Stereotypes.
Some very wise and interesting people i know think it's ok to harbour stereotypes as long as they're the 'good' ones. I don't agree.
We saw K's parents into a mini-cab. They are old and her mum has Alzheimer's. So I was happy when I say the driver was (Indian sub-continent)Asian. We would have seemed so caring and solicitous of them that I imagined the driver would treat them well on their long journey home. I had the stereotype in mind that 'Asians are respectful of family' or 'have strong family values' and imagined that it would be transferred onto K's parents.
Two big assumptions on my part.
The other stereotype just wafted into my consciousness when I was watching sClub7 on tv. They are a very 'white', very manufactured pop group but one of the seven memebers is this black guy. He's the one who does the rapping and he wears slightly different clothes from the other boys - they're more 'street' - bandanas, big gold chains, oversized t-shirts. I watched him in the performance and he seemed kind of aloof, kind of cool, like he was a bit embarrassed to be there. But he has been there for at least 2 years or however long S Club 7 has been around...
I guess it's my projection that this guy doesn't fit in. Eventhough he's playing to a stereotype of coolness, I'm also projecting a stereotype of coolness onto him. I imagine he's too cool to take part but that's clearly not the case.