What is the term for discriminating against someone for something they're not?

Question

If person A is not gay, but person B calls person A gay while knowing that person A isn't gay, what is this type of discrimination called?

I used to call it "pseudodiscrimination", but I'm not sure if that word exists for something else. What is the word I need?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "discrimination" here. Would this include, for example, a teenager saying Don't be such an old woman! to his friend who's too timid to indulge in some socially disruptive behaviour? Is that an example of covert ageism/sexism in your eyes? — FumbleFingers, Commented May 29, 2016 at 14:16
@FumbleFingers The answer to the first question is yes. But there's also this thing where someone who likes cats and cute things, but isn't gay is being called gay. It looks gay so it puts the victim in a fearful position of "What if people really believe that? How will I explain the untruthness of this lie?". How is that called? — Foxcat385, Commented May 29, 2016 at 21:39
@Foxcat385: Bear in mind that many young people today use insults like He's so gay! as a general-purpose insult, with no particular implication of homophobia (or of the subject actually being homosexual). Just as they'll say He's so lame! without having any conscious thoughts of (discriminated-against) disability. So much so that gay, lame may simply be defined in slang dictionaries as stupid, boring (having lost their original specific meanings completely in the minds of many speakers). — FumbleFingers, Commented May 30, 2016 at 12:39

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-15 07:40:02Z

1

Try pigeonhole, defined by Merriam Webster as

To unfairly think of or describe (someone or something) as belonging to a particular group, having only a particular skill, etc.

Also see its definition by Cambridge dictionary : pigeonhole

to put someone or something into a group or type, often unfairly.

CommunityBot

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answered May 29, 2016 at 14:15

vickyace

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