Youth club activities - Stereotypes

Stereotypes are widely held assumptions about the personalities, attitudes and behaviours of people based on their membership of a particular group. Though not all stereotypes are negative, the ideas are not necessarily based on fact or experience and can lead to prejudice and discrimination.

These activities offer ideas to open up discussion and create opportunities to explore and challenge.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS WARM-UP

Aim This is a good warm-up to start looking at stereotypes and prejudice.

You will need

- Paper and pencil for each participant

- A copy of the description (below) and a picture of an aardvark

How to do it Hand out paper and pencils, but do not say too much about the aim of the activity. Introduce it as a quick drawing game or active listening exercise. Stress that it doesn't matter how well people can draw; this is about listening and recording information.

Once everyone has paper and pencil explain that you are going to read out a description of something, and that they should listen carefully and then draw it.

Carefully read the aardvark description, allowing time for people to draw, but not too much time as you want them to go with their first thoughts.

Once you have finished, go around the group and ask each young person to show their picture and share what they thought they were drawing.

In my experience, this has ranged from an elephant to a rabbit. If anyone has guessed correctly that it is an aardvark, lead a round of applause from the group.

Suggest that often we are given limited information about something and then we make up the rest of the picture based on our experiences, knowledge, culture and values. While this can be a good thing, it can also lead to false assumptions and stereotypes.

Encourage the young people to reflect on a time where someone has pre-judged them and got it wrong.

Finally, ask them to consider if there have been times when they have made wrong assumptions about someone just because of the way they looked or talked, or the music they liked. Conclude that it is easy to assume things, but important to find out more about individuals to avoid stereotyping or making judgments that can lead to prejudice.

THE AARDVARK

It has a short neck connected to a large, dull brownish-grey, almost hairless, body

Its back is strongly arched

It has four legs. The back ones are longer than the front ones

Its head is elongated and ends in a long, pointed snout, with nostrils that can be open or closed

It has a good sense of smell and hearing

Its ears are long and tubular shaped, normally held upright, but they can be folded and closed

It has a short muscular tail that is cone-shaped and tapers to a point

It has thick hoof-like claws

EXPLORING GENDER STEREOTYPES

Aim This small group activity is a good introduction to a wider piece of work to consider gender roles and stereotypes.

You will need

- Flipchart and markers

How to do it

Divide the group into two halves: male and female. Write "Act Like a Man" at the top of one piece of flipchart and give this to the young men's group. Write "Be Ladylike" on the top of the other for the young women's group.

Ask the two groups to idea storm and write down responses to the headings. In turn invite feedback and then responses from each group. For example, the young men may have listed things such as men don't cry, are tough and are good drivers. Is this how the young women see "acting like a man"? Then consider the young women's ideas of what it means to be "ladylike", for example, caring, polite or tidy.

At this point do not comment on any gender stereotypes, just acknowledge all the ideas and take both flipcharts and stick them up where everyone can see.

Now, take a thick black marker and draw a box around the ideas listed on both sheets. Explain that box one is now labelled "Act Like a Man" and box two "Be Ladylike". Suggest that inside the boxes are a list of attitudes and behaviours that reflect male and female stereotypes. Some may be true for some people, but none will be true for all.

Ask the young people to consider if individuals are born with these gender differences, or if they are learned. For example, are little girls born knowing how to care for babies and little boys how to mend things? How easy is it to break out of the "box"? Conclude that many of the things inside the box are gender stereotypes with specific role expectations that people may feel pressured to conform with.

Move on to ask them where gender roles are learned. This could include family, friends and the media. Write these around the outside of the boxes, illustrating how these influences reinforce the wall of the stereotype box.

Finally, ask them in their groups to consider what names or putdowns are directed at males, and at females, when they don't fit in their boxes? How do these labels reinforce the stereotypes?

ASSUMPTIONS

Aim This short activity only really works with groups of young people who do not know each other well, as it explores first impressions and assumptions that can be made. Alternatively, ask the group to complete the sheet based on their preconceptions about their youth workers.

You will need

- Pens

- Copies of the assumption sheet (below)

How to do it Ask the young people to choose a partner with whom to work - someone they don't know very well. Hand each a pen and an assumption sheet. Now give them a few minutes to complete the sheet; each person should do this on their own, so they can only base their thoughts on what they see, and not be able to check out information.

When everyone has finished, invite the pairs to come together to review what they have assumed about each other. How correct were they? Encourage discussion. For example, on what basis were things such as favourite music decided? Do people wear clothes to show other people to which "tribe" they belong and does music influence this?

Move on to consider how first impressions affect the way we see people and people see us.

ASSUMPTION SHEET

Favourite food

Favourite music

Favourite clothes shop

Favourite magazine or book

Hobbies or interests

Favourite TV programme

Favourite sport

Dream holiday destination

Perfect Saturday night

Favourite subject at school

CAREER STEREOTYPES

Aim: This activity opens up discussions to explore and challenge stereotypes around career opportunities.

You will need:

- Four sets of the job cards (below)

- Paper and pens

- Basic details about each of the professions, such as qualifications needed, average wages, etc.

How to do it

Make up four sets of the job cards. Divide the young people into four groups and give each a set of cards, paper and pens. Write up the following questions and ask them to look at the jobs on the cards and discuss the following for each one.

- Am I male or female?

- What age am I?

- What do I look like?

- What sort of personality do I have?

- What qualifications do I have?

- What wages/salary do I get?

If the young people want to draw pictures instead of using words, then encourage them to illustrate their discussions. Encourage feedback as each group shares their thoughts, asking where they got their information. Consider the sources - how accurate are they likely to be? Does the media reinforce any stereotypes? Are people's career choices informed by stereotypes about age, gender and social status?

Share the information that you have about the different career options and challenge any stereotypes.

JOB CARDS

Web designer

Nursery nurse

Librarian

Surgeon

Firefighter

Plumber

Vanessa Rogers is a youth work trainer, consultant and author. Her books are available from www.nya.org.uk. For training and consultancy, go to www.resourceplanet.com