SMASH STEREOTYPES

In an extract from his prize-winning book, scientist and writer Adam Rutherford shows you how to use the power of science to fight racism. This chapter, titled Myth-Busting, is all about sport.

When we first meet someone, we quickly form ideas about them. It's a very natural, human thing to do. We make assumptions about people as soon as we see them. These assumptions are called stereotypes.

What are stereotypes?

Have you ever heard the phrase "Never judge a book by its cover"? Basically, this means that we shouldn't make assumptions about someone or something until we have investigated and understood them better. Equally, you might say, "Never judge a human by their colour." This is another way of referring to stereotyping.

Stereotypes are beliefs we might have about what a person or a group of people are like.

Stereotypes can sometimes be helpful to understand the world, as long as we remember that stereotypes are often untrue, and some stereotypes are deliberately harmful.

What is prejudice?

Have you ever had someone judge you? Perhaps it was based on where you're from, how you look or speak, the things you like doing or the clothes that you wear? If you have, then you'll know it's not very nice.

If we make assumptions about someone based on just their gender, beliefs, appearance, religion or race, it can not only be disrespectful, but also very hurtful. Even though we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, it does happen. Many of us have built-in prejudices that we may not even be fully aware of.

Ask yourself these questions:

•Who is best at cooking - boys or girls?

•Who cries more often - boys or girls?

•Who is better at football - boys or girls?

•Who is best at video games - boys or girls?

I bet you had some ideas about the answers here, didn't you? But in truth, there are no right answers.

Who is better at football? Well, some people would assume that the men's England football team would perform better in international competitions, but it was the women's team that won the European Championships in 2022, so who is better?