Counterstereotype

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A counterstereotype is an idea or object that goes against a stereotype -- a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.^[1]

An example is the character type called the magical negro; Spike Lee popularized this term deriding the archetype of the "super-duper magical negro" in 2001 while discussing films with students at Washington State University and at Yale University.^[2][3]

• American popular literature in the 19th century contained stereotypical images of black people as grotesque and servile. In protest, a counter-stereotype arose which showed black people as graceful and wise.^[4]
• In the United States during the 1970s, in response to feminist criticism, advertising agencies chose to display counter-stereotypical images of women as sexually assertive and intellectual.^[5]

• Affirmative action
• Benevolent prejudice
• Overcompensation
• Political correctness
• Reverse discrimination
• Women are wonderful
• Xenocentrism