What is Stereotype?
[[File:You can plainly see how miserable I am.jpg|thumb|334x334px|[[Watermelon stereotype]]: Black people seem to like [[watermelon|watermelons]]. [[Postcard]] from 1911.]] [[File:The First Thanksgiving cph.3g04961.jpg|thumb|''The First [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] 1621'', oil on canvas by [[Jean Leon Gerome Ferris]] (1899). The painting shows common misconceptions about the event: [[Pilgrims]] did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of [[Native American|Native Americans]] from the [[Great Plains]].<ref>{{cite news|date=November 26, 2009|title=Let's Talk Turkey: 5 myths about the Thanksgiving holiday|publisher=The Patriot Ledger|url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/visitor_guide/fun/x1945267987/LETS-TALK-TURKEY-5-myths-about-the-Thanksgiving-holiday?img=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114044805/http://www.wickedlocal.com/capecod/visitor_guide/fun/x1945267987/LETS-TALK-TURKEY-5-myths-about-the-Thanksgiving-holiday?img=2|archive-date=November 14, 2013|accessdate=November 22, 2014}}</ref>|337x337px]] A '''stereotype''' is a mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=stereotype|title=Word Central Student Dictionary: Definition of Stereotype|publisher=Mirriam-Webster }}</ref> Stereotyping people is usually considered a type of [[prejudice]] because how a person would appear on the outside is a small part of who a person is on the inside. Like other untrue opinions, stereotypes might be used as reasons to [[Discrimination|discriminate]] against another person, or sometimes for a humorous effect in fiction. The term was invented in the late 18th century for a method of [[printing]].<ref>Twyman M. 1970. ''Printing 1770{{ndash}}1970: an illustrated history of its development and uses in England''. London: Eyre & spottiswoode.</ref> In the mid-19th century it meant the fai