The eternal ate, the life of the party, the Nerd, the Geek, the high school jock, the Leader of The Pack, the Bully, the football star, the cheerleader, the class clown, the mascot, the rebel, black sheep of the family, the "crush ng bayan", the boy/girl next door, are just some of the labels we often hear and associate to everyday...
Just like any other Cosplayer, most of us assumes a role to play in our daily life. We might or might not be aware of it, but it would often dictates everything, from the way we speak, act, our clothes, preferences, and others... It becomes a sub conscious effort to "fit in" to whatever that role is. And like dressing up for a cosplay, that tries as much as possible to really look like the character one is potraying, we often find ourselves trying so hard to be exactly as what we tagged ourselves into, and that a little deviation is unacceptable.
People have this innate nature of wanting to belong... More often that not, we immediately associate ourselves to groups surrounding us, and by doing so, accepting and assuming a typical role to play, which leads to stereotyping ourselves for that role.
Most of the time, we are stuck with the role that everyone expects us to play, that we lost our real selves in the process. We do everything just because it fits the description of who we're supposed to be, and by doing so, feeling good about ourselves as well. And if anyone wants to take that entitlement / role away from us, they are faced with a harsh resistance and hostility...
We try to break away from that label people placed on us, and we are faced with fear of becoming an outcast, ending up alone - A jock can't be a Geek... do they really think so?
People stereotype for various reasons, one of which is that other people are too complex to understand from one's own perspective. Even though it is inaccurate, it's efficient because it enables us to simplify, predict and organize our little world. Problem is, once we have sorted and organized everyone into categories, we try to stick to that and avoid processing new or unexpected information. We then immediately assume a person's behavior based on the categories/groups we put them into, by doing so, it saves time and satisfies the need to predict the social world.
People also put themselves into stereotypes / roles because of the need to feel good about themselves... It protects one from anxiety and enhances self-esteem, providing one a sense of worth. We tend to be happy when someone gives us a pat in a back for fulfilling the role everyone expects us to play, and unknowingly punish ourselves whenever we fail to conform to the role we are supposed to be in. Once a stereotype is learned, it often becomes self-perpetuating.
Often, stereotyping goes hand in hand with prejudicial thinking. I too, am guilty of judging someone and categorizing them, before I even got to know them better. Something I am still learning to overcome.
All I am saying is that, it's pretty normal for us to try and want to fit in, but we should not limit ourselves to whatever the role people expects us to play. Life is a never ending journey of discoveries, and that includes learning more about ourselves, and not just be confined to whatever everyone thinks you should be. Don't be afraid that people might not like you anymore just because you try to deviate from what is expected, what the hell do they care anyway, its our life, and we should live it the way we want to, not the way "they" expect us to.
And yes, a geek can also be a jock and a circus freak... It's all about perspective and being open to possibilities... After all, stereotyping, itself, is a never ending chain of thoughts.
