Emily
Mike“Flight Attendant Helps Land Plane” was a headline on web news sites during the past 24 hours. Now, be truthful to yourself, before you saw a photo or name, did you think that the person was male or female? This is a case of mixed stereotypes. On the one hand, the stereotype of “flight attendant” is female. The stereotype of a person who “helps land plane” is male.
I’ll bet that the first thought of most people was that the person was a male. In other words, I’m guessing that the male stereotype overrode the female stereotype. But I’m sure you know by now that the person, Patti DeLuna, is a female. Were you guilty of any stereotyping? (See my related post “Stereotyping by Pronouns.”)
Filed under: Stereotyping Tagged: | Flight Attendant, Patti DeLuna, Stereotype
Considering how much news that story was getting, I assumed it was a woman.
I need to read the news more often, as I have missed this story until now.
I used to fly a LOT for work, so the female flight attendant stereotype is pretty well reinforced in my brain, and it completely won out over any thoughts about “man lands plane” I might have had.
That it was a man didn’t even cross my mind, actually.