re about.

… perhaps, since those common preconceptions about the “races” are generally a result of stereotypes being held onto rigidly in the face of all evidence to the contrary, it might be beside the point to offer more evidence.

If someone is convinced that it’s worth trying to dislodge their stereotypes, it’s quite effective to simply go to the part of town where folk of that ethnic stripe hang around, spend a few hours and open yourself up to the experience with an expansive mind and a compassionate heart. Simply witness what’s in front of you, without judging.

I submit that if someone is unwilling to try, argument is unlikely to shift those preconceptions… Hilarious coming from me, I know, but that’s what I’m feeling today.