stereotypes

Is it just me or has there been a lot of talk of Mormons lately? I really don't want to delve into the nitty gritty of the exchanges bouncing around. All I want to say is that the few times I've clearly been misunderstood or stereotyped as a Mormon it has been really annoying at best and hurtful at worst.

Scenario one: I must have been in high school. I was on a trip home from somewhere, by myself in an airport. I honestly don't remember much of the details. But I do clearly remember striking a conversation with a middle aged woman. Somehow the conversation came around to me being a Mormon. I don't remember much of the conversation, but I do remember that she proceeded to describe Mormon girls as primarily domestic. She told me that Mormon girls must transition easily into marriage because they are good at sewing and cooking. What? I began to feel that perhaps Mormon girls, and consequently, myself, were being slightly misunderstood and falsely categorized.

Scenario two: My husband and I found ourselves in Las Vegas for our anniversary this year. We got sucked into a sales pitch for time shares. We vehemently told the woman talking to us that we were not interested for lots of reasons, finances being an excuse, but really time shares don't seem very appealing. She then said something like, "Well, you two are from Utah, so I'm assuming you'll be having quite a few more children". Again, what? I'm not even sure what this statement had to do with the larger context of the conversation we were having, but again I felt falsely categorized.

Scenario three: This summer in Arizona I attended a conference given by an expert on gifted education. I'm sure the man giving the presentation was talented in many ways, but when he found out my research partner and I were from BYU, he must have made a few assumptions. Later he was discussing how important it is to take culture, race and ethnicity into account when approaching education. He loudly drew attention to me and my research partner and said something like, "even these girls from BYU...". (First of all, girls?) I honestly don't know if or how he finished the statement, but his intent was clear. People from BYU (Mormons) are ethnocentric, racist people who don't care about people of other races or cultures. Huh? Sigh. I think I've made my point.

The bottom line: stereotyping is unfair and rude. Being on the receiving end...well, let's just say it isn't fun.