Among these examples, which one is NOT an example of stereotypes?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → She is a brave person.

Option (1) Group C is lazy. — A stereotype (Incorrect). Stereotypes are fixed and inflexible characterisations of a group of people; they fix whole groups into single, homogenous categories. This statement labels a whole group as lazy, the kind of label (‘lazy’ or ‘cunning’) often met in fiction about whole groups.

Option (2) Tribe A is irrational. — A stereotype (Incorrect). It fixes one quality on an entire tribe, as if every member were the same.

Option (3) She is a brave person. — Not a stereotype (Correct). This describes one individual, not a group. Some individuals are sometimes brave or cowardly; saying so about one person does not fix a whole group into a category.

Option (4) Community B is coward. — A stereotype (Incorrect). Calling a whole community cowardly is the colonial kind of stereotype, which called some communities ‘martial races’ and others effeminate or cowardly.

NCERT (2025-26): “5.1 What Is Social About Social Inequality and Exclusion? … Prejudices are often grounded in stereotypes, fixed and inflexible characterisations of a group of people. Stereotypes are often applied to ethnic and racial groups and to women. In a country such as India, which was colonised for a long time, many of these stereotypes are partly colonial creations. Some communities were characterised as ‘martial races’, some others as effeminate or cowardly, yet others as untrustworthy. In both English and Indian fictional writings we often encounter an entire group of people classified as ‘lazy’ or ‘cunning’. It may indeed be true that some individuals are sometimes lazy or cunning, brave or cowardly. But such a general statement is true of individuals in every group. Even for such individuals, it is not true all the time – the same individual may be both lazy and hardworking at different times. Stereotypes fix whole groups into single, homogenous categories; they refuse to recognise the variation across individuals and across contexts or across time.…”