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The negative effects of stereotyping arising from a victim’s acceptance and internalisation of stereotype identities are well-known. As stereotypes are created and maintained in discourse, understanding how targets of stereotyping employ discursive resources to resist the constraining structures of stereotypic identities imposed upon them can provide insight into the process of stereotyping and contribute to efforts to reduce the threat of stereotyping. We examined the strategies used by targets of stereotyping in contesting stereotypic representations of their social group through the mobilisation of a range of discourse strategies when presented with stereotyping attacks on the group. The findings revealed that stereotypes are subtle in nature and may not be easily recognised and hence, difficult to resist. Participants employed a number of discourse strategies to repair their fragmented self and group identities. However, in their attempt to maintain identity coherence, they ended up using stereotyping discourses themselves to devalue the perceived outgroup as well as subgroups they created within their own social group. The study highlights the complexity of stereotyping and its self-perpetuating character, and sheds light on the difficulty faced by targets of stereotyping discourse in reconciling their identities through intense discursive and identity work.

Different contradictory approaches exist in the study of intercultural communication due to the ambiguity of the concept of culture. The misuse of this highly problematic term might lead to cultural biases. This study investigates how intercultural communication is interpreted and how stereotypes and cultural biases are formed in its teaching on YouTube. Discourse analysis highlighting three dominant approaches of culture (essentialism, non-essentialism, and neo-essentialism) is used to examine excerpts from online lectures. The analysis of shifters, especially ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’, is used because they are markers of social categorisation, leading to othering and stereotyping. The data collected show that the presenters of the videos hold essentialist views of culture and ignore diversity (from within). The presenters focus on the teaching of stereotypical thinking, behaviours, and attitudes of the ‘Chinese people’, and assume that they behave similarly in any given situation. Facts about Chinese people are emphasised rather than interaction between individuals. This approach to culture by the presenters leads to strong stereotyping and cultural biases.