Generalizations and Stereotypes Amongst Cultures

Generalizations and Stereotypes amongst Cultures
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Generalizations and Stereotypes amongst Cultures
Stereotypes and generalizations are two concepts that are well known, which over time have come together, and seem similar. However, this two are quite different and these differences are preeminently important. Generalizations inform others about the general historical, geographical, cultural, social, and other characteristics to other people who know less. This is based on extended experience with a certain group and differences within the group are allowed. On the other hand, stereotypes are based on a weaker foundation. The assumptions on stereotypes are based on weaker foundations since they come from a small sample. The aim of this paper is to discuss how generalization in cultural profiles could produce stereotypes of cultures.
Assuming that the condition of an Afghanistan woman is that of any Muslim woman is stereotyping of the highest order. Claiming that the war on terrorism is a war to liberate Muslim women is stereotyping and an insult to Muslim women. Many people assumed that the United States liberated the Afghanistan woman from oppression of covering herself but even after eliminating Taliban, this woman continues covering herself (Abu-Lughod, 2002). All these assumptions are false generalizations of the Muslim woman. The war in Afghanistan was a political issue and any political issue has a group-centric basis, in which the group implicated by the issue is vital to the attitudes about that issue and the politics of that issue. Therefore, the group at the center of the war of Afghanistan is the Muslim. The group of interest in this paper is the Muslim women. The war on terror was not a war to...