About 20 students gathered in the Reitz Union to discuss and act out common stereotypes their communities face.
Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Asian Kaleidoscope Month and the Student Government Multicultural Affairs Cabinet hosted an event Monday night during which participants were split into three teams and acted out different stereotypes for the entire group to guess and discuss.
Marina Bahmad, a 19-year-old UF marketing sophomore, said she wanted to bring together three organizations that host monthlong celebrations for their respective cultures.
“How are you supposed to live and coincide with one another if you have no idea how others live?” said Bahmad, the external program director for Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends Saturday.
Throughout the event, students talked about stereotypes such as Hispanic women working as maids, black women being single mothers with multiple children and Asian students being good at math.
Havi Tran, 21, the executive director of Asian Kaleidoscope Month, said even “positive” stereotypes such as Asian students being considered smart can have negative effects.
“Our talents diverge beyond that,” the UF psychology senior said. “Our culture is much deeper than that.”
Nadege Dauphin, 21, said she enjoyed discussing stereotypes she hadn’t considered, such as the idea that Hispanic men are hypersexualized.
The UF health education and behavioral senior said it was important to learn about stereotypes so you don’t generalize a group of people.
“It limits you from learning about them,” she said. “You go in with this prejudgement.”
A group of students act out a stereotype on Monday evening. They were pantomiming the misconception that all Hispanic women are maids.
