An ethnic stereotype may be either (A) an overly-simplified representation of the typical characteristics of members of an ethnic group, or (B) a falsehood that has been repeated so many times that is accepted by many people as generally true. The use of stereotypes often leads to misunderstanding and hurt feelings.
Some stereotypes, based on unbiased observations of actual behavior, can be accurate and useful:
Japanese people and other Asians often bow when meeting others.
Some ethnic groups have a different conception of "personal space" from Westerners. (Latinos and peoples from the Middle East exhibit a similar lack of conscientiousness of the notion of 'personal space'). They often move in close and speak nearly in someone's face. This is often considered offensive among Westerners, but in some countries it actually denotes conversational intimacy and respect.
Swiss Germans are punctilious, particularly about time. It is considered an insult to be even a few minutes late for an appointment.
Ethnic stereotypes are often describe as either positive or negative. Negatives stereotypes present inaccurate negative generalization of a group and thus are usually viewed as offensive. There are many examples, lists of these can be found at the following articles:
Positive stereotypes describe inaccurate positive generalizations of a group. They may also be viewed as offensive as they may be viewed as putting an unfair burden or expectation on the members of the group in question, especially those who do not fit the stereotype.
Often a stereotype is a negative caricature or inversion of some positive characteristic possessed by members of a group, exaggerated to the point where it becomes repulsive or ridiculous.
Stereotypes are common in the world of drama, where the term is often used as a form of dramatic shorthand for "stock character".
For example, the stereotypical devil is a red, impish character with horns, bifurcated tail, and a trident, whilst the stereotypical salesman is a slickly-dressed, fast-talking individual who cannot usually be trusted.
An ethnic stereotype is a generalized representation of an ethnic group, composed of what are thought to be typical characteristics of members of the group.
The use of stereotypes often leads to misunderstanding and hurt feelings, because they may be either untrue generalizations, truthful but unflattering generalizations, or truthful generalizations about a group which are untrue of any given member of a group.
Many modern ethnic stereotypes can be described as accurate representations of social norms within a given ethnicity and may reflect what a large portion of the living population is, in fact, doing.
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