English Essay: “The genetic stamp of our genes is no different to the stereotypes we place on people.” Do you agree?

Society is venturing deeper and deeper into the development of science. Our genes are no longer only known by God, they are becoming a target into research, in which is to define how we are made. The Human Genome Project (completed in 2006) primary goals was to determine the sequence of the chemical base pairs that make up DNA and to identify the 20,000-25,000 genes of the human genome for functional reasons such as making them accessible for further biological study [1].The opinion that genes are a stamp of our stereotype is beside the point of who we are as a person. Genes hold the genetic materials that make us as a person in the sense of; family, who we are related to, our similarities and differences in traits, and most importantly of all what we look in the sense of hair colour, eye colour, sex, height etc. However do genes make us more than a human being that functions?, Do they define our personality, likes and dislikes?, If you can look at my own genes under a high power-microscope would you discover what my ambition in life is, if I have experienced love and if I have experienced hurt? Genes can tell a lot of detail about the makeup of a person, but it does not withhold information on our dreams, hopes, choices, goals, talents and desires in life, that is all part of our own persona and it shouldn’t be inherited because we are all unique.

Stereotypes are presumptions we withhold upon a person’s character [2]. The term “stereotype” derives from the Greek word stereos meaning solid, firm, and tupos (type) meaning impression [3]. Therefore stereotype is defined as a “solid impression” we place upon people without really understanding them, which is a basis of prejudice. When we are stereotypical we do not look into the persons eyes at all, we only see their appearance dimly and allocate them in a group within societies boundaries in which we think they belong. Stereotypes and first impressions can be deceitful of what kind of person someone is. For example; there is a new person in your class at school, you greet them on three brief everyday conservations yet they came off as rough, cruel, inconsiderate and harsh as a person. Let me ask you this, before you shunned and stereotyped them did you ever ask them what their goal in life was, what vocation they wanted to pursue, what background they came from? You have only judged them by their first impressions and appearance. You have not look into their soul, heard their laugh, or seen their beauty and their good. You haven’t even seen the light inside their eyes or encouraged it to grow.

In conclusion I have discussed above why a genetic stamp of our genes doesn’t accurately define who we are as an individual and furthermore I have also discussed why stereotypes are a false impression upon a person. Therefore I agree that a genetic stamp of our genes is no different to the stereotypes we place on people because they overlook who we are and do not correctly define our individuality. The only person that really defines yourself, is the one sitting here reading this quietly, because nobody knows more about you than you do.

References:
- http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml [1]
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes [2]
- Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus [3]