KidSpirit

Adopted Stereotypes

Human DignityGlobal Beat

Thor : He is of Asgard, and he is my brother.
Black Widow : He killed eighty people in two days.
Thor : He’s adopted.

This joke in the popular 2012 Marvel movie The Avengers sparked a lot of controversy about how adopted children are represented in the media. But since the media is affecting all of us in more ways than we can think of, I’m going to be honest and say that I, too, was prejudiced. Prejudiced in thinking that adopted children are violent, attention seeking, and so many more negative things. And these ideas weren’t based on my own experience, but on several pieces of information floating around on the internet.

When I was first introduced to Inika, I felt something along the lines of sympathy. It was the first time I was exposed to an adopted child. But over a period of time, with her shy glances and kind gestures, she managed to completely erase any trace of the stereotype; far from violent, she was quiet, kind and, courageous. She’s adopted and she’s proud of it.

The bully approached her and called her names. She seemed unperturbed, until I saw her face. Silent tears made their way down her dusky cheeks, like government cars gliding through traffic. Impressions apart, she was adopted. We expected her to lash out, to use the attention, but she pleaded to us not to tell anyone.

Reflecting back, I realize that when people try to rise up to break stereotypes imposed on them, they are often suppressed. But, as is evident from my experiences, stereotypes are usually based on nothing. And how are they created? Sometimes it just takes a joke.

We have been propelled into an advanced stage of development. Questions have brought us further along, but we have left questioning stereotypes behind, with the first stereotype, the first person being pushed down.

When respect should be the ruling factor, how can we allow stereotypes to dictate over us?

Raavee Tripathi is a seventh grader at Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India. She enjoys dancing, reading dystopian books, debating, playing sports, and just surfing the internet. Her ambitions do change, but her current goal seems to be re-reading the Harry Potter series for the 15th time.

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn