Discussing Stereotypes

I do not like talking about stereotypes. In discussions of African literature, I am not the one who is being generalized. As a result, it is easy for me to adopt an elitist attitude, and 'look down' upon those being discussed. I feel that everyone involved in these discussion knows what is right and what is wrong, and in trying to make progress in the discussion, people continue to subconsciously make generalizations. However, I am not really sure how to go about fixing this. Any suggestions? I have always been confused as to how stereotypes of Africa originated. Why was it African countries being colonized by European countries and not the other way around? Surely there have been people on the African continent for just as long if not longer than there have been on continental Europe. So why did Europe develop faster and colonize Africa? I attribute these stereotypes to the media. People who know little about the world formulate opinions and judgements based on what they know, however much or indeed little that is. Forms of media depicting starving towns and naked children are common. So therefore people who know little about Africa, use these images to sum up the entire continent. Educating and providing unbiased information is the key to defeating stereotypes.