Generalizations, Stereotypes, and Reality

"APBTs are energetic dogs who require a good deal of regular, hard exercise..." — Cynthia P. Gallagher, The American Pit Bull Terrier "Says who??" — my dog Felanie

Fair-skinned people with blond hair are most likely to get skin cancer. People who lurk in dark alleys late at night are probably up to no good. The west side of town is the "good" side. You shouldn't drive barefoot.

Are there exceptions to these "rules of thumb," these generalizations? Of course. But we all generalize. We have to. Imagine if we dealt in the specific and the actual all the time. It would be nearly impossible to function. Our conversations would go on forever as we list each exception, each percentage, each possibility. Our daily activities would take forever because we wouldn't be able to narrow down possibilities and options.

Generalizations make our lives easier to manage. It makes risk assessment easier. What is safer, a walk in the park or a walk down an alley? If I need help, do I ask the frowning young kid wearing the baggy pants, backward cap, 10 pounds of jewelry, and the tattoo of the snake, or do I ask the smiling older fellow wearing the pleated slacks and polo shirt? By generalizing about the people, places, and things around us, we are able to make quick decisions that are most likely to be effective. We can negotiate risk and avoid potential dangers.

Generalizations don't always work out for the best. Well-dressed older gentlemen can also be serial killers. Dark-skinned individuals can also get skin cancer. Still, we have to negotiate our world somehow.

Yet, as Malcolm Gladwell writes, "Another word for generalization... is 'stereotype,' and stereotypes are usually not considered desirable dimensions of our decision-making lives."

The term "generalization" doesn't carry the negative connotations that the word "stereotype" does. What is it that makes generalizations acceptable, while stereotypes are unacceptable?

Stereotypes go farther than generalizations. They are often based on misconceptions, or drawn from unreliable data.

	Generalization	Stereotype
American Heritage Dictionary	"A principle, statement, or idea having general application"	"A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image. "
WordNet	"reasoning from detailed facts to general principles"	"a conventional or formulaic conception or image"
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary		"an often oversimplified or biased mental picture held to characterize the typical individual of a group"

What does this have to do with dogs? Quite a lot, actually.

We generalize about (or perhaps stereotype) dogs all the time. "The Labrador has much that appeals to people; his gentle ways, intelligence and adaptability make him an ideal dog." (AKC website) "The [Dalmatian] is very active and needs plenty of exercise." (Wikipedia) "Although the smaller poodles share the standard's intelligence, they are much more active indoors and out; less stable, especially with children; more demanding of attention; and frequently are yappy." (Dog Owner's Guide)

While our generalizations about dogs can help us navigate the tens of millions of dogs out there in order to find "the right dog" for our family, those who take the generalizations seriously, as a sort of guarantee, will inevitably be let down. When we generalize, we ignore the individual traits and qualities that make each and every dog different. Not all Dalmatians are active. Not all poodles are yappy.

These generalizations can also be very harmful. The world's first face transplant recipient might have something to say about the Labrador Retriever's "gentle ways." People, especially children, are regularly bitten by stereotyped "family" dogs.

Pit bulls are surrounded by a lot of mythology and emotion. It is exceedingly difficult to find solid, factual, unbiased information about pit bulls. But without this reliable data, we risk making faulty generalizations. It becomes perilous, therefore, to make reasonable generalizations about pit bulls without straying into stereotypes.

We can say that pit bulls are good with children, but what about the individual pit bulls that are not good with children? We can say that pit bulls are strong and athletic, but what about the pit bulls that are lazy and wimpy? We can say that pit bulls are vicious and dangerous, but what about the pit bulls that are friendly and safe? The stereotypical pit bull, the generalized pit bull, is really nothing more than a concept pieced together from ideas, rumors, myths, and facts. Each and every pit bull, just like each and every dog, and each and every living creature, is still an individual animal with individual traits.

It is important for everyone to understand that generalizations about dogs, including pit bulls, cannot be thought of as a mold that all similar dogs will fit into. If you get a Labrador Retriever because you believe it will be friendly and good with kids, you might be disappointed. If you get a pit bull because you think it will be a good running partner, you might be disappointed. When you disown your son because he got a Rottweiler, you might be doing more harm than the dog ever could.

When you decide to choose a dog, treat your candidates as individuals, not breeds. Evaluate each individual dog's level of energy, attentiveness, friendliness, and so forth. Don't just run out and get a (insert breed here) and assume it's going to turn out just like the owner's manual or breed standard describes.

When you meet a strange dog, treat the dog as an individual, not a breed. Study the dog's body language and think about what it's trying to tell you. If you simply assume that a Lab is going to be friendly because, well, it's a Lab, you might end up in the hospital. If, on the other hand, you banish pit bulls from your presence because you believe they are all vicious, you are practicing discrimination—and if that doesn't bother you, well, you might be violating federal law too.

On this website, I make generalizations. I have to. But I want to emphasize that these generalizations are nothing more than a broad statement about possibilities. Generalizations do not necessarily reflect individual realities. Please apply these generalizations with responsibility and care, and with an eye for the uniqueness that makes each dog different.