Melting point

Stereotypes. If we separate this word into individual parts, we notice that the word “stereotype” derives from the greek words “stereos”, meaning solid, and “typos”, meaning form. When we’re discussing stereo types, then we’re encountering solid forms, so compact and unshakeable that manages to keep its mass constant, from one generation to another. It doesn’t change shape or form, it doesn’t progress, it doesn’t follow new trends.

From the very first days of our life, society makes sure to “gift” us with a bunch of generalisations and characterisations of the people and the situations we will be facing. Everything is arranged in boxes ready to use. There’s no room for critical thinking, reflection, shaping of a new belief unrelated to the past. The notion that women are exclusively destined to become mothers, that homosexuality is unnatural and offensive, that immigrants living in our country are to blame for criminality and unemployment, is a small sample of the wide range of stereotypes that are planted in our minds and determine our actions and reactions. The question is: Why do we let a stereotype predetermine our view on something? Some will say, it is convenient and safe according to the informal rules of society. I say, it’s the fear of the unknown.

Discovering new data is not a pleasant process for everyone. It takes courage to get out of your comfort zone and see the world from a different angle. You may not like that view, after all. However, you will have simply benefited from not having stood still. Gaining new experiences and knowledge is the brain’s sole nutriment. It’s the energy our brain requires in order to operate and explore every path of the mind. Many times, these paths mix up and end up in endless labyrinths from which it seems impossible to escape. However, the end of the thread is one step away from freedom of thought. When the mind is “clear”, free from the shackles of prejudice, then humans are able to observe reality and live in the moment.

The reason why it’s dangerous to live using stereotypes during modern times, is because the greatest percentage of them was formed in periods lacking the data we have today. Over the years, as technology and science evolve, so must the way of thinking. It’s impossible to consider ourselves to be modern people when our minds are “stuck” years behind. Society’s evolution doesn’t only concern material goods and services but also humans themselves. The way of thinking and perceiving must conform with the present. It is time for stereotypes to change form and to be converted, through melting, from solid to liquid matters whose shape will mold according to their container. Each passing year is a different container, including new data that must be taken into account, old habits that need to disappear. The differences each year may not be significant, but they do exist and we are walking along with them.

If we think about how “liberated” our life can become without any social labels, we will realize that there is no label to completely define humans, after all. Therefore, its use is completely useless. With critical thinking, empathy and understanding we can form, on our own and from the beginning, opinions based on current events and not on social moulds. A change for the better is up to us, as long as we dare to take the first step.

Author: Chrysoula Tsopoulou

Photography by Simeon Maniatis (@simos_maniatis)

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