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I don't think a stereotype can ever really be constructive, even if "positive" since it limits the space for people that don't fit it.
A clear example of this would be that Asian people are good at Maths. Not true, and does a lot of harm to the many Asians who are not exceptionally good at Maths. (For instance that Asian University candidates are often penalised for only having average Maths grades, or just the bullying and social pressure of feeling you're not living up to a birthright.)
The Asian/math example is often called ‘positive,’ yes, but I would never call it constructive. There’s a reason I chose the wording of my post. Same goes for Latine/x people and “hard work”—that’s ‘positive’ but in no way constructive (and in fact is hateful and detrimental) and so outside of my question altogether.
I am encouraging people to think of stereotypes that are both “positive” and constructive. I often find they apply to children. Like “mushrooms you find on the ground are poisonous,” or “all bears want to eat you.” But… people aren’t taking to my description I guess.
I think it's that we don't really call them stereotypes when they're not applied to people.
At that point it's just a hueristic.
Valid I suppose. Oxford Learner’s does allow for it to apply for non-people “things” though; I just think the word and its use has shifted so far (due to progress in the field of confronting and attacking negative stereotypes) that that element has almost been redefined out of existence in the minds of most people.