Like Jeopardy, in the Labeling Game we have the answers, or think we do, before we ask the question. In our society we constantly classify people in to broad groups merely by their looks. The problem is not the categories themselves, but the acceptance of stereotypes, which leads to negative self-images.

We are all aware of these stereotypical roles, but what most of us do not realize is that these stereotypes hurts us the most. When we stereotype our own groups, or accept the labels others give us, we create negative self-labels. As psychology professor Robert Feldman wrote in the book Adjustment, "The self-image we create in childhood causes us to continue in our adult lives to fit whatever labels we have accepted."

We learn stereotypical roles at a very young age.

By the time we get to high school we have become well accustomed to the labels our peers, our teachers, and the media put on us.

Some of you may have heard this riddle. A father and son were driving on the highway. The father lost control, swerved off the road, and ran into a telephone pole. The father died instantly, and his son was critically injured. An ambulance rushed the boy to a nearby hospital. When a prominent surgeon was called to provide immediate treatment, a gasp was heard. "I can't operate on this boy" the surgeon said, "He is my son." How can that be? The answer--the surgeon was the boy's mother. One of the areas where labels effect us are the professions we think men and women should have, as well as their behavior. A woman's role is to be passive, tactful, assistive, and emotional, whereas men are stereotyped as aggressive, tough, independent, and unemotional. In short, women are not supposed to be surgeons.

The media plays upon our need for labels, as we are encouraged to be part of the "Pepsi Generation." When news reports on youth violence, we become the "lost generation." And when a name as meaningful as the babyboomers could not be found for us, we were labeled Generation X.

http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/Fairway/4363/tsld004.htm

http://www.womensmedia.com/seminar-self-image.html

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