by Mark Mihalko

Created on: October 23, 2008

Every day, people face a variable amount of thoughts and emotions. Their lives often improperly judged by their looks, status or perspectives. At times, these judgments are false, falling so far from reality that it should be considered a travesty. Stereotypes are the downfall of society. In the worst cases, these stereotypes can lead to detrimental opinions that border discrimination. Unfortunately, these common motifs exist and it is up to society to look within these walls and determine what is right and what is wrong.

Many different groups of people face stereotypes everyday. The politician, the tattooed, the feminist and the senior citizen, all members of society that commonly face these generalizations. Their existence outlined by preconceived notions that dictates society's views. In some cases, these commonalities may be warranted, but in most cases, they are far from the reality. By breaking down the walls of stereotyping, one can see the unfair biasness that exists.

A look at the common stereotypes of those categories can be a trip into the abyss. "Politicians are cigar-smoking, bombastic, self-serving, untrustworthy individuals," as outlined in a handout by the Indiana State Bar Association (2008). Every politician that walks amongst society does not automatically fall into these common views. In fact, many fall so far outside of these typical views that it is laughable. One of the most misleading stereotypes that affect a group is the stereotypes that the tattooed face. People who have tattoos are punks, degenerates, troublemakers or going through a fad, and fall into gender-based stereotyping inside of the common ones mentioned above (Harris, 2005). Again, these common views could not fall farther from the truth with most people that enjoy this form of artistic expression. Feminists also face a great deal of stereotypes everyday and they too are way off base in most cases. Feminists are not all radical bra burning, unshaven lesbians that do not wear make-up (Elshoff, 2003). In fact, many feminists are not even women. They are people that acknowledge that gender-based discrimination still exists within the world (Elshoff, 2003). Of all of the groups, senior citizens may face the most stereotyping. In fact, the whole term "Senior citizen" is "a condescending, demeaning, patronizing euphemism" (Ecenbarger, 2004). Definitely, a detractor unfairly plants many seeds in people's minds about the make-up and abilities of people inside this community.

In many

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