Stereotypes by Lenny Ramsey

I was going to write a post about lgbtq+ and sports. Which I think is a very interesting topic, and
one worth talking about - maybe not even just focusing on lgbtq+, but more generally on
minorities in sports. I am however no expert on this topic - so everything I write will be based on
what I have read and seen, but is by no means the full story or truth.

When I actually started looking into this I realized there is so much to talk about, so many things
to cover and directions to take, that I decided this would be an impossible mission unless I
break it down into pieces. My goal is to write multiple shorter pieces on what I think are
interesting parts playing into both the issues minorities face as well as the benefits minorities
provide in sports. And as I go I might go off into little tangents if I dig myself deep into a little
hole somewhere. I just hope to keep the momentum going.

This first part will be on stereotypes. We’ve all heard of them, but what are they, why do they
have them and what effects do they have?

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all members of a
group. It is an overgeneralization and simplification of the world around us. We stereotype
because it helps us make sense of our surroundings in a quick and efficient manner. It is what
we call a mental heuristic - a shortcut we use to help us process our environment. These are
important since we simply cannot process all information in detail. Think of walking into a new
room - you see multiple surfaces with 4 legs each - you immediately recognize those as chairs,
tables as tables, doors as doors. You do not need to count the legs, feel the surface to make
sure you can sit on it etc. We make quick assumptions based on previous experiences. This is
often helpful, but can also lead to systematic errors.

Similarly with stereotypes: we see a person, we lump them into a group and use that to
establish identity and characteristics. In some ways this is useful, but this can also be very
harmful. These characteristics can be things we have seen ourselves, but, more commonly,
things we have learnt through our upbringing and culture, often related to race, nationality,
gender and sexual orientation. I do think it is important to note that stereotypes can be positive
and negative and can change through experiences and conscious effort to educate yourself.
Stereotypes lead to biases - the systematic errors in judgement, personal preferences that
interfere with the ability to be impartial (again positive or negative). Strong biases are referred to
as prejudices - often against someone within a particular group, independent of context. When
these prejudices are acted upon this results in discrimination.

Now I think we can all come up with examples of blatant discrimination and how/why this is an
issue. The problem with stereotypes and biases however goes much deeper.

Being someone belonging to a minority group has huge effects on mental wellbeing - dealing
with these biases on a day to day basis. Depending on the study you look at and their specifics
rates of depression, anxiety, drug abuse and attempted suicides are for example 2-4 times
higher in LGBTQ+ individuals (with potentially even higher rates among african american and
latino individuals as well as under in dividuals identifying as transgender). At least a large
portion of this has been ascribed to the social stigma and life stressors resulting from individual
and institutional discrimination (aka minority stress). These numbers are a bit harder to find for
racial minorities, especially since there are large discrepancies in diagnosis and treatment rates
(another major issue) as will as differences in stigma within communities. That said, there
seems to be a higher rate in schizophrenia among african americans and depression among the
latino population. Better research is definitely needed, but in general higher rates of psychiatric
disorders are seen in minority populations.

Another aspect to this is the internalization of these stereotypes and biases. First there is the
pygmalion effect - which is us living up to expectations of the outside world, things that are so
ingrained in us due to society, that influence how we perform and the choices we make. And
with that there is the phenomenon called stereotype threat, which refers to the risk of confirming
a negative stereotype. When priming an identity (aka asking for gender or race at the start of a
test), this identity influences performance and leads to for example under performance of
females on a math test, whites vs asians on a math test, african american student athletes when
focusing on their athlete status as compared to their scholar status on tests of verbal reasoning.
However, stereotype threat can be triggered by something as simple as the feeling of being an
outsider. And I think that feeling undervalued, feeling different, feeling underrepresented within
sports or teams, will not only add stressors, but also (subconsciously) influence choices and
performance.

Sports have obviously been around for a long time in many shapes and forms, but what makes
sports an interesting topic in terms of gender and sexuality is that they are rooted in
heteronormative gender roles and have bean driven by white males. The earliest olympics were
exclusive to wealthy, affluent, white, able-bodied men and were used for men to show their
masculinity. And to this day, even though participant culture has evolved, most sports are still
led by these same groups of people and many sports still have a masculine ideal. So this
influences women in sports (think of differences in pay and airtime), lgbtq+ individuals (as well
as people of color) - who do not all necessarily fit into the stereotypical image of the masculine
athlete. The effects of this, from different angles, is something I would like to explore more in
future posts.

What I would like to end this post with is that we all have biases, don’t try denying it. In the end,
however, it is all about how you deal with them, how you respond to them. So educate yourself,
take a step back and think about your initial thoughts before you act. Think about how our
stereotypes might be influencing/impacting someone else and lend a hand, set an example.
To combat stereotype threat there are a few strategies, but one I find particularly interesting is
giving a role model that does not conform to the stereotype: Every kid, but also every adult has
people they look up to, and every minority group needs examples of people they can identify
with that have beaten the odds and paved the way. Showing these examples helps equalize the
field, and decreases the feeling of not belonging.

Some key references:
- Shaping the global leader - Henry P Biggs, Tom Bussen, and Lenny Ramsey
- Sexual minorities in sports - Edited by Melanie L Sartore-Baldwin

If you want more information on any of the specifics contact me and I can provide you with more
readings.
http://www.lennyramsey.com/

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