Learning about stereotype threats and how those in minority groups often under-perform when reminded of their status was frustrating for me, since even minority individuals themselves seem to allows the prejudice around them to hurt them. However, it also made me wonder … what can be said of minorities when they “ironically” joke about their identities? If they perpetuate their own group’s stereotypes through ironic jokes to their fellow community … is there any implications of this? I see this often within some friends in the past, and I never know how to feel about it …
Critical Thinking
Yes! I agree this is something I rarely read or hear people talk about. I feel this type of self-imposing stereotype can be just as detrimental as others imposing it. Growing up, my family was always straightforward that would exist for my varying identities (women, latina, Texan, etc.), but then put in extra effort to building my self-confidence so these pre-existing stereotypes would have as small effect as possible on my identity development. Naturally, this method can lead to other problems, but I am fortunate that I try to prevent myself from connecting myself to negative stereotypes.
I also agree that when minorities “ironically” joke about their identities is barely discussed upon. I see any type of stereotype as negative, so even this type of stereotype you mention is toxic in our society. It’s important that we just remove any type of stereotypes in our society completely.
I thought about this same idea when I was reading as well. In particular, I thought about instances in which you would make a joke about your identity. For example, I am Jewish and my Jewish friends and I have made jokes about Jewish stereotypes. However, what if someone overheard us and then thought it would be okay to joke around with us and engage in our mockery (this has not actually happened, I was just thinking about this hypothetical upon reading). This interaction could actually initiate self deprecation. I could think to myself, well my friends and I were just joking around but this person seems to actually feel this way. Therefore, this could be another example of a self defeating stereotype, which causes someone to feel a certain way that they may not have felt before.
I think in some ways that these jokes are a coping mechanism for some. While I am not trying to equate my experiences to that of a minority group, I have personally found myself making jokes about my speech impediment because it is something that has given me a lot of trouble in the past. I find myself making these jokes as a way to address it before others ask me about it. While this is my experience, I understand how there are different ramifications and backgrounds when the jokes involve something that has more biases within society than a speech impediment.