[Toreshi]

(I wasn't sure if this should go here or to the Politics forum, so someone feel free to move it if I chose poorly.)

Supposedly the world is a more tolerable place now-a-days. You can probably argue for or against that statement, but I don't think anyone can honestly say that they NEVER see any form of stereotyping in their day-to-day life.

I'm curious about what sorts of ignorant, rude, or just plain not-thinking-ness you people deal with on a regular basis. In exchange, I'll share two that I deal with CONSTANTLY:

1. Women are secretaries: I deal with this one on a very VERY regular basis. I am not exaggerating when I say that EVERY single person who ever found out that I work at the mill has followed up by asking, "Oh, you work in the office?" Now, I don't blame them for not automatically thinking about the maintenance crew...I am, after all, the first and only woman to ever be on the maintenance crew...however, there are lots of other jobs I could be doing at this mill. I could be an operator, an engineer, or a trainer. I could be a planner, a team leader, or a guard. And yet, time and time again, without fail, the first thing that EVERYONE assumes is that I work in an office, at a desk, plucking away at a computer all day. GET WITH THE TIMES, PEOPLE!

2. 'Kids' don't buy nice things: J and I deal with this one regularly. We both look younger than we really are (we're both 25, but if J shaves his goatee he looks about 14, and people always assume I'm a teenager) and we both dress very casually (J wears jeans and t-shirts with geeky sayings on them, and I generally wear jeans and a tank-top and have my hair in a ponytail). These two things combined seem to translate to, "We're not buying F-all", because whenever we walk into a furniture store (or an otherwise 'expensive-stuff' store) we get completely and utterly ignored. Sometimes, if there's someone our age actually working at the store, we'll get asked if we need any help, but 95% of the time we have to actively seek out assistance. This amuses the hell out of me, considering that the two of us combined probably make more money than 80% of the store's customers.

So? How about you?

[kingdaddy]

Kids are stupid.

My boss is guilty of this almost every day.

I've actually heard him on the phone tell people that I'm "just a stupid kid" and that they shouldn't take anything I say seriously.

How's that for displaying confidence in your employees?

[Orelinde]

French people are morons.

I'm not looking at anyone in particular (You know who you are pantsface! ) but I hear of this every so often. It's funny when people joke about it but I know some English folks do think that. Just reading the comments on news articles involving french peeps on the cbc.com website, you can tell some people have issues with us.

Though, I live on the french side so I've heard just the same about how English people can't drive, they're stupid, etc...

[HeadKill]

Yes, I'm going to go there.... But some backstory - I live in a gated community kind of in the middle of a bad area (Projects) with lots of African Americans... Just down the street.... Fried chicken "hut" which is constantly doing business. Still, I've been in there myself... they have good stuff

[Alchymist]

British/English people have bad teeth: Austin Powers has screwed us all over... while I have seen some devastingly bad teeth (my father is a dentist, so you seen that kind of thing around his work place) we're not all that bad. While my teeth aren't perfect they are quite normal.

If you wear a hoodie, you're a menace to society: Some people seem to think that if you're wearing a hoodie you're up to no good. I've been out running occasionally and I have had old people stop and point at me whispering to their friends and a community support officer's stop me because I "seem to be up to no good". Idiots.

[fullfrontalnerdity]

Redheads are crazy.


...well, I guess I can't really argue with that one.

[Orelinde]

Redheads are crazy.

Especially those evil gingers...

Sorry, saw the SP episode last night

[KattenyaJen]

-if you aren't wearing 'fashionable' clothing you must be a shoplifter if you're in any kind of jewlery/accessory store. (god this one pisses me off....)

-if you have any kind of curves what so ever, you must be unhealthy and never pay attention to what you eat/shove your face a lot. Double points if you happen to grab a small chocolate bar or a doughnut as a quick treat.

[Razmataz]

well i see a stereotype confirmed every now and then... which amuses me to no end and no, even though i know the stereotypes and i find them funny... i do not judge people based upon those stereotypes.

One recently "confirmed" in particular stands out...

I've just finished working at a nightclub and it's pretty early... about 6 or 7 am and there is this lovely butcher that's open around that time. They have a huge selection of freshly made stuff like sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, croissants, ... choice a plenty.
You can imagine that apart from some party goers there are not that many people around, when all of a sudden a black man comes to the shop and orders some fried chicken. I giggle a bit just cause I remembered the stereotype but OK that's me, I'm tired and easily amused, and then not 2 minutes later another black man comes to the store and orders the same. I chuckle a bit louder but still thinking OK, coincidence... and then seriously a third black man comes to the stall and orders fried chicken.
And this on a Sunday morning when there is next to no one on the street.

yeah, I'm guilty of LOLLING.

On a sidenote to jen above me; most men like curves, so that stereotype is probably made up and maintained by girls

This post has been edited by Razmataz: 13 August 2009 - 11:13 AM

[linuxelf]

I'm a homebrewer and the homebrew club I'm involved with every year puts on Charlotte Oktoberfest. The event is getting quite large, and for the past two years we've managed to raise enough money during the event to fund all of the club's outings, and give $50,000 each year to charity. Not too bad. So, Shaken puts up a Charlotte Oktoberfest poster in the lunch room here at work. Today when I'm walking into the lunch room, I see a woman taking it down and I just kind of linger and look at her, and she says

her: "They're advertising beer now? Why not just put a big barrel of beer right here!"
me: "Actually, no, it's a yearly festival that raises quite a bit of money for charity."
her: "Really?" (as she starts putting it back up on the board) "They should say something about the charity on the poster!"
me: "It is on the poster, right there."
her: "Oh, American Kidney Foundation and Victory Junction charities."

So, what this was is a woman saw the poster (which contains a picture of a woman in a dirndl holding a beer stein), and immediately thought "Sin! Beer! Evil!" She didn't bother to read the poster at all, just immediately equated it to something inappropriate. That's a stereotype I see a lot. People assume that because we make and drink beer that we're drunks up to no good, not just enthusiasts who like good beer.

[Claire Tigre]

I larp, every weekend, and Dm a D&D game once a week. when ever someone hears that, or hears my husband plays those games, they assume hes a virgin, and has never even touched a girl. in fact, that stereotype bugs. comic shop patrons are all smelly, male, virgins, and will be forever. now, dont get me wrong, i do know some smelly people who go there, and couldnt get a girl. but the ones i actually associate with are half the time female, and all shower daily, as well as get laid regularly.
but, the stereotype i run into is that because im a girl, i must be doing it to get male attn, and therefore have no clue what im doing. and oh yes, my husband is really the one running the game, not me, im just the eye candy. incidentally, i just became st of my larp group through default, since im the one who came up with the story line.

also, the idea that there are no females on the internet, except 14 year old sluts, upsets me. if im not female, then i deserve a penis that is attached to me. who is donating?

just because i like anime, does not mean im an 'otaku', whatever that is, and if being an 'otaku' means i constantly cry about being lonely when theres a whole room full of people trying to hang out with me, or feel the need to constantly have someone give me attn, then i am NOT one.

This post has been edited by Claire Tigre: 13 August 2009 - 01:40 PM

[Pie]

I've never personally contributed to this, and I'd like to think that the people I work with wouldn't either, but...

Women don't know what they're doing in home improvement stores. Men are the only customers who aren't completely clueless.

I've heard about this from many sources; the store online survey included. It's more likely that I'M the dumb one when it comes to most of the stuff inside Home Depot, cuz I'm a cashier, and I have no experience with most of the stuff we sell

[The Unbalanced Mind]

Skinny people are either anorexic or bulimic. Ate at a buffet in town and after waiting on me for ten minutes the waitress comes up to me and ask if I'm going to be throwing up in the bathrooms later because they want to know ahead of time. To which I responded, "I already choked this crap down once I don't need it crawling back up on me."

[DIV]

Smart people are not athletic or charismatic. Despite the fact that I know why this one arises, it still pisses me off. Since most people have no discernable talent whatsoever, they need to pretend that people with an obvious skill, such as being remarkably intelligent, are fully lacking in other areas. The reverse is true as well, but seeing as I'm not exceptionally athletic or charismatic (though I'd like to think I'm average or above), it doesn't piss me off as much.

Cynics are unhappy. Just because we talk about how much everything sucks doesn't mean we aren't cool with it.

Dudes bang anything with a hole in it. There is a hole in my exhaust pipe but I'm less interested than you might imagine.

[Drake]

Here is one I get all the time. I'm 6'1" and a bit over 200lbs, a mix of muscle and fat admittedly. I shave my head, have a goatee and tend to wear jean shorts and shirts without sleeves. Throw in that I have six tattoos. Two on my right arm, one on my left arm, one on my right calf and one on my left calf. I also usually have a skullcap on with a skull and crossbones on the front, and a majority of my shirts have some reference to pirates on them. In the winter the shorts become jeans and I tend to wear a leather jacket. I'm sure most of you have seen where this is going by now.

Frequently I am assumed to be a biker (I haven't been on a motorcycle since I was about 5), I'm assumed to be of sub-par intelligence (apparently that goes with the biker stereotype) and on more than one occasion I have had people go out of their way to get out of my path, and/or been stared at like a serial rapist.

In reality I am an amateur theologian, an avid reader of a multitude of subjects, and very non-confrontational. Oh and I drive an SUV most days but frequently I also drive a mini-van. Sooo yeah those are my fun dealings with stereo types. Though sometimes I do encourage it if I don't want to be bothered.

Drake

[The Unbalanced Mind]

Drake, you sound like one third of the kids who went to my slacker school, just older.

If you wear glasses you are smart. I can honestly say that there are tons of people who wear glasses and are complete idiots.

[linpixie]

Kinda what Claire said... As a girl, I must not be good at strategy games. Also, as an attractive girl, I must just be ditzy.

Also, apparently there is nothing else to do with a math major other than teach math to someone else.

This is a typical conversation for me:
Person: What's your major?
Me: Math
Person: Oh wow, I could never do that. What are you going to do with that, teach?
Me: No, I would be horrible with students.
Person: Oh really? That's odd. So what else is there to do?
Me: Almost anything, really.

[Mizafim]

French people are morons.

I'm not looking at anyone in particular (You know who you are pantsface! ) but I hear of this every so often. It's funny when people joke about it but I know some English folks do think that. Just reading the comments on news articles involving french peeps on the cbc.com website, you can tell some people have issues with us.

Though, I live on the french side so I've heard just the same about how English people can't drive, they're stupid, etc...

See, if I stereotype the French (Quebecois to be specific) -- and I do -- I'd sooner say arrogant than "morons". This comes from working retail, and having all sorts of Quebeckers come in and demand we speak French, when they clearly speak English -- or ask why, in a store that originates from the States, we aren't all fluently bilingual -- or similar such things. Added to this is that, when we're helping them, we don't know what we're talking about because, frankly, not speaking French makes us idiots.

And the roads in Orleans are populated by terrible Quebec drivers.

Having said those things, I know that since it's a Wal-Mart, we're getting the cream of the crop in terms of the worst of ANY stereotype, and know many Quebeckers who aren't like that. And many Ontario drivers just as bad wrecking up the roads too.

[Glix]

I don't think I deal with too many stereotypes in my day to day activities (And I use that term loosely), at least not ones directed at me any worse than "he plays World of Warcraft? No life, no friends, no chance of being within 15 feet of a girl"

Although I don't mind that one so much the people it come from barely know me, and if they did wouldnt jump to misguided conclusions *Shrugs*

[The Illusionist]

I larp, every weekend, and Dm a D&D game once a week.

My name is The Illusionist. I have never met you, but I love you.

Be afraid. =P

Frequently I am assumed to be a biker (I haven't been on a motorcycle since I was about 5), I'm assumed to be of sub-par intelligence (apparently that goes with the biker stereotype) and on more than one occasion I have had people go out of their way to get out of my path, and/or been stared at like a serial rapist.

That's a steroetype that I disagree with also. Some of the happiest, funniest and downright sweetest people I know resemble a wookie in a leather jacket.

Here's my pet peeve steroetype: Old People have good manners and are respectful in a way that today's youth aren't. Not just because I constantly go out of my way tp be as chivalrous as I can to everyone who I meet, and therefore resent the label, but because 90% of Old People I interact with (and I work in a Supermarket) are self-centred, entitled and downright rude to a terrible degree.