At some point in our lives many (most?) of us have felt like we’ve been put into a stereotype box.

Because of how we dress, act or what we look like. Haven’t you? For instance, if I were to paint a picture of a bespectacled boy sitting in a laboratory, head buried in books and scribbling down notes, how many stereotypes jump into your head? Be honest. I’ll give you one of mine: NERD! I have no idea who he is, but I judged him based on what he looks like and where he is.

Such is the power of stereotypes: labeling and letting that label affect the way you treat someone whom you don’t even know and without their knowledge 

Sinethemba Duma wrote this on our Facebook wall:

“I’ve fallen victim of stereotype a whole lot of times. Being a Zulu woman who’s got traditional marks on her face (ogcabile), I’ve had some annoying experiences but have learnt to accept: most people would assume that you’re illiterate to be on point they’ll treat you like a barbarian and before you say where you stay and what work you do, they already have their own ideas (you stay in hostel or in a shack if not living with a man and working as a cleaner). People get shocked when they hear my ‘English accent’, job title, what school I went to and my matric result. A thousand times I have to ask myself WHY?”

LIVE CHALLENGE

LIVE wants you to take part in our campaign. How? Make a video/photo/image/piece of writing that challenges a stereotype which bothers you or which you’ve experienced. We will post the best submissions on our Facebook page, and the best of the best will be invited to take part in our campaign.