Stereotypes: Mistake or Misused?

[Erythr]

Friends, writers, members of Chrons, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Stereotypes, not to praise them.

The evil that bias hath lives after them;

The good is oft interred with their words;​

No points for guessing what it is a parody of but quoting Shakespeare aside. I want to bring to your attention the strange monster that lurks just beneath the pages and hides between the lines. Stereotypes are one of those issues in writing that we address indirectly but never confront. As a starting writer, I myself have struggled with relying on overused and incorrect stereotypes that sucked the life out of my stories. I never understood the fine balance of genuine writing and subtle stereotypes to define the elements of my story. And quite ironically, we are biased when we hear the term "stereotype" and are predisposed to believe that everything about them is negative.

Yes, stereotypes often play the antagonist and have been detrimental to reinforcing societal fallacies. Be that as it may, they still play a very crucial role when it comes to the world of fantasy and sci-fi. The silver thread we use to weave bridges between the fictional realm and our very own is in fact based on the principle of generalization. In other words, Stereotypes. And every now and so often, a wonderful author comes along to use the stereotype as a scapegoat to provide social commentary. (The Handmaid's Tale)

So what's the point of this thread?
1. Discuss the pros and cons of Stereotypes.
2. Suggest tips to avoid common mistakes to help beginner writers. (myself included)
3. Highlighting harmful stereotypes.
4. Sharing a few instances where you might've knowingly or unknowingly used Stereotypes and the outcome.

Now whether we should herald Stereotypes as modern literary tools or stab them to death in this thread is up to you. Or we can just leave the poor thing alone as they never wanted the "crown" in the first place.

Side Note: NO human is without bias or hidden prejudice so this is NOT a public criticism. Try to steer clear of as much controversy as possible while discussing the topic.

Huge Credits to SuperSummary
Most if not all the points that I've mentioned are just abbreviated versions of the ones mentioned here.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

It might help to define what you mean by stereotype. Are we talking tropes? National / Racial / Ethnic / Sex stereotypes? Archetypes?

You might also consider what the purpose of a stereotype is? Whether it is a structural necessity or limitation to conveying information and its relation to a wider socially understood consensus on the nature of reality or how this can be subverted.

Embedded within your question is something about the role of literature and it's relation to social engineering and that stereotypes are always negative.

That's quite a lot of ground to cover.

 

[Erythr]

It might help to define what you mean by stereotype. Are we talking tropes? National / Racial / Ethnic / Sex stereotypes? Archetypes?

You might also consider what the purpose of a stereotype is? Whether it is a structural necessity or limitation to conveying information and its relation to a wider socially understood consensus on the nature of reality or how this can be subverted.

Embedded within your question is something about the role of literature and it's relation to social engineering and that stereotypes are always negative.

That's quite a lot of ground to cover.

I am sorry for being a little ambiguous. I felt I should have mentioned that I was not referring to tropes, cliches, and/or archetypes. Though Stereotypes do influence all of the mentioned. I was only speaking about the basic understanding of Stereotypes or generalized beliefs. I do know there is a lot to unpack here whether with regards to ethnicity, gender, sex, nationality, etc. However, I want to target only common stereotypes which are frequent in literature. I do not want to survey the entire depth of the iceberg, just examine the view from a distance. The primary aim is to find tips for writers in order to avoid falling into the trap of regurgitating stereotypical misinformation.

 

[Astro Pen]

I always try to write my characters as individuals. Often slightly flawed because that is what makes people, and how they behave, complex and interesting.
On the other hand, if our protag is pulled by a traffic cop, the cop will be steroetyped because I think that represents the reality of traffic cop behaviour. They are a manifestation of a control system not people interacting socially.
There are other situations where to move outside stereotype would turn up an unwanted red herring in the reader's mind. Say you go into an old watchmakers shop to collect an item, there is a certain stereotype one expects to be behind the counter, and maybe some small, imparted, piece of information as the vintage Omega is handed over ..... (I can feel a story starting from that thought alone, I'm off to word now )

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

I agree with Astro. Stereotypes are useful. Suppose I need my main character - say its a woman - to get hit on in a bar. Just as a plot device. I don't need to go into details about the guy. Just let the reader use their own imagination, which should be easy enough because, yes, the sleazy guy in a bar is a stereotype. I think some novels that should be 70K words end up over 100K because the writers get this wrong.

Now, if I am relying on stereotypes for my major characters then I am probably writing a poor novel.

 

[Wayne Mack]

For me, it is a balancing act. It is forming characters that each have a common pattern and overlaying one or more characteristics to make the character stand out for the reader. I have no problem starting with the idea of a flawed hero or a mentor or repentant betrayer and then giving each some quirk or belief to make the character stand out.

Maybe others, who are more skilled, can start with a completely blank slate and build a character from scratch. I prefer to start with a well known pattern, i.e., the character is like XYZ, and then find something to add to give the character interest. I believe that there is nothing really new and it is merely presentation that gives a character, a plot, and environment interest. Pick a well known pattern that the reader can easily latch on to and then add something to make the character stand out.

 

[OuttaInc]

I tend to lump stereotypes in with clichés- things to be avoided as much as possible (although I do see @Christine Wheelwright 's point about certain minor characters.)

The problem is that stereotypes aren't as generalizable as they pretend to be. Sure, we all recognize the dumb jock character, but how many jocks do you know personally that are really and truly as dumb as the stereotype suggests? In my experience, my athletic acquaintances are no more or less dumb than my musician, writer, scientist, and engineering friends. So if a stereotype isn't accurate on the one thing it's meant to reference, why use it?

 

[Biskit]

Both @Astro Pen and @Christine Wheelwright have highlighted sensible uses of stereotypes, getting something across without unnecessary detail, and beyond that you can get into deliberately subverting stereotypes for effect, or use them to deliberately poke fun. Really, once you get some practice in, stereotypes are hugely useful.

The point is that they are just one of the many tools available to a writer. Use them well and they work, use them badly and and they don't.

 

[Erythr]

Both @Astro Pen and @Christine Wheelwright have highlighted sensible uses of stereotypes, getting something across without unnecessary detail, and beyond that you can get into deliberately subverting stereotypes for effect, or use them to deliberately poke fun. Really, once you get some practice in, stereotypes are hugely useful.

The point is that they are just one of the many tools available to a writer. Use them well and they work, use them badly and and they don't.

Agreed, I wanted to explore the other side of the same coin. How stereotypes can be useful like @Christine Wheelwright pointed out. I know this is not a sci-fi or fantasy film but "Get Out" really did represent the use of stereotypes effectively. The white caricatures for the antagonists of the movie were done explicitly. I think this is especially necessary when stereotypes are used to provide social commentary. The majority of the harm the stereotypes cause is a result of the readers being unaware that they are stereotypes. This might cause false perception, particularly with regard to existing social cultures and norms. Another instance I can think of is when alien races/fantasy races are purposefully compared to indigenous societies so that the author can offer the readers a better understanding of a previously unknown culture.