The Ethics of Judging a Book by Its Cover

The Ethics of Judging a Book by Its Cover

A few years back, I learned that stereotypes can also be positive, but whether positive or negative, the results are almost always bad. I remember I had an incident whereby I stereotyped my friend Jennifer, who is of Asian descent, specifically Chinese, and whose parents immigrated to America before she was born. Growing up, because of my limited worldview, I believed that all Asians were extremely smart, especially in subjects like math. Having this stereotype displayed in numerous movies and in other pop culture aspects only helped solidify this stereotype (Brown, 2020). I met Jennifer one summer, and she became my new friend. One day, while several of us were hanging out, we decided to play a game that involved some puzzles. As the team leader, I automatically chose Jennifer to solve the puzzle. She tried to object, but I quickly shut her down with the assumption that she was just being shy.

We ended up losing the game, and Jennifer was angry with me because I had chosen her when she felt incapable of solving the game. She also pointed out that Rick, one of our friends, is the best when it comes to puzzles and other stuff we usually find complicated, like math and physics. I realized that I had chosen her because she was Asian, and I assumed she would be good at the challenge.

Suppose I had applied the tenets of NCA’s credo, which states that we endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision-making fundamental to a civil society (National Communication Association, 1999), to communicate, the situation would have been avoided. Diversity of perspective is crucial in our communication, and boxing people based on what we assume we know of them is harmful to society. Nevertheless, even if I did not know about the NCA’s code back then, I took it upon myself to correct the situation by apologizing and educating myself on stereotypes. This aligns with the NCA’s code that we accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our own communication and expect the same of others (National Communication Association, 1999).

References

Brown, D. K. (2020, May 29). Riot or resistance? How the media frames unrest in Minneapolis will shape the public’s view of protest. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/riot-or-resistance-how-media-frames-unrest-in-minneapolis-will-shape-publics-view-of-protest-139713

National Communication Association. (1999, November). NCA credo for ethical communication. NCA. https://www.natcom.org/sites/default/files/pages/1999_Public_Statements_NCA_Credo_for_Ethical_Communication_

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The word stereotype has negative connotations for real reasons. Yet, we do it all the time. Putting people in categories is natural and unavoidable. Being aware of this helps avoid assumptions about others that may not be true and which could cause problems in communications.

The Ethics of Judging a Book by Its Cover

In this Assignment, you explore the impact of stereotypes in communications.
Write a 250- to 500-word paper addressing the following:

Briefly describe a situation when you were stereotyped or stereotyped someone. Include what happened, what the stereotype was, and how it affected the communication in the situation.
Explain how the situation could have been different if you, or the person who stereotyped you, had used inclusive language, people-first language, or one of the tenets of the NCA’s credo to communicate. Be sure to connect this experience to this week’s resources by including at least two examples.