1. Activity
1.16
What is a stereotype?
A stereotype is generally based on assumptions about a group of
people based on race, gender, location, behavior, or physical traits. For
example, many jokes and movies focus on the stereotype of the “dumb
blonde” or the clueless “nerd” with glasses.
Stereotypes have been around a long time. They reflect the ideas that
people have about others who are not like them in some way. When
you hear someone describe a classmate as a “nerd” or a “jock,” you’re
hearing a stereotype that is assigning that person to a category based
on a label.
Stereotypes are not all negative; for example, “nerdy kids are smart” or
“girls are better at intuition than guys” are positive stereotypes. Using
either negative or positive stereotypes to describe people ignores the
uniqueness of people by mischaracterizing who they are and what they
think and believe as individuals.
Voices Against Stereotypes
SUGGESTED Learning Strategies: SOAPSTone, Brainstorming,
Close Reading, Marking the Text, Rereading, Word Map, Drafting
Academic VocaBulary
A stereotype is a fixed,
oversimplified image of a
person, group, or idea, or
something conforming to
that image.
Uniqueness contains the
root -uni-, from the Latin
word unicus or unus,
meaning “single or one.”
This root also appears in
unison, unicorn, unicycle,
and university. The suffix
-ness indicates that the
word is a noun.
Word
Connections
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Unit 1 • Voices of Modern Culture 43

2. continued
Read the poem below and then complete the SOAPSTone activity
that follows.
My Notes
Activity 1.16
Voices Against Stereotypes
A b o u t t h e A u t h o r
Diane Burns (1957–2006) published only one book of
poetry, Riding the One-Eyed Ford (1981), but she was a
vivid presence in the New York City poetry scene in the
1980s. Admiring critics have described her poetry as
“fierce,” “witty,” and “sardonic.”
P o e t r y
Diane Burns
(Lac Courte Oreilles- Cheemehuevi)
How do you do?
No, I am not Chinese.
No, not Spanish.
No, I am American Indi—uh, Native American.
No, not from India
No, not Apache
No, not Navajo.
No, not Sioux.
No, we are not extinct.
Yes, Indian.
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44 SpringBoard® English Textual Power™ Level 5
Reflection of the loss of culture, homeland,
and identify of many N.A. tribes and
cultures. Maybe her confusion about who
she is, too.
Addressing: types
of N.A. All the
same, confusion
with people from
India.

3. continued
Oh?
So that’s where you got those high cheekbones.
Your great grandmother, huh?
An Indian Princess, huh?
Hair down to there?
Let me guess. Cherokee?
Oh, so you’ve had an Indian friend?
That close?
Oh, so you’ve had an Indian servant?
That much?
Yeah, it was awful what you guys did to us.
It’s real decent of you to apologize.
No, I don’t know where you can get peyote.
No, I don’t know where you can get Navajo rugs real cheap.
No, I didn’t make this. I bought it at Bloomingdales.
Thank you. I like your hair too.
I don’t know if anyone knows whether or not Cher is really Indian.
No, I didn’t make it rain tonight.
Yeah. Uh-huh. Spirituality.
Uh-huh. Yeah. Spirituality. Uh-huh. Mother
Earth. Yeah. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Spirituality.
No, I didn’t major in archery.
Yeah, a lot of us drink too much.
Some of us can’t drink enough.
This ain’t no stoic1
look.
This is my face.
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2020
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3030
3535
My Notes
1 stoic, adj., unaffected by emotions in the midst of adversity
Activity 1.16©2011CollegeBoard.Allrightsreserved.
Unit 1 • Voices of Modern Culture 45
Addresses:
Appearance - high
cheekbones, long
hair
New speaker? Or
did the other
person say they
were part N.A.?
All N.A. are related or the person is
trying to relate
Pay? How much
they did? How
many?
Drugs, all N.A.
weave rugs, all N.
A. are poor
Bloomingdales isn't
cheap, so she's not
poor.
Rain dances
Religion,
spirituality,
worship, All N.A.
worship Mother
Earth
All N.A. hunt with
bows arrows still
Stereotype: All N.A. are drunks. Reference
to history - getting them drunk to buy stuff
Drown frustrations about the past, pain, hurt,
anger, hopelessness
All N.A. don't show emotions
Sounds irritated or angry

4. continued
A Close Reading of Text
SOAPSTone Response Textual Support
Speaker:
Who is the speaker?
Occasion:
What is the social, cultural,
historical, geographical
context of the text?
Audience:
Who is the target audience?
Purpose:
What is the message of the
text?
Why was it written?
Subject:
What is the text about?
What is the theme?
Tone: What is the speaker’s
attitude toward the reader,
subject, and audience?
Voices Against StereotypesActivity 1.16
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46 SpringBoard® English Textual Power™ Level 5
Maybe teenager,
young adult lots of slang
Stopped in the hall
at school, the mall
it's a conversation
the questioner, another
teenager, young adult OR
anyone who has stereotypes
about people
Written in Q/A
organization,
addresses topic,
slang
Stereotypes aren't
always correct
Frustration over
stereotypes faced
QA format
Anger reflected at
the end
Theme -
stereotypes aren't
correct; don't judge
people by
stereotypes
All the stereotypes
expressed are
wrong don't
describe her life.
Anger and
frustration
Lots of repeated No, ... end she
sounds angry and sad (the
drinking line)