Racial or Ethnic Stereotypes
Racial or ethnic stereotyping is becoming a social norm in society and, on some occasions, has some benefit but usually is damaging. Racial or ethnic stereotyping is defined as overgeneralization, misconception, or belief that the community has about a particular group of people (Ferrucci et al., 2013). This paper discusses the myth of African American sports supremacy, damage, and benefits of this stereotyping and the actions taken to dispel this stereotype.
The idea of African American superiority in sports was popularized by sportswriters, coaches, scientists, biologists, and medical doctors in the 1800s in an attempt to explain why African Americans were outdoing their white counterparts in sports (Stone et al., 1999). During this period, African Americans dominated sports such as boxing, football, and baseball. This dominance led to the notion that African Americans’possesses’superior physical qualities are linked to their genetic material, which was passed on to subsequent generations after years of enslavement.
The basis of African American superiority comes from the argument that these groups of people developed adaptive physical qualities during the time of shipment and when they were serving as slaves. The review conducted by presents different authors who argue that during the time Africans were shipped to America and the time they served as slaves in America, they developed physical fitness, which was vital for them to survive the hardship of slavery. Besides, only the physically fit of the slave survived the slavery period and that the physically fit slaves’ genetic material was passed on to the current African American.
Currently, the belief that African Americans are superior in sports is still strong in American society. This is witnessed by the considerable participation of African Americans in competitions as compared to white counterparts. For instance, the survey conducted by Lapchick et al., in 2015 showed that the distribution of basketball players at the National Basketball Association (NBA) league by race was 74.4% African American, 23.3% White, 1.8 Latino and 0.8 Asian(Lapchick et al., 2015). This shows that they believe that African American are better in sports is still strong and influences the participation of the different races in games. This is also witnessed in educational institutions such as colleges and universities where black students get chances to participate in the institution sports team because there are more physically fit, and better results will be expected.
Several damages that are caused by the misconception that African Americans are better in sports. Firstly, the idea of believing that this race has extraordinary physical capabilities is also lined along with the belief that this comes at the expense of intellectual skills. It is often argued that, by comparison, white sport participants portray better sport mental abilities even when their performance in sports is poor(Stone et al., 1999). On the other hand. African American have been argued to perform poorly in sports intelligence even when they physical performance in sport is high(Stone et al., 1999).
Another damage this stereotyping creates is that African Americans are viewed as physical beings rather than intellectual beings. This leads to low self-believe in intellectual performance and other areas that don’t require physical strength. Consequently, this limits the opportunities that are available to African Americans. This kind of stereotyping also leads to discrepancies in the academic achievements, income, and economic issues observed among the races. A lack of an opportunity in sports to an African American means no intellectual opportunities.
The misconception that blacks are good in sports as compared to white counterparts promotes racism and hence damages the interracial relationships in society. This kind of stereotype leads to the segregation of races by matching their abilities to their race. (Beamon, 2014)In the real sense, no evidence suggests that there is a significant influence of race on physical capabilities. Similarly, physical abilities do not influence the intellectual skills of the individual. The idea that African American have superior physical capabilities that helps them thrive in sport and is associated with low intellectual abilities can be viewed as a way of discriminating the race against different opportunities that may be available to them.
The other damage that has been caused by this myth is the dehumanization of African Americans. The thought that African Americans are physically fit in sport led to the development of an elite athlete(Beamon, 2014; Stone et al., 1999). The elite athlete is one who thrives in sports based on his intellectual capabilities. Otherwise, an athlete who is not elite succeeds in his physical abilities, and he is always seen as a victim of the elite athlete. Currently, the African American athlete is viewed as material, while the white athlete is considered an elite athlete. (Beamon, 2014). This seeks to uphold the physical capabilities of the African American but, at the same time, demeans their cognitive abilities and dehumanizes them.
The misconception that African Americans are good in sports has the benefit that it gives the race a sense of self believes in becoming successful in the game. This stereotyping helps African Americans to naturally succeed in sports due to the implication that their sports capabilities are rooted in their biology(Stone et al., 1999). This leads to the insurgence of prominent athletes in sports who have gone to become successful in their careers. Also, this enables the African American race to find an opportunity in a genuine income-generating opportunity. It also serves as a way of reducing social vices that come along with irregular forms of generating income.
Actions taken to dispel the myth that African Americans are good in sports aim at addressing the significant damages associated with the stereotyping. Majorly it is to eliminate the sporting capabilities come at the expense of their intellectual abilities. More African Americans are currently encouraged to pursue formal education to reclaim their intellectual abilities instead of remaining in the chains of the notion that they can only succeed in sports.
References
Beamon, K. (2014). Racism and stereotyping on campus: Experiences of African American male student-athletes. Journal of Negro Education, 83(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.83.2.0121
Ferrucci, P., Tandoc, E. C., Painter, C. E., &Leshner, G. (2013). A Black and White Game: Racial Stereotypes in Baseball. Howard Journal of Communications, 24(3), 309–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2013.805971
Lapchick, R. E., Harrison, D. C. K., Lapchick, R., &Guiao, A. (2015). The 2015 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. www.tidesport.org
Stone, J., Sjomeling, M., Lynch, C. I., & Darley, J. M. (1999). Stereotype threat effects on black and white athletic performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1213–1227. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.77.6.1213