Everyone is prejudiced and uses stereotypes, but prejudice can lead to

unequal treatment. Are we doing enough to tackle prejudices around the

world?

The young writer Igor Melkin said: "Sometimes it seems to me that the most
difficult test for a modern person is not to get bogged down in stereotypes and not
drown in unnecessary opinions”. We are all captive to stereotypes and often make
decisions not based on logic, but under the influence of established public opinion,
which doesn’t allow for an optimal solution. Prejudices break society and
subsequently lead to unequal treatment.

We often judge people and their actions, using stereotypes that “turn on” in us
faster and work flawlessly. For example, if we were pushed into the subway, what
would be our first thought? Did it happen by accident or on purpose? At such
moments, the adequate assessment of the situation disappears without a trace.
When we are pushed, we think that the action of a person and his essence are
inseparable. What he does is part of his personality. We do not look at the situation
more broadly, trying to understand the root cause. Furthermore, we do not think
that, even having caused us inconvenience, not only did the person not want it, but
was forced to do it, because he was in a hurry or did not even notice that he had
stepped on our feet. In an uncomfortable situation, we conclude that if we were
treated badly, then the offender is automatically bad. Consequently, we put up a
barrier between ourselves and that person, which is difficult for us to overcome
due to incorrect beliefs.

The influence of stereotypes on a person can be extremely negative, since most of

them contain false knowledge and become prejudices. For instance, gender
stereotypes are already so firmly entrenched in the minds of people that today men
and women are assigned certain social roles, which makes gender equality almost
impossible. From almost every man you can hear that women do not know how to
drive, they are poorly versed in technology and politics. Few people at the same
time think that among women there are truckers, programmers and politicians,
likewise, men often engage in cooking and taking care of children. It turns out that
such social stereotypes can have a detrimental effect: when an image is “tried” on a
certain person, the opportunity to discern individuality in it, to understand the
desires and needs of this person disappears, meaning that such a stereotype does
not allow to build relationships or maintain them.

Are we doing enough to tackle prejudices around the world? I cannot say that
society makes much effort to remove stereotypes. However, I cannot say either that
we do nothing. We talk about gender issues and see how more and more women
become politicians and run businesses, even so it is not enough. Firstly, we need to
judge people by deeds not the first impression. Secondly, we should communicate
with different people as much as possible in order to get rid of the ideal picture in
our head. In addition to this, we should always listen to ourselves, and not to the
opinion of society. If we consider all these points, we can get rid of judgments.

In conclusion, stereotypes have a strong impact on society and cause unequal

treatment in relation to others. Therefore, we should pay attention to the words of
one modern writer who said: “Any walls on your way are your stereotypes, you
don’t need to rest against them, you need to break them.”