Author: Mabena TB

Due Date :10 March 2024

Publish Date: 20 May 2024

Buyer Persona: People within studies or interested in the field of Social Anthropology.

In this blog I will be highlighting and reflecting on historical as well as my own experiences and views on the concept of stereotypes and stigmatization. Stereotypes can can be defined as wildly held beliefs or views centered towards a particular group of society which are usually overrated, unfair and untrue. Stigmatization is quite similar to stereotypes as it places focus on the act of unfair treatment of individuals publicly.

With reference to 'The danger of a single story' , stereotypes and stigmatization are overly portrayed as Chimamanda Ngozi talks of how she was expected to be illiterate and not be able to operate a mere 'iron' when she first arrived in the United State as an African native. This strengthens the fact that the language used to portray African context denotes stereotypes and stigmatization as Wainana depicts. Over the years eurocentrism and exotism have labelled the persona and physique of African society. "To date Africans are still stigmatized on using to animals as a mode of transport and clothing gear. "Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners, seers and wise men living in hermitic splendour. "(Wainana , 2005).

In modern anthropology, Africans are still considered inferior as opposed to the western society. I live in a democratic state however I believe  there is a significant difference in the lifestyle of the Caucasian as opposed to us with a shade of melanin. This is conveyed in the education system, life expectancy , lifestyle choices and a variety of social factors. This has been portrayed through the concept of othering whereby difference is created by viewing others as inferior , primitive or lesser than. In contrast, stereotypes can be conveyed positively and negatively , back people are associated with violence and riots , I as an individual from the Ndebele tribe associated with eating pap with peaches. People that wear spectacles are considered to be intelligent.