Multiculturalism, Differences & Stereotypes

The issue to be analyzed in this position paper is the question of whether the focus on multiculturalism in social work practice impacting upon older adults and their families from diverse ethnic minorities tends to emphasize differences and foster racial/ethnic stereotypes. This is clearly a two-part question. The focus on multiculturalism as described by Burlingame (1999) clearly requires the social worker, regardless of the age cohort with which he or she is working, to recognize, respect and respond to cultural differences; thus, social work practice must focus on or address issues of multiculturalism in the interest of knowing the needs and concerns and situation of the client.

The second part of the question seeks to determine whether multiculturalism has the potential to foster racial/ethnic stereotypes. As Burlingame (1999) suggests, social work that stigmatizes differences or anticipates that generalized ethnic and racial differences are applicable to all clients or to specific clients errs and fails. In the former instance of the necessity of recognizing and focusing on multiculturalism, the answer is clearly "yes" and in the latter case (of whether or not such a focus can lead to stereotypes and stigmas) the answer is a qualified "possibly."

The United States is a society diverse in terms of culture, race, ethnicity, religion, and income. It is also, as Schmitz, Stakeman, and Sisneros (2001) claim, a society

. . .
ocial work literature describes such a population of older clients, little attention is given to the needs of older African-American women who are comfortably middle-class and college-educated. Many African-American women meeting this description do not "present" to social workers with a "typical" set of characteristics; they may not be deeply tied to a church, have an extended family support network, or have pressing financial needs. As Martin-Combs and Bayne-Smith (2000) suggest -- and as Burlingame (1999) agrees -- generalizations based on race and ethnicity are at best a set of guidelines as to what some (but not all or necessarily even most) members of the racial or ethnic groups are likely to experience. Gibson and Stoller (1998) caution social workers and other gerontologists that it is necessary to abandon all stereotypes in both research and practice activities. Often, the move to become culturally sensitive and to respond to cultural realities with dignity and objectivity results in what these researchers call the "objectification" of older minority clients. The increasing demographic diversity of the aging population portends an increasing diversity in the attitudes, behaviors, and resources of newer cohorts of el
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gibson Stoller, Hyduk Moxley, Differences Stereotypes, Stakeman Sisneros, Martin-Combs Bayne-Smith, Security Medicare, Volland Howe, Tran Dhooper, Gerontological Social, Dhooper SS, racial ethnic, social workers, social worker, race ethnicity, ethnic racial, burlingame 1999, stoller 1998, gibson stoller 1998, gibson stoller, racial ethnic stereotypes, gerontological social, ethnic stereotypes, journal gerontological social, question focus multiculturalism, contemporary human services,
Approximate Word count = 1612
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)