In this competitive activity, participants work in small teams to compete against each other. It involves drawing and guessing.

What is your first image of somebody from another country? If you like Pictionary, you will enjoy ‘Cultionary’.
 

Issues addressed

• The images we have of people
• Stereotypes and prejudice

Aims

• To explore our stereotypes, prejudices and biases about other people
• To work with the images we have of others
• To encourage creativity

Preparation / Materials

• A list of people of different nationalities, cultures and concepts for participants to draw
• A flip chart and marker to record the scores
• Sheets of paper (about A4 size) and pens for the groups’ drawings
• Sticky tape or pins and wall space to display the drawings

Instructions

1. Ask participants to form teams of three or four people and to find a name for their team.
2. Tell the teams to collect several sheets of paper and a pencil and find somewhere to sit so they are distanced from the other teams.
3. Call up one member from each team and secretly give them a word (the same word).
4. Tell them to return to their groups and to draw the word while the other team members try to guess what it is. They may only draw images; no numbers or letters may be used, and no speaking except to confirm the correct answer.
5. The rest of the team may only say their guesses; they may not ask questions.
6. When the word has been guessed correctly, tell the team to shout out the word. Put the score up on the flip chart.
7. After each round ask the drawer to write what the word was on their picture, whether finished or not.
8. Now ask the teams to choose another member to be the drawer. Encourage everyone to have at least one turn at drawing.
9. Six to eight rounds will be enough. At the end, ask the groups to tape or pin up their pictures so that the different interpretations and images of the words can be compared and discussed.

Debriefing and evaluation

• Did you enjoy this activity? Why? Why not?
• Compare the different ways people interpreted the same words. Were there any striking similarities or differences?
• What sorts of images did people use to illustrate people of different nationalities or cultures? Country outlines? Flags? Cultural artefacts, for instance foods, clothing, musical instruments?
• If anyone was puzzled by an image, ask the drawer to say why they chose to depict the word in the way they did.
• To what extent do the images represent common stereotypes? Were they positive or negative stereotypes?
• Are the stereotypes of minorities in general positive or negative?
• Where do we get our images from? What role do social media play?
• How do stereotypes affect our judgements about individuals and groups? Give a couple of personal examples.
• Has anyone become aware of any unconscious biases that they have?
• How may stereotypes be used for political ends? Give some examples of manipulation using stereotypes.
• How can stereotyping and biased attitudes lead to acts of hate?
• Do you know about the pyramid of hate? Can you give examples of behaviours at the five different levels? Which do you see in your society?
• What can we do to counter the stereotypes and biases we have?

Tips for the facilitators

Be aware that people who consider themselves poor artists may think this activity will be difficult for them. Reassure them that you are not looking for works of art, and encourage everyone to have a go at being the drawer. Start with a couple of “easy” words, for instance “a Scot” or “migrant” before asking people to draw abstract concepts like “hate”.

Be aware that this activity is likely to raise the most immediate images and generalised stereotypes, so be prepared for some possible embarrassments. While this activity is creative and lots of fun, it is important that the group reflects on the risks and serious consequences of stereotyping.

Stereotypes are useful in order to be able to relate to the environment and the people around us. They are a short-cut to preparing us for when we meet someone we don’t know; they tell us something about how we should behave. For instance, how to greet – shake hands or kiss on the cheek, or what topics of conversation are appropriate. The problems arise when people judge others based on stereotypes. What the evaluation and discussion should promote is that we need to be aware that stereotypes are just that: images and assumptions, which often have little to do with reality. Being aware of stereotypes and the risks that relying on them is the best way to prevent prejudice that leads to discrimination.

It is interesting to note that we don’t usually have a stereotypical image of people with whom we have little contact. For example, consider your own stereotype of someone from San Marino or Bhutan. If we do have one it may simply be that “they are nice people” because we met someone from there once. We therefore suggest that you include in your list of words to be drawn an example of at least one person from a minority in your country with whom the group are likely to have had little or no direct contact.

You may like to raise a question related to gender issues. In English, we say Frenchman but use the gender-neutral term Spaniard for someone from Spain. If people drew “stick people”, how many were stick men? Why not stick women? Other questions will arise in languages that have gendered articles.

Another point to be raised in the discussion is where stereotypes come from. The games we play and the books we read as children, the news media, social media, the Internet, school or college, informal education, the family and/or peer group may also all be analysed.

The rules and ideas for what the teams will have to draw must be adapted to the national and cultural context of the group. The items in the list below are merely suggestions. When making your own list, think about how you yourself would draw each item; some images are easier than others; for instance associations with a Scot might include a kilt, bagpipes or mountains. On the other hand, how would you draw someone from Georgia or ‘poverty’?

Suggestions for words to draw:

A blind person, a deaf person, a national from the country where the activity is taking place, a Scot, a Muslim, racism, education, discrimination, antisemitism, refugee, equality, a peasant, poverty, a homosexual person, education, justice, a homeless person, an HIV-positive person, social media, a Roma, human rights, solidarity, a refugee, hate, equity, a member of a minority in your country, a Ghanaian, Nelson Mandela, a stock broker, politician, feminist, terrorist, racism.

Suggestions for follow-up

Take action: Encourage members of the group to be more aware of how stereotypes are used in the media and in advertising, and of their own reactions to them. Ask them to find examples to bring to the next session.

Move on to another activity: We get images of other people and cultures not only from pictures, and writing, but also from music. You might like to try ‘Knysna Blue’ to explore these musical images.

Background information

The Pyramid shows biased behaviours, growing in complexity from the bottom to the top. Although the behaviours at each level negatively impact individuals and groups, as one moves up the pyramid, the behaviours have more life-threatening consequences. Like a pyramid, the upper levels are supported by the lower levels. If people or institutions treat behaviours on the lower levels as being acceptable or “normal,” it results in the behaviours at the next level becoming more accepted. In response to the questions of the world community about where the hate of genocide comes from, the Pyramid of Hate demonstrates that the hate of genocide is built upon the acceptance of behaviours described in the lower levels of the pyramid.

© 2018 Anti-Defamation League