“We need to talk about the other end of the spectrum—the people who throw themselves into school or work or sports as a way of coping with their anxiety or depression or to fend off panic attacks or flashbacks.”
stereotypes
Labels are often used to cope with the binary system we’ve created to view sexuality, so it’s most helpful to talk to your queer friends about what their sexuality means to them rather than making assumptions based on harmful stereotypes.
Many professional athletes also feel that the femininity and therefore the validity of a woman is questioned the minute she enters sports. As former Olympic gold medallist in downhill skiing Kerrin Lee-Gartner identifies, the competitiveness needed to compete is celebrated among young boys, but frowned upon for young girls.
Like all stereotypes, ours limit our true potential. Depicting Canadians in one specific way draws a line in the sand between who can and cannot be considered Canadian. The more strongly we believe in the stereotypical model, the more we come to see real Canadians as different, as not belonging, as unCanadian.
