Classification of common high school stereotypes

The way we present ourselves to society often gives them a predetermined assumption of the type of person we are. Even though it’s not always safe to assume a person’s personality based on their appearance, people seem to do it anyways. Sometimes people are mistreated due to their appearance, but they purposely present themselves the way they do because of a choice to be unique. As a student in a fairly large high school, it was easy to see the different “stereotypes” of people, as they tended to hang out together. This past experience shows how the outside world can treat you based upon a certain classification they choose to place you in.

There seems to be a few main stereotypes that can be found in a diverse high school. There’s the preppies, goths, jocks, thugs, nerds, and last but not least, the hippies and skaters, who often fall into the same category. There are many different people in this world, all with different personalities, and it’s not fair to stereotype someone strictly based on looks. There is obviously also going to be people who don’t seem to fall into any of these categories, but with that said, this is an attempt to identify these six different types of people.

The first group we’ll look at is the preppies. Someone is usually classified as a preppy mainly based on the type of clothing he or she wears. These people are stereotyped as wearing all the latest fashions, everything they wear must be a big name brand and expensive. Although not all of them are, most people think of preppies as being “the rich crowd.”

Goths are a very broad group of people. When most people think of someone who is “Gothic” they think of a few main points. The common conception regarding the gothic crowd is that they are a disturbed bunch. These people go for the shock factor to get a reaction from people. They display dark clothes and hair along with their withdrawn personalities. Gothic crowds tend to congregate exclusively as a whole group and not interact with the more socially accepted groups of people.

Today, as always most high schools fit the classic television description, of course you have your nerds, but at the top of the social hierarchy are thev typical jocks wearing their lettermen’s jackets and cheerleaders. It seems that everyone loves the jocks because of their social status. Most people who aren’t fond of them will be friendly with them in person to gain their acceptance. They are characterized by their good looks, tremendous athletic ability, and immense egos. The crowd of jocks, (often the party crowd), usually has the pleasure of the most mysterious and unobtainable resource in our society, the hot cheerleader.

Thugs are a category that could be divided up into even more stereotypes, but we are going to look at the group as a whole. Your average thugs are going for a gangster image; they want to be feared yet respected at the same time. They can be extremely social, but they will be the first to let you know when you are on their bad side, a place you don’t want to be. They are often identified by their baggy clothes, rap music, and an attitude of not caring. There are two essentials to climbing to the top of the thug ladder, the size of your wheels and the size of your ice. The bigger the better.

If you like online reality games, computers, Magic the Gathering, books, or school in general, you’re probably a nerd. The typical movie stereotype of a nerd is someone who has thick glasses and wears ties or suspenders to class. They are usually quiet and withdrawn from the rest of the school. Nerds can be broken down into two main classifications, the book nerds and the computer geeks. Book nerds love school, they love learning, and always strive to do their best. They usually aren’t athletic, and don’t have very good social lives. Computer geeks are as described. They love computers. They sometimes skip bathing and personal hygiene so as not to miss a chance to play an online game or upgrade their hard drive. An acceptable Friday night for a computer geek is sitting at home downloading porn.

Hippies and skaters, although really two different stereotypes, they fall into the same classification for one main reason, the love to smoke marijuana. Hippies are typically wear tie dyed shirts, corduroys, and hemp necklaces. They love Bob Marley and the Greatful Dead Bears, trees, and most importantly, weed. If you were to ask a hippie if he was one, you might get a response similar to, “What is a hippie anyways, man?” Skaters and hippies share a lot in common. They often listen to the same music, wear the same style clothes, and obviously both smoke a lot. What makes a skater a skater is his love for the half-pipe, grinding on rails, and hitting ramps, whether on a bike, skateboard, or rollerblades.

Although these stereotypes are socially unacceptable, it is a fact that they exist. As long as there have been teenagers and public schools, there have been stereotype-generating cliques. Even though it is obvious to what clique, or stereotype a certain individual belongs, it is rare to have someone admit that they are a jock, nerd, prep, or hippie. They just assume these labels by being themselves. While it is wrong to label people by their appearance, a persons looks often reflect their personality. These examples are the most obvious personalities to categorize. One could go in depth and find a different stereotype for every individual in the world, but the average citizen would prefer to place all others in stereotypes, while excluding themselves.