How do stereotypes operate? As you reread Das’s text look for passages where she talks about stereotypes and the impact they have. How might we combat stereotypes and why would we want to do so? Das suggests that the National Portrait Gallery exhibit reflects ""unconscious bias"" (p.105). Develop a definition of this term from the context of Das’s essay. How does this bias operate? What does it mean to be ""cool""? Reread Das’s text to locate quotations where she defines this concept and its history. Why does she think people have problems seeing Asian Americans as cool?

Explanation:

As individuals, it is easier for us to categorize the environment around us to order and understand it. Stereotypes, such as generalized beliefs and perceptions about the characteristics associated with groups of people, have an important role in our perception of the world. We can think of the stereotype as a mental filter on social reality.

We probably have a clear idea of what stereotypes are, but it is significant to recover the original use of the word: it derives from the Greek στερεός (stereós = solid) and τύπος (typos = impression, mold). In the sphere of typography, this refers to the mold, usually of lead, which was used in a type of printing.

The stereotype as a cognitive structure creates mental images that are usually informative and functional, it is one of the main sources to justify our attitudes towards others. Actually, it is a frame of reference; However, the problem begins when it becomes the only source of reference and becomes a limitation and a prejudice.

Its construction begins with a differentiation process, the characteristics are described and the singularities are enhanced; subsequently it is contrasted with reality and, if successful, it is reproduced and shared socially. Stereotypes are generalizations that set aside particularities. They are just that, "solid molds" that define us to a person or group.

The so-called gender stereotypes are ideas about the attributes, characteristics, attitudes and behaviors of the social functions they perform. They are those socially constructed, accepted preconceptions of what a woman and a man is, or rather, must be.

From childhood we are taught how we should behave, what are the social expectations that we must meet as children, girls, men and women and so we go around the world with our “mental arsenal” that justifies the stratification of genders. The above defines the way we build ourselves as people, what we decided to do, how and when.