Dealing With Stereotypes Because of Your Nationality...

[askingforafriendx]

Since we're living in the 21st century one should think that stereotypes don't really play a role in our daily lifes anymore. But let me tell you why I don't think so.

Before you draw any conclusions: I don't believe in the accuracy of these cliches but nevertheless I think that they are still part of our thoughts even though we don't think so. Stereotypes are just prejudices made by people who don't really know the person they are making these assumtions on. That's what makes them false.

Let me just tell you a bit about my experience with people making hasty conclusions because of my German nationality.

If you think of typical German traits I'm sure you think of punctuality, tidiness, beer and people with no sense of humour.

So whenever I met with acquaintances who are not german it was quite weird. Because I was at our venue five minutes earlier then everyone else. It was not because of myself. It was because I'm German. At least that's what they told me.Then we went into a restuarant and while I was at the toilet they just ordered beer for me because, well...I'm German so I have to like beer. Actually I don't drink alcohol and they didn't believe me. Also everybody was surprised by my sense of humour. Because they literally thought that all Germans didn't like to joke around a bit.

An experience which made me feel really sad was when someone just called me a Nazi. I didn't do anything and they really thought that I am an admirer of Hitler...

But it's not just about Germans, it's about almost every nation. I'm just gonna list a few stereotypes:

Italians: love their pizza and spaghetti, ardent, loud, look like models.

Chinese: love their rice, eat cats and dogs, very strict parents.

Swedes: blonde, tall, blue eyes, beautiful people, love to go to the sauna.

Americans: everyone owns a gun and is overweight.

British: drink tea the whole day and get sunburns very easily.

French: Baguette, Croissant, Eiffel Tower and are arrogant.

Of course all of them are wrong for most people but I think it's still kind of stuck in our heads.

(Also, this is my first take so I'm sorry for every mistake in my grammar or anything else. )

When did cliches like this affect you and what are your thoughts on them? What stereotype is there for your nationality?

[Losalt]

Losalt 5 Xper Age: 31 mho 17%
6h

I do not think that stereotypes are harmfull as long as people remember that they're just A) *tendencies* and not universal for *everyone* of a nationality and B) that stereotypes tends to take a while to get updated...
Still, I love some of them:
https://satwcomic.com/

And quite frankly, every one of the ones in that cartoon are pretty accurate as far as the nordic countries are concerned.
Does it mean that they apply to *every* person of said nationality?
No, of course they don't.
But the trend is definitivly there.

Regarding Germans.
Yes, on the whole you're more precise then many other nations, I suggest going to any country where the culture is different in that regard and you'll see why that stereotype has stuck...
Regarding the beer, yes of course there's tea totallers in Germany, just like there's vegetarians in Norway for instance...
But the "average" German *does* drink more beer then in many other countries.
This is the same thing as those 1,8 kids being born pr woman kind of things.
You can't give birth to a 0,8th of a child, of course, it just shows a tendency towards 2 rather then 1 child on *average* even if there's many women with *no* children at all.

[Anonymous]

Personally i love stereotypes for humour. I don’t find it insulting but rather hilarious sometimes.

I’m Asian so i love rice. I’m chinese my mom whoops my ass if i dont get an A for maths. Though these stereotypes may not be true about me, i find it hilarious because it does actually happen to majority.

I feel like it’s an inside joke we all in that specific cukture could relate to.

[BonnieBunny]

Nice to see someone has a good sense of humor

[Prettysammie]

@BonnieBunny that’s because she isn’t German

[BonnieBunny]

@Prettysammie Hahahahaha

[WalterRadio]

"German so I have to like beer"
Germans are the only people I know that have beer with breakfast, and have it be normal.

Ordering beer for you might have been a mistake, because you probably don't like pisswater (Bud, Miller, Coors, Corona).

"Italians: love their pizza"
Around Naples, that seems like all they eat.

"Chinese: love their rice"
I have lived with Chinese. They get crazy if they go two days without rice.

"Swedes: blonde"
I only dated one Swede. She was a true blonde, if you know what I mean.

"Americans: everyone owns a gun"
No, but there are more guns than people. I don't know any household in my neighborhood that doesn't have a gun. Two are federally licensed gun dealers.

"British: drink tea the whole day"
No, only at certain times.

"French: Baguette, Croissant, Eiffel Tower and are arrogant."
It is really amusing to see a man in a suit going to work with a baguette, a bottle of wine, and a briefcase. I see it every day in Paris. And only Parisians are arrogant.

So, what you are really doing here is illustrating how stereotypes are based in truth.

[zagor]

American beer hasn't been pisswater for years - that is a very dated stereotype. I don't know many people who drink the beer they advertise at football games anymore; there are over 150 microbreweries in my county.

[WalterRadio]

@zagor
"American beer hasn't been pisswater for years"
By sales volume, it is.

But yes, the microbreweries and craft style beers are a welcome improvement.

[JulieXO]

All stereotypes are somewhat based in truth though. Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone, but it's a fact that people in China consume much more rice than any other carb, that Americans have one of if not the highest percentage of obesity in the world, and that a lot of people from Nordic countries have light features. These kind of assumptions are harmless in my opinion. It becomes a problem when people are given different rights and approaches though, e. g. tan men with beards getting ''randomly selected'' for an additional security check at the airport.

[yucychan]

I'm Chinese. I do love rice, and also pizza, hamburger, cheese, fried chicken and stout.
My parents were not that strict, I do not have curfews nor am I expected to get straight As' for every subject in school. But they do expect me to be responsible (at least give them a call to inform them if I'm gonna stay out late).
I would be an awful driver, not so much because I'm slow and careful, but because I would race, swear and pick a fight with the person that overtook my lane.
I hate maths. However, maths and science were my best subjects in school. I love heavy metal, rock and horror genre.
So does that confirm/disprove any stereotypes?

[andreasderjuengere]

Singaporeans... are Chinese?

[yucychan]

@andreasderjuengere
Majority of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent, followed by Malays, Indians and other races. Not all Chinese are from China.

[andreasderjuengere]

That's what I meant. So: which group do you count yourself in? C. or S. ?

[yucychan]

@andreasderjuengere
Singaporeans. I changed my mind

[ZeussLightningBolt]

Well, all stereotypes are partial truths. And it's a fact that certain traits are prominent in certain nationalities. So I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. People have become too sensitive. They should just like fun at their own stereotypes instead of getting angry. Or if these stereotypes make them angry, they should stop doing them
And not all stereotypes are negative.

https://youtu.be/x8fkv1UQcPghttps://youtu.be/uD593z4kzXU

[Balinka]

I get you. I am Czech. We are supposedly uneducated, rude, smoking and drinking all the time and stealing. Fact is, that many are. Beer guts are national tradition, Moravian people drink schnaps (literally from any kind of fruit) and wine, we smoke like fabrics, many of us are very narrow minded ((more than half of the nation, regarding last presidential elections)) and yes, we steal. Not so long ago, at the borders with Austria there were posters to be found: Czechs, dont come here to steal. I mean, these stereotypes are based on truth and i personally find them funny. Even though i am none of those above myself.

[sharkman154]

I'm from German immigrant descent and live in Wisconsin, U. S. and I don't drink and people are always acting like I should or that I haven't put a lot of thought into this decision. Even my own family always offers me alcohol when I visit despite repeatedly mentioning not drinking. Not only that but I don't like being around drunk people so they get mad at me for not coming to some of the family functions which always involve drinking.

[AlexEfron]

I love this Take 😂
South East Asia - Weird Shit 😂

A few days back I asked a question about fun laws in America. Most (not all... There are some sand people as well) defended owning guns as a right. Right to what - I don't know. No one gave a single reasonable explanation as to why owning a gun is necessary or justified. The only thing I got was that stricter leads leads to more violence. 😂 anyways that's irrelevant topic.

Love your Take

[Anonymous]

I actually enjoy stereotypes because you can make a game out of it with your friends. When I first met a german I thought "oh they don't smell like burnt bodies." stereotypes are there because some of them can be true and are funny. Most mexicans are gardeners here in the states. Most Asians are pretty high iq but they lack common sense. Most black people love chicken and are loud but are really good at sports since they they can out run lions and cheetahs. Muslims have explosive personalities and love young girls. white people are trailer trash and red necks and love having sex with their cousins. Have I left out anyone?

[LittlePrince85]

And how would you feel if someone stereotyped you? I don't know many people who fit these stereotypes.

[legalboxers]

people refuse to be educated. They believe what someone else says, regardless of facts and knowledge of who or what the culture is. We are in a culture of fear and refuse to know what the other side is about. Fear of skin color, race, religion, and other social norms because there is a bug in someones ear tells them "xyz about abc" based on an incident or whatever without knowing first hand proof.

[andreasderjuengere]

'German': Some other frequent stereotypes towards me ('us'): Efficiency and quality reputation. Living abroad over 14 years now, I am still a little shocked when I hear COMPLIMENTS about the little Austrian man with the funny moustache we hosted once. Our contribution to the world's language heritage: 'Scheisse' and 'kaputt'. Interestingly, many non-Germans are unaware that the country extends to the north beyond Frankfurt.

[Balinka]

Our contribution to the world is “robot”, contact lenses and silon thights. However, most know pen stealing president Klaus, Miloš Zeman - chapter all for himself and our little ex stb agent prime minister Andrej Babiš. Aaaand also right wing polititian with strong anti migration politics, who is only half czech - his father is korean-japanese. Oh yea. Long live our republic

[InTimoreDei]

I'm. I think our stereotypes are funny. The only things that piss me the bloody Hell off about Irish stereotypes are people dressing up on St. Patrick's day and pretend to be "Irish" for the day and use the holiday as an excuse to get drunk. You're NOT Irish... the real Irish were Pagan/Druids not Catholics... you'll never understand the persecution that the Irish suffered under the British. So sit yer arses down...

[InTimoreDei]

I'm Irish *

[BrianMerritt]

I thought that the Pagans were converted to Catholicism by St. Patrick?

[InTimoreDei]

@BrianMerritt Yes he did. But the Irish were originally pagan and our original language is Gaelic. Both taken from us by the Brits.

[BrianMerritt]

So Catholics ARE just as Irish as the pagans, just as the Roman Catholics are just as Italian as the Roman pagans of before.

[InTimoreDei]

@BrianMerritt Obviously they are Irish... but their former religion was taken by force.

[BrianMerritt]

Oh well. Better Catholic than Pagan.

[PervinMervin29]

I'm unaware that the Irish were ever forced to be Catholic. Did the monks chase them around and beat them with their shalalie sticks.

[MelaninDoll]

I don't mind stereotypes, but when people start being racist and prejudice because of the stereotypes is when I'm offended. Like my white friends always make comments about coming to my house for good chicken, and I'm not offended cause my dad makes some real good chicken.

[Balinka]

When people are hateful towards us well, my mom felt sad, when she was an au pair in London and she was looked down at by the kids because of her nationality. They wanted a french nanny smh. I am a bit more redneck than her, so id probbly start a fight. Or felt morally superior. Depends.

[MelaninDoll]

@Balinka aww

[danpossibly]

Canadians are not just remixed culture wise america they are the remix of us. And this is speaking directly to Canadians since I am tired of the pomp and superiority complexes that a lot of us get thinking we are better than Americans inherently we all have the same propensity of being complete pieces of shit or morons like the rest of the planet,

[AlwaysBelieving]

Just don't ask me "where are you really from?" Depending on the person / how it's asked, I might say "my mom's womb." I don't think I've ever asked anyone their nationality.

Just to show you how much of a smarts I CAN be,
exploringnorthcentralandsouthamerica.files.wordpress.com/.../mapofworldasseenbyamericans2.jpg

[monkeynutts]

It's unfortunate about the Nazi slur. I have been copping fascist remarks for the past 2years. I'm white and sometimes very conservative, on some topics. I can't stand left wing politics anymore, so obviously I'm a Nazi. We all tolerate this shit, and it bothers me a lot too.

[BillyB4]

I’m Canadian but my mom is White Zimbabwe, and it really pisses me off when people ask if I think apartheid is good. First off, different countries, secondly, it’s like, what do you think, you moron? So yeah, that’s my experience with stereotypes

[BrianMerritt]

Stereotypes aren't harmful so long as a person has rationale, a sense of humor, and a mind strong enough to not get their feelings hurt by every little thing.

[FakeName123]

I am german and I couldn't give any more shits. If someone makes Hitler jokes, its on and I give them my best Hitler-impression.

But we all know, Hitler jokes are the wurst.

[Balinka]

Pun appreciated <3

[FakeName123]

@Balinka

I guess you did nazi that coming.

[Anonymous]

My old flatmate was German and honestly most of the stereotypes applied to him including being an anti-semite, it was such a bad experience for me that I began to really dislike Germans. In Canada we love to joke about stereotypes especially the one about apologizing for everything and it always being winter here.

[Anonymous]

There's a lot of truth in stereotypes, sometimes...