Stereotypical

I believe we came up with stereotypes to make ourselves feel more comfortable.  We didn't like not knowing where someone stood or what they were like.  Being a child of the seventies, I'll use what I know of a bit of the time before me and then after my birth.

The fifties and sixties were the jocks and the greasers.  My mom went to school in California.  She would talk about the cliques and the nicknames.  I thought Grease was full of shit.  Apparently not.  Hippies.  Preps.  Words I will not repeat used to define minorities and those who were LGBT.  

You dressed the same as the people in your group, and you fit in.  Collars popped, or sleeves rolled up.  You stated who you were without saying a word.  Except...was that really you?  Or were you adopting an image to stay safe?  To assimilate into a group close to who you were because there were safety in numbers?  And weak sheep were attacked first?

I believe in individuality.  Always have.  Never made me Ms. Popularity, but it's not a title I was vying for, anyway.  Today, people are finally stretching their wings and trying on who they were really meant to be.  Piercings, tattoos, atypical clothing, etc.  And in their non-conformity, they are finding others like them.  But the problem, because different is threatening, lies in those who aren't willing to let go of stereotypes.  And those unwilling to see these majestic unique butterflies as necessary for growth to the human race.  Stagnant thinking is death.  Unwillingness to try new ideas and concepts is not preserving traditional ways, it's setting fire to multiple possibilities of wonder.

There is room for both without shots fired.  Stereotypes are oversimplified ideas of people or places.  We need to make room for acceptance without trying to shove people into some place we find comfort.  

I try to use this in my writing, as well.  I despise stereotypes.  I like to turn them on their ear and watch the fallout.  It's way past time we realize stereotypes bring comfort to those who choose not to understand growth.  

It's not a good thing.

Always writing*

...and wreaking havoc