Just wondering if anyone thinks that if you don't fit a certain stereotype you will get nowhere in life?

no way!! i pride myself on being different!!

Emma

Hmm, I certainly think that society forces everyone to conform to a certain extent.

Not sure about fitting a stereotype, though - although I suppose being chubby and cheerful is a stereotype!

...Good for you Mumford!! Don't ever let anyone change you!

...Theemax..YOU  know what you are really like inside, just ignore those people who pre judge you because of your appearance, does their opinion  really matter to anyone but themselves? 

Gaynor... when my son went to uni he pierced his ears and eybrows and wore baggy clothes and made 'strange' tasting cakes and I was very proud of him. He is now very respectable with a good job. I think you can be rightly proud of you son too and gothic clothes are great!!

cazf..don't worry one day someone will notice your talents and you will get the job you want  if you are prepared to push yourself forward and make it happen.

What are  'stereotypes' anyway? Only peoples misconseptions on what others are really like. Some on this site think I am a witch!! Great i'm honoured!! 

I think we should all celebrate the individuality we find  in others, no two people are the same we are all unique and special in different ways and yes you can get somewhere in life if you have confidence in yourself and stop worrying what people think, you only get one chance at life so get out there and get on with it  :-D

I have 4 children all of whom are different, however 3 of them fit into what I would call a typical stereotype of being 'normal' trendy clothes, into sport, films etc., going out, meeting the opposite sex.  However, my eldest would never ever never ever wear anything with a name on it, always buys his clothes from charity shops even though he has a fairly well paid job, never looks the part (in my words he's often scruffy).  Never looks the same as anyone else and has been known to say, tell me what normal is and I will be it!

aah he sounds lovely, a true individual, there aren't many of them about anymore unfortunately!!:(

It would be nice to think people didn't fit certain stereotypes, but the society we live in is all too quick to judge.  I suppose i fit into the overweight stereotype.  My motto is dont judge unless you want to be judged yourself.

Michelle :)

dont think its true that you wont necessarily get anywhere but society does like to slot people into little boxes :rolleyes:

It's easier for people to fit everyone else into little slots.  Everyone is guilty of doing it to some extent, I know I am!

God forbid, how boring the world would be :D

Incase anyone is wondering where the question comes from, I was just trying to find out if its just me or others think the same.

I went and studied a degree and couldn't find a job, eventually got one. Now I've been there a far while and taken on extra tasks and not received a payrise whereas others have and was just wondering if because I'm overweight and not blessed with good lucks and fairly quiet, if I would always be ignored regardless of how much I try.

I've also managed to get a few interviews recently and some seem to go ok but then I don't get th job so started to wonder if it's because I don't fit.

Maybe I'm just paranoid!!!

Sadly, in my experience, people ARE judged on appearance.

I am judged because i live in a council house, im fat, i have tattoos and (because im basically scared) when cornered im gobby and sarcastic.

Online, i tend to be judged more on the things i let ppl know about me, the council house thing, and the fact that im on benefits. But at least online, IM in charge of what people know or dont know.

The way i see it, if someone makes a judgement, stereotypes you because of your appearance then they arent worth knowing anyway.

If they are willing to see past that, and find out WHO you are, not what you appear to be, then you are onto a winner.

Sadly, that kind of person seems to be hard to find somedays!

Em

We have a wonderful son who is 16 years old an just left school, he has gone out into the big wide world and found himself an apprentiship in welding which he has choose this line of work cos he wants to do this...

He is a total individual as we all are but he is deemed to be a "FREAK OF NATURE" as people call him because of the way that he dresses an the music that he listens to (GOTHIC)...

I would like to say to all these judgemental people out there every individual is different we all have different feeling's, we are all human and that if we all fitted into a selective catagory then this would be a very sad world that we all would live...

An I can assure everyone that lable's my son as a "FREAK OF NATURE" he really isn't, he is very well educated, a good clean living lad and most of all to me an his dad he is the perfect son, never bringing any trouble or problems to our door, and we are both proud to call him our son... Even when he does dress up in his gothic clothes...

Gaynor & Karl

I don't know whether I'm a stereotype?  I'm early 30's, not too bad looking, tall, slimish and SINGLE !!  Can't be bothered with the hassle and never have been bothered, if Mr RIGHT comes along all well and good, but I don't know why other people get so all up tight about it.  Actually I quite enjoy being single, I can do my own thing, my dogs adore me and I have a job, so things aren't too bad at all.

I know people look at me and think how weird that I'm still single and they even say things.  Does everybody in life need a husband/wife and children, I don't think so.

I would love to change things in some ways but life aint that bad when you're single.  I may end up turning into an old spinster!  :D

A least your son is true to himself, At the moment everyone seems to have their hair blonde at the top and black on the bottom well I decided to change my hair from black to blonde and have now added  bright pink on the bottom and I cant believe the reactions of some people because I dont want to be a sheep people feel they can be really rude I dont mind the "Oh my God what have you done" being pink I knew I would get that but people who dont know me coming up and telling me my hair is horrible the way I see it is if you dont like it I suggest you dont have it done but I am 27 so still young I have plenty of time to be grown up and conform.
Mary (clinging to youth for dear life)

The fairly quiet doesn't help, I'm tall and fairly slim and very quiet and get treated like dirt at work some times, but hey that's life.  Others do half the job I do and get paid a damn site more, but they shout up for things, when I do I think people dismiss it as they think, I'm that quiet that I'll soon get back into my corner again and I suppose they're right :d

I must admit that when I was looking for jobs when I was younger I didn't get anywhere either.  I would love in some ways to change my job now and do something totally different but I'm not the most ambitious person unfortunately, maybe one day I'll do something to change my life as I can't expect my dreams to come to me on their own and come true I need to make things happen.

perrodeagua, that sounds almost like my scenario at work.

I've seen others moan when they have something that isn't easy or doesn't go according to plan or if there workload is heavier than normal and these seem to be the ones that are rewarded.

I on the other hand just get on with whatever is chucked my way and see it has new challenges, chances to learn new skills and in return seem to not get taken seriously.

Don't know how to do quotes so will just copy it:

"when I do I think people dismiss it as they think, I'm that quiet that I'll soon get back into my corner again and I suppose they're right "

I had a kind of review meeting with my manager a while back and expressed where I wanted to go, how I wanted to learn more and how much I'd taken on and that I was unhappy with my salary.  I got told we will see what we can do, that was along time ago. So think the above definately applies to me.

I am very ambitious and think thats why I'm getting so frustrated. Will I ever get anywhere?

Yep sounds similiar, love to know what organisation you're with :d