Often I hear “Cedric, you’re the whitest black man I know.”
What does that mean? Does it mean that my complexion is so fair that I resemble a white man? I highly doubt it. Or is it because I don’t subscribe to the North American stereotype of a black man? Perhaps, but let’s contemplate this.
The meaning of the comment goes far deeper than it is probably suggested by the person saying it. Calling a black person white is reinforcing stereotypes created by popular media and society.
The real intent of the comment is probably to say my personality traits are more similar to someone with white skin. However, is there really a particular way that people with different racial backgrounds act? From my experience living in 8 countries and visiting countless others, I really don’t see any common trends.
Today, young people of different racial backgrounds find themselves forced to succumb a racial stereotype for fear of being ostracized their peers. As a black person, I’ve often been criticized for not being “black enough.” What is usually meant by that is that I do not adhere to the supposedly “traditional” ways of life of an African-American. However, a large portion of the world’s black population isn’t African-American. They are also from Africa, South America and Europe. This raises a serious question: can’t I be black and not fit the stereotypes, which suggest talking with a “ghetto” accent and slang, and be a large intimidating man who uses violence as a means to get what I want? Why can’t I be black and not have to be associated to those things?
However, racial stereotypes aren’t only imposed by one race to another–they are also imposed by people who share the same race. Many black Africans in Europe are ostracized when they return to their native country. On many occasions these “European-Africans” are not considered “real” Africans because of the way they dress, the music they listen to and even the way they talk. These people are criticized for not adhering to the same values of their native African counterparts. The problem with this is that, being raced in Europe, Euro-Africans are bound to be different from the the native Africans who spent their entire life in their native country.
But the phenomenon of racial stereotypes isn’t exclusive to black people, they are applied to all races. This is surprising, because people who share the same ethnicity throughout various countries are very different. Someone from England of a caucasian background will act differently than a person with the same racial background in Canada or the United States. The same can be applied to certain people from India and Sri Lanka who share the same ethnicity. There was perhaps a time in the past where racial stereotypes were relevant. However, these stereotypes are becoming more irrelevant as the world is changing. People are moving to different countries and races are being mixed even more then before.
Racial stereotypes aren’t necessarily all bad, however they instill in us a notion that there is always an attachment of a person’s skin colour to their personality. But forcing someone to act different in order for them to be socially accepted undermines the promotion of cultural diversity. Even though people from a certain country share certain similarities they don’t particularly translate to race.
