The world in my eyes: Reflection based on The danger of a single story by Ngozi and Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.

Othering

Growing up, society had instilled a principle that men are supposed to be providers and women are supposed to be submissive and do all the work in the kitchen. The notation that women should be caretakers and men are supposed to be providers. Due to the stereotypes asserted by the society I realized that I had put the two genders into two different hierarchical groups, the top being the men and the latter the women.

The danger of a single story by Chimamangza Ngozi.

 I didn’t realize that my assumptions of believing that only man should be providers was a stereotype, until I watched the video The danger of a single story. I realized that the stereotypes of both men and women put them in a box, my stereotype limited both parties from doing more than what me and the society accepted from them. The stereotype put by the society as a result had robbed the dignity of both men and women, in the sense that a man wouldn’t and couldn’t do anything else that was not providing as he would be viewed as less than a man, or a woman she can’t decide to do something else that is not caretaking as she will also be viewed as less than a woman.

In closing, stereotyping can have a very huge impact on people’s lives, and it can also alter the history of other cultures. Due to stereotypes, othering and stigmatization, societies now only have one side of the story which as a result has become the only story.