Stereotypes are conventional and oversimplified conceptions and opinion that can create tough misconception of certain people which most of the times turns out harsh and harmful. I Just Met A Girl Name Maria “ Both had experiences of being stereotyped even though they had different experiences in different situations and incidents it has the same concept.
They were both stereotyped as d someone else.Staples was stereotyped by his African American appearance as a rapist, mugger and a bugler, however he did not fit his stereotype an educated individual with a college degree. Staple dealt with his stereotype in a calm manner by changing his behavior to make people less nervous around him. Similarly cofer was stereotype as housemaid, waitress and a sexual object.
Cofer did not fit her stereotype either a colloge educated individual she also handles her stereotype in a calm manner. Her goal however is to replace stereotype with a much more interesting set of realities.Both staples and cofer faced the challenge of dealing with stereotypes in their lives. Staples was stereotyped by his aferican American apperence as a mugger and rapist . He was often feared by women because he was an aferican American man women often see him as an unsafe creature. In the beginning of the essay where a frightened woman’s reaction is described he uses words such as “terrified, unwidely , quarry, wayfare, tranny, dangerious, harzard, dicey, fear, and weapon”.
(354) to illustrate his response to the womans reaction. Neither of these words used suggested anything pleasant.Staples deals with his stereotype in a calm manner taking precautions to make people less nervous around him. Cofer was stereotyped by her latina apperence as a waitress and housemaid . In her essay she was mistaken as a waitress by “an old woman while she was holding her notebook which an old woman thought was a menu book but instead was Cofer’s volume verse”.
(350) . Cofer was mistaken as a waitress because it was already usual to foreign people that Latinas are good domestics –maria the housemaid or countergirl”. (349). Cofer however did not get angry but treats it in a calm manner.She also takes the challenge and replace the old stereotype with a non reality. Both Cofer and Staples was misjudged by people because of their appearance.
Those experiences they encountered is the result of one of some factors that affect human’s identity which is race. Staples was feared by others. Cofer was not feared but she got an episode that she was disrespected by a man singing an offensive song “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” because she is Latina. Not only in Cofer’s personal experience, she also saw how people overrated Latinas as sex materials because of how they dress.This is evident in her, “Mixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes – for example, that of the Hispanic woman as the ‘Hot Tamale’ or sexual firebrand. ”(114) and also in her “…advertisers have designated ‘sizzling’ and ‘smoldering’as the adjectives of choice for decribing not only the foods but also the women.
.. Each in their way deals with stereotypes that affected their lives. Although people stereotype groups or race of people all the time it is not a just way of seeing people anyone who lessens one’s self because he of she maybe or look different.
However neither of them fit the stereotype they were stereotyped as.
