I can't understand/hate that stereotype.

I think that, knowing how many wars France has fought in the past, the stereotype that the French are cowards is simply unfair. I'm not actually French, so I'm not offended, but it's the inaccuracy of the stereotype that irks me.

Is it a good or bad thing that I've heard of essentially none of these stereotypes? Save for the fried chicken, watermelon, and Asians getting As.

O07_eleven said:

When people of different ethnicities automatically assume i'm the devil because i'm white and privileged. If you don't want me to judge you negatively don't do the same and base it purely on race.

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omg yes

I hate how the word "privilege" is being thrown around so much nowadays. You're discriminating by assuming I must only be able to think a certain way due to factors outside of my control.

Ace said:

There's a lot of truth to a lot of stereotypes

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Hmm but one could say, "of course you think they're true because you believe in them", and thus consider your perspective skewed because of it. That said, we need to differentiate between racial stereotypes and cultural tendencies. One is potentially harmful, the other perfectly reasonable.

Most of the time, though, it doesn't even matter because the conclusion you reach won't actually affect you in any significant way. I mean, let's say all black people really do like fried chicken. So what? So what if Asians are really all smart? Even if they're true (they're not), it means absolutely nothing either way.

The stereotype that all stereotypes stem from Americans. Some might, but America as a whole doesn't believe it. Quite hypocritical really.

Also that all Americans are fat and stupid. I like to think that I'm slightly intelligent, plus I'm underweight.

Not sure how "popular" this one is, but that anyone of Polish descent has a marriage arranged by their parents. Uh, what?

Intelligent people are "nerds." There might be some people who are, but just because you're smart doesn't mean you can't play sports and can't make friends.

The first thing people always ask me is "do you play basketball?" Apparently every tall person plays basketball...?

Oh, and we all know I'm not blind but it's very relevant to my life, the stereotypes about the blind are actually very damaging. So much misinformation and people actually buy that **** like its real.

- People assume that those with autism are stupid, and that's most certainly not the case. I will ring your neck if you say anything of the sort.
- Assuming all feminists hate men. You are talking to the wrong feminists if you think we hate men.
- Assuming all gay men or women have to adhere to being feminine or masculine, respectively.
- Assuming gay men and women that actually do fit their stereotype want to be the opposite sex or have a sex change.

I hate the stereotype that Italian/Spanish/Greek/Lebanese/other Mediterranean guys are all dark, handsome lovers. My two closest guy friends are Italian and they're both pale and awkward around girls. I don't think Mediterranean ancestry or being dark and handsome automatically improves your ability to charm women. I'm awkward around girls too.

Naturally, I hate a lot of Lebanese stereotypes - in Australia, Lebanese are stereotyped a lot (especially Muslim Lebanese). Not all Lebanese Australians are trashy lowlives or criminals. Plenty of us dress normally and look normal and love the country we live in. Our men don't all have shaved heads or mullets - my hair's long with bangs on my forehead, and it curls at the ends (it kind of looks more skater/surfer than anything - and none of my male relatives have mullets). We aren't all ghetto, either - I don't like hip hop or rap, and neither do most people in Lebanon. Our women aren't oppressed - my mum works outside the home, and my dad doesn't boss her around and would NEVER even think of beating her. While some misogynistic attitudes do persist, it's nowhere near as bad as it was years ago. And our women don't cover their faces - most of my female relatives don't even wear headscarves. Plenty of us have naturally blond, red, or light brown hair - I have light brown hair. Some of us also have very light skin. Some people think I'm Greek or Eastern European - it gets annoying. Even the ones who recognise that I'm Lebanese have a hard time believing that I'm Muslim. (You might not be familiar with these stereotypes. I've collected them from both people on the Internet and people I knew personally.) I admit, I am embarrassed by the criminals in our community. They are the ones responsible for much of the racism against our community. The Sydney gang rapists made our men look like animals. The anti-film protests made us look like a bunch of dangerous fanatics. What they did is just as bad as what racists do to us.

(And a lot of people forget that Australia has other ethnic groups besides British, Irish, and Aborigines. Then again, I'm probably the only non-Anglo-Celtic Australian on this site.)

I hate the stereotype that all Australians are blond, blue-eyed, and insanely attractive. I have plenty of friends of various hair colours, skin colours, and levels of attractiveness. Australian celebrities like Keith Urban, Cody Simpson, and Dannii Minogue are a poor representation of Australians as a whole.

I'm also bothered by the stereotype that Americans are ignorant and don't know about any countries besides their own. My experiences on here have proved that stereotype to be false. Same with the stereotype that all non-Americans hate America - that's not true either.

O07_eleven said:

LoudSilence, I am privileged as hell. My lifestyle right now consists of sitting on my ass playing video games, browsing forums and sleeping. I get fed well by my mum. I have no work and few responsibilities. I was born into a middle class family in one of the safest and most well off countries in the world, even America doesn't have it this good. Yes, this "privilege" exists due to the not unreasonable work my parents are required to do and it won't last forever but right now i'm a spoilt brat, make no mistake. This is privilege even by first world standards, not to the point where I live in a mansion splashing millions of dollars but that's a bit of an excess for my definition. Plus we are all privileged compared to poor people in developing and 3rd world countries.

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No contest, I just meant that this shouldn't have a bearing on whether or not people accept our opinions or considering our viewpoints skewed. Take a person for his/her own individual merits, don't make assumptions about how they think because you believe their "privilege" blinds them from certain truths. That's what I was getting at.

루기아 said:

I don't know where the "Asians can't drive" stereotype comes from.

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Lol that comes from me and my family XD

Ummm... asian stereotypes don't bother me much. My friends like to make jokes but, then I'll just make a joke back... but there arent really any white stereotypes other than them being kinda stuck up and racist. And those are true for a lot of whites here XD

Anyways I agree with Ace's statement that many stereotypes have some sort of truth in them

The French calls American s ignorant slobs n stupid those words r what they can say n also if you r autistic u r dumb then I guess Albert Einstein is dumb n not talkative I'm talk it I've but have no flow or stay on topic stereotypes r just to piss evrone off or to make sure certain races get exchanged so dumb

I find it awful that, apparently, so many people, especially the ones who live in economically not-so-doing-well European countries, think we all are totally rich and don't care about all our neighbor countries and such

In fact, the only rich people in this country are possibly only government people, we average peasants earn comparable less to other European nations, and if you'd visit the Eastern part of Germany (the one that used to be GDR, thus was a communist dictatorship and blah) you'd see that we have to live in almost poor conditions :c

The stereotype I hate most is that people seem to think that Christians absolutely HATE AND DESPISE homosexuals. Let me quickly say, people who say that are just flat out wrong. Sure there are certain Christians who do, but they're honestly just being... wrong. *sigh* It's a bit of a touchy topic for me since I seem to get it a lot, seriously, what is the matter with some people, I HATE NO ONE DANGIT.

Also, I'm not a woman or blonde, but where did the idea come from that all blonde women are idiots? Honestly, what is the deal here? Thinking anyone is dumb because of skin color, hair, or race is idiotic in itself...

Perhaps I should not post here. I feel very out of place. XD

Golden Warrior said:

The stereotype I hate most is that people seem to think that Christians absolutely HATE AND DESPISE homosexuals. Let me quickly say, people who say that are just flat out wrong. Sure there are certain Christians who do, but they're honestly just being... wrong. *sigh* It's a bit of a touchy topic for me since I seem to get it a lot, seriously, what is the matter with some people, I HATE NO ONE DANGIT.

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Yea, I know plenty of wonderful Christians who have no problem with gays. I think the people who make that stereotype are just thinking from their own experience. Christianity is a very heterogeneous religion, so people's experience with it varies. For some people, their only experience with the Christian religion has only consisted of bigotry and hate, while for a lot of other people, their only experience with it has been love and kindness. That's the problem with generalizing based on your own experience--our experience is really limited.

Literally every time it comes up that I'm a vegetarian, everyone gets defensive and insinuates (or mentions outright) that I must be physically weak, malnourished, out to convert everyone, immature, overly sentimental, obnoxious, and unwilling ever to listen to reason. The worst one is that I must automatically be prejudiced against them. ...What?!

Let's see... one's that apply to me are "Diabetics can't have sugar" or "Insulin cures diabetes". The keyword on anything with sugar is moderation. We can eat what we want, we just have to moderate it and make sure we take enough medicine for it. Insulin is part of the moderation process, not the cure. If it cured us, why do we have to keep taking it?

As far as religion goes, I fit more under Agnostic than any other. I believe what can be proven or has already been proved. The fact that some people feel that if you don't believe what they believe, that you are automatically against them is total bogus. I was born into a methodist christian family, so some of those ideals are in me, yes, but I chose to believe what I do because, to me, the stories of religions come from a time when people used stories to explain what they couldn't otherwise, and that's what I feel they are today because there hasn't been any proof of a divine influence (my apologies to anyone who is extremely religious). Do I out right hate anyone who believes it? No. Do I try to force people to believe what I do? No. In fact, usually the only time I even talk about it is if someone else brings it up. Otherwise, I think most people probably wouldn't even know.

The stereotype that everyone who goes to the gym and tries to achieve a muscular body is usually dumb.

Like if muscles aren't compatible with brains.

Also, the one where people assume that quiet people are all good. Sure, some are, but some are devilish.

This one has been mentioned but gay DOES not mean being a "femalish" man, or a drama queen. My uncle is gay and you bet your ass he had all the girls chase him. The man is freakin cool and has so much charm.

Another stereotype is that all black people are "trouble". When most people see black guys together they assume they're up to no good, and also the fact that when something does happen, no one stands up to them.

Seriously, they can be cowards too, once one tried to rob me and ran like a girl when I stood up to him. Most people just assume they are bad and will kill you or something. Ridiculous

zomgitscathy said:

There's sooooo many about black people. Where do I even start?

"Black people love fried chicken":
It's okay, but it's hardly my favorite food. I tend not to like anything fried. Actually...now that I think about it, there's some truth to this stereotype. I'm just an exception :P

"Black people love watermelon":
I hate watermelon. It tastes like edible water. Watermelon flavored things are delicious, but watermelon itself? Blegh.

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The fried chicken thing is pretty cheap. Every American I've met likes fried chicken. It's like saying black people like hamburgers.

I hate every stereotype. All of them. Every single one is ridiculous and untrue in nearly every situation. I don't even know why they're a thing.

There's a few.

-All Americans are fat and rude. I'm a very polite person and I'm like 5'10, 140 pounds so screw that stereo type. We just have the most fast food and stuff, so obviously there will be more over weight people.

-All men are equal/stupid. I've always treated women with respect and have never felt like I've done wrong to really anyone. Also, I make wise decisions and don't cheat and lie all the time. I just generally hate when girls stereo type ALL MEN after 1 bad relationship.

I can go on and on about all of them, but not a lot of them actually effect me.

I hate all the scene stereotypes. Just because I'm scene doesn't mean that I hate everything. That's goth, and not even goth people hate everything. Everyone seems to think that because I have long hair, am agnostic, and have a high pitched voice that I'm the work of the devil. Scene people should be shown more respect. Not all of us are devil worshipers, actually, very few of us are. Most scene kids are actually christian.

American stereotypes annoy me. I'm not fat, I'm skinny as hell. I'm not dumb, I'm actually very smart. I don't sit on a couch all day eating cheetos, I go out and run sometimes. I hate cheetos anyways.

Tennessean stereotypes are horrible. If you cam down here, you'd see that we aren't just a big bunch of drunkards and drug addicts. I live in a place where not a lot of people drink, and even fewer do drugs.