Generally Speaking

Charon raises an interesting point; not only is generalizing useful, it's necessary. People want to believe that people are individuals and grouping them together is just wrong. There's no way an entire group can all portray the exact same characteristics, but at the same time it's impossible not to generalize. It is too easy to confuse stereotypes and generalizations. Generalizations are facts that allow individuals to take in the world around them more easily. It is a generalization to view people as either male or female, however it is not acceptable to assign specific roles to each gender. The individuals of either group may act as individuals, but the generalization should still apply. For example, I can be generalized as a senior. I am taking more classes than I ever have and I'm busier now than I have ever been. Obviously I am not a lazy senior who is just skating through second semester. It is fine to generalize as long as we are all open to accept exceptions to the generalization. Nobody should be put down for being generalized a specific way. There is no reason a young man in a wheel chair cannot do a back flip at a skate park; our assumption that a wheelchair bound child should not be at a skate park is ignorant. People are individuals and should not be defined by how we initially generalize them.