Implications and Misconceptions Brought by Single Stories About Sexual Orientation (Essay Sample)

Stereotypes Based on Sexual Orientation and Body Sizes
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Stereotypes Based on Sexual Orientation and Body Sizes
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about the impact of a single story on people's lives and their perceptions of others. If consistently told by the right narrators, a stereotypical narrative can lead to numerous implications and misperceptions on society. In the identity profile, sexual orientation and body size stood out most to me. These identities are unique as they focus on matters that face controversy in our current world and lead to significant emotional distress for me. I also believe that all identities relate to one another. For instance, there is an intersection between one’s nationality and perceptions on matters such as religion and sexuality. The U.S. is a liberal and individualistic nation that accepts diversity in religion, race, sexuality, and other identities on the surface. However, single stories told about a social identity lead to misconceptions that bring about conflicts in diversity. Filling the social identity profile makes me understand that being a learned person gives me the privilege of exposure and reduces my personal biases when working with diverse populations.
While growing up, my next-door neighbor, Ian, was termed "different" by the community. He was brought up by a single mother and had three elder sisters. Ian did not possess a typical masculine person's qualities and enjoyed spending time with girls more than his male peers. In our society, leaders and guardians led us to believe that Ian's 'mental disorder' of gayness was solely due to the lack of a father figure in his household. Our teachers and guardians asserted that gay 'diseases' are due to poor parenting or trauma as a child. Although Ian was a happy child who had not faced significant trauma in his life, I grew up pitying him and believing that the lack of a male figure in his life led to his sexual orientation. Thus, homosexuality in my home town was described as an illness due to