European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction?

by whataboutbob
Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 09:34:23 AM EST

In today's Swissinfo is an article discussing "the results of an international study of 49 cultures, in which psychologists measured the extent to which stereotypes correspond to "objective" personality traits in 49 different cultures."
"Introverted" Swiss lead the world in openness

Stereotypes come into existence, and survive, through a combination of history, political discourse, culturally determined jokes, and of course, the media, which reinforces the image of a "typical" national type.
But rarely do stereotypes stand up to scrutiny, a fact confirmed by a survey published in the prestigious scientific journal, Science...(...)
Psychologically speaking, stereotypes meet a human need. "We need to exert some control over the world around us," says Ruch (one of the primary researchers). "Stereotypes help us to know what to expect, what to avoid, and how we should behave."
However, there is a danger that our stereotypes may become fossilised; that is never reviewed or updated, especially in situations of which we have no direct experience. What is more, people tend to cultivate stereotypes by avoiding experiences which might contradict them.
"Take the issue of hostility towards foreigners: it is strongest in situations where foreigners are non-existent. People who are in daily contact with immigrants do not have such prejudices," notes Ruch

The interesting thing for me is that I find that the Swiss are quite open...except towards the other intra-nationalities within Switzerland. I see people here tend to be quite tough on their French, Italian and German speaking compatriots.

The results, published in the Science review on October 7, 2005, showed that in the vast majority of cases personality traits and national stereotypes do not coincide. The only exceptions were Poland, Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon.

For their research project, the psychologists used questionnaires to gather information on the five principal aspects of human personality: emotional stability, intro/extroversion, openness to new experience, courtesy and conscientiousness. These are universal aspects of human nature, common to all cultures.
The issue of national characteristics was not introduced until later, when the participants were "asked to describe a 'typical' Swiss, rather than an actual person".(...)
Instead of being especially punctual, persevering, reliable, introverted and tradition-bound, the Swiss turned out to be rather more open-minded than one might have assumed.
Not only were they more "open" than the other nationalities which participated in the survey; they actually scored the top mark in this respect.

Just remember, this is not a Swiss composing this article, but an American-Swiss immigrant...the Swiss would be too modest to brag about their openness...

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Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? | 51 comments (51 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

So what are the stereotypes about your culture? And are they true?

I have heard always about Swiss efficiency...and I find this to be incredibly accurate. And really quite modest and polite, generally.

And I have to admit, it is sometimes difficult to hear about the image people have of Americans here....that it is easy to meet Americans, but extremely difficult to get to know them. And for this reason, people have come to believe the American "openness" as being artificial and shallow. Unfortunately, I have to say I see this as being mostly true. One Swiss friend said that Americans are like peaches, soft outside with a hard pit inside, whereas Swiss are like coconuts, with a hard shell outside, but soft inside (once you get to know them).

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 09:41:02 AM EST

Images of Americans (none / 1)

Here's the stereotype I heard from a British guy who was my boss (organic chemistry lab) for about 4 months, until I quit because of his attitude toward Americans, which he extended to me.

According to him, almost all Americans:

are stupid
are loud
have Texas accents (which I do not have)
think violence (movies, the death penalty, etc.) is really great
have "bad taste" in general (whatever that meant)
like country music
are gunslinging fundamentalist, racist, white, Bush-loving Christians

Now, that's extreme. He was a real asshat, obviously.

What I've heard more often was less extreme, but similar:

Most Americans:

are loud
are stupid
love George W. Bush
are so patriotic that they're dangerously nationalistic
are fat (well, lots of Americans are, but not MOST)
think they're better than Europeans

etc., etc.

I can guarantee those are stereotypes, that they are NOT representative of all Americans.

Generalizations are never, ever helpful when trying to bridge cultures.

It's like the assumption that all of the Dutch spend a good part of their salary on hookers 'n' hash. I can't tell you how many Americans have said to my husband (both online and in person) "Duuuude, like, what's the best hash, duuude?"

by Plutonium Page (page dot vlinders at gmail dot com) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 10:13:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Fat Americans (none / 0)

Not to oppose your general line of argument, but indeed MOST Americans are fat. In the latest study, 24.5% of US adults were found obese and an additional 40% overwheight - almost two-thirds are fat.

On the other hand, it's not much better in Western Europe. In the differing-definition but for-comparison dataset of the OECD (in this Excel table, most recent available data - for 2003 or 2002), you find the UK only one quarter less in obesity (30.6 and 23%) and barely behind on total overwheights (65.7 and 62.0%), and while the rest of Western Europe is much less obese, the total overwheight ratio is usually above 40%.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 11:46:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Fat Americans (none / 0)

(Forgot to note: ...and it's worse in the Balkans and Central-Eastern Europe than in Western Europe; tough still not as bad as in the UK.)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 11:48:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 1)

I've long meant to write about the sterotypes Scandinavians have of each other. (Sorry Sven, that still does not include the Finns.) The short version would perhaps be this:

Swedes: Rational; soft-spoken; efficient despite too fond of government and organization; secretive; smug and patronizing; intensely politically correct; melancholic; worldy-wise.

Danes: Jovial; urbane; easy-going; hedonistic; strong anarchistic streak; trend-conscious; somewhat superficial; intensely opposed to political correctness; food-loving; sex-obsessed; drunk.

Norwegians: Rustique; peasant-like; nature-obsessed; naïve but honest; sporty; too nationalistic; puritan and prudish; without a well-developed subconsciousness.

The world's northernmost desert wind.

by Sirocco (sirocco2005ATgmail.com) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 10:33:08 AM EST

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

American stereotypes:

Swedes: Great furniture designers! Eat yummy meatballs and candy fish.

Danes: Like mediocre beer. Have mermaids.

Norwegians: Aren't those the same as the Swedes?

All are blonde and socialists.

...

Somehow I don't find Norwegian hyper-nationalism anything to worry about... :)

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 06:17:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

Swedes: Great furniture designers! Eat yummy meatballs and candy fish.

You forgot the sex :-)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 11:51:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 3)

That goes with both blond and socialist, doesn't it?

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 03:45:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

Let me add... Swedish girls are gorgeous, as I was shocked to discover at age 16. (I didn't travel Norway and I have forgotten about Denmark.)

I will become a patissier, God willing.

by tuasfait on Thu Jan 12th, 2006 at 09:41:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

Here in Switzerland it gets down to Kantons. As far as I can tell, Zurich considers itself number one, has a big rivalry with Basel. Both of them pick on Bern, though Basel not as bad. Etc...and there's 26 Kantons...

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 11:06:06 AM EST

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 1)

The number one stereotype the French have about the Swiss is that they are s..l..o..w.

I think it may come from the fact that the Swiss of the French-speaking cantons (note the c when you're in the West) do have a slightly slower diction than most French people. Perhaps, in the past, when regional accents were more marked than today, the difference was sharper.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 02:10:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

The difference is extremely minor, but it's there alright. But it's not between fast and slow, more like between fast and not quite as fast. Somewhat like the difference between Castellano Spanish (fast), and a South American Spanish speaker (not quite as fast). I'm just saying this from personal experience. (i.e. I generally have to concentrate when listening to a Spaniard, but can usually easily understand an Argentinian, for example).

Anyhow all this really results in is us French saying more silly things to fill the blanks, than the Swiss.

ps: in the Jura department, in which I lived for a short while, French people there have a distinct accent and speech manner very-much like that of the French-speaking cantons in Switzerland. It's really a regional thing.

by Alex in Toulouse on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:07:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

Instead of being especially punctual, persevering, reliable, introverted and tradition-bound, the Swiss turned out to be rather more open-minded than one might have assumed.

Therefore, to be "open-minded" is to be tardy, feckless, and unreliable? Bad news, that.

Words and ideas I offer here may be used freely and without attribution.

by technopolitical on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 03:05:15 PM EST

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 1)

There will always be someone, perhaps many someones, who fits the stereotype. Are all Americans warmongering, fat, loud, undereducated Walmart shoppers? No. Are they out there? In droves.
News media love colorful characters and those characters love to get on TV, so the chances of the media presenting an accurate image of anyone in a town, region, nation, etc. are slim.
Everyone thinks their neighbors are weird.
And that's ok, so long as you don't use that weirdness as a reason to oppress, marginalize, or harm them.
There are cultural stereotypes, and then there are cultural idiosyncracies. Not innate personal traits, but social norms. Like the whole "drunken Russian men" thing...
All humans are overwhelmingly the same. But we are also wired to react more strongly to differences, the unexpected, rather than to similarities (unless those similarities are a surprise...)
I don't think the French are rude. :D

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 05:48:15 PM EST

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

Thank you! ;-)

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 03:48:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Europe joking (none / 1)

Here is a joke which has been around for some time (pre-1989), at least in France, and plays with western european stereotypes.

Hell in Europe is when the British are the cooks, the Italian are the managers, the Swiss are the lovers, the French are the engineers and the Germans are the policemen.

Heaven in Europe is when the British are the policemen, the Italians are the lovers, the Swiss are the managers, the French are the cooks and the Germans are the engineers.

I think this is among the only joke I have to offer, can't compete with Alex in Toulouse's humor ;-).

by Alexandra in WMass (alexandra_wmass[a|t]yahoo[d|o|t]fr) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 06:05:21 PM EST

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

Does bob want to weigh in on the part about the Swiss & hell... ? ;)

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 06:09:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

Oh man, I am flattered ;))

by Alex in Toulouse on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 07:59:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

I see you are indeed a night owl. But why are you at your computer on a Friday night? Isn't there a night life in Toulouse? It's quite a student town if I remember correctly.

by Alexandra in WMass (alexandra_wmass[a|t]yahoo[d|o|t]fr) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:10:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

Ahhhh, I'm no longer a student! I'm now just past 30, can't hang out with the 20s anymore ... they'll throw eggs at me and chase me into an alley ;))

But yes Toulouse is an excellent city at night - though right now I'm staying on the outskirts, I'll be moving back in town next month, in a new flat.

by Alex in Toulouse on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:23:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

Got to log off for now - more next week. Look forward to more on Toulouse now a days.

by Alexandra in WMass (alexandra_wmass[a|t]yahoo[d|o|t]fr) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:36:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (4.00 / 2)

German police wo/men are the most correct and liberal minded in Europe. They are totally predictable in their rational actions. The most racist I have encountered are the Dutch and Italians. The English are intrusive. The Belgians are corrupt, like to drink and the Flemish will let you go/drive totally intoxicated if you speak Dutch to them in Brussels. Czechs and the Polish accept small cash payments and will let you go. French police are bastards who will hit you with their truncheons while you are fast asleep in your sleeping bag and round you up at their police station. Portugese police men don't really count, you can out - speed their cars and mopeds anytime you want. Swiss police react positively every time you praise their neat uniforms, laude their patriotic commitment to the confedercy and proclaim respect towards their function as honourable servants to their fatherland. It makes them weep for the commotion they feel. Especially when a German tells them this.

"The USA appears destined by fate to plague America with misery in the name of liberty." Simon Bolivar, Caracas, 1819

by Ritter on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:00:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

German police wo/men are the most correct and liberal minded in Europe.

Agreed. This is what I have to think of every time I hear the joke, too. This about scary German policemen is rooted in dated war-time (and war movie) stereotypes. Modern German policemen are, strangely enough, closer to the British policeman stereotype.

BTW, half of Europe grew up watching (West) German detective story TV series, which most probably neither British nor US readers here, and probably not even the French heard about. (The most famous was Derrick.)

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 11:59:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (4.00 / 2)

Actually, we got/get all the German detective/police shows here in France (Derrick, Schimanski, Die Männer vom K3, Ein fall für zwei/Un cas pour deux)

Some British ones too (Taggart, Cadfael bros), one or two Australian ones whose names I've forgotten, and all the American ones (Rick Hunter, Colombo, Chips, Miami Vice, Kojak, CSI etc).

Hell we even have some French ones (Julie Lescaut, Maigret, Navarro, Moulin, les Cordier ...)

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:13:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

Ah, good! I wasn't sure, assumed on the basis of lesser TV-cultural ties. BTW, I know (tough never watched) the first three on your French police TV series list. (Well regarding never watching: I only saw a few full episodes of the German and US series, too - I'm not much into TV series.)

BTW, another European-only stuff: are the Bud Spencer/Terence Hill films well-known in France too?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:23:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

are the Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill films well-known in France too?

They were mega popular! "Until Luck Luke" in which the blonde one (Terrence?) went solo - they sort of vanished after that.

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:29:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (4.00 / 2)

Also because they became granddad-age. You can could yourself lucky for not having seen what Bud Spencer did later in TV series financed by German channels, gaining Philip Michael Thomas (Miami Vice) as permanent partner - looking waay too old for his roles.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:47:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

On second thought, the stereotype on French engineers is totally (180 degrees) off, too. France had a lot of top contributions in engineering (be it on ships, trains, airplanes, bridges or buildings), and even the until a decade ago common view (articulated especially by the German motorist club ADAC) of the low quality of French cars has turned upside down.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 12:05:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

French engineers are actually very good at inventing things 10-20 years before there is a market for them (Minitel, visiophone, touch-screen pens etc) and then getting their idea adapted by someone with a better business acumen.

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:27:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

This is also a stereotype about Hungarian inventors.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:48:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

I'm sure that stereotype is true too, seeing as how business acumen needs total acceptance of capitalism, and that's something that engineers, who are generally more inclined to pursue science than personal gain, have a hard time to do. Especially in our socialist (or socialist for so long) countries.

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 02:07:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

I know your comment was aimed at engineers in socialist countries. But I saw something interesting several weeks ago, that showed in the US, engineers are now the leading educational background for American CEO's.

by wchurchill on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 03:12:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

I'm not too surprised actually, engineers generally being the ones to start off their own new niche technology company. But this nevertheless doesn't mean that a majority of engineers are good at doing business.

I also wonder how much of the industry do services occupy, and how much of services does the I.T. field occupy, and if there is a correlation between all of these things?

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 03:46:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

good questions, but I don't know the answers. It was just interesting to me because I think this is quite a change over the last 20 years. It may be that the technology aspect of our business has grown over the years, making engineering expertise more knowledgeable at the top.

by wchurchill on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 07:17:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 0)

I know your comment was aimed at engineers in socialist countries.

Alex dealt with your CEO connection, I'll note that both you and Alex assumed wrong: the Hungarian inventor stereotype goes back much further, indeed straining my memory, most of those used as examples (inventors of 'first' TVs, radio technologies and so on) were active in the first half of the 20th century.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 01:09:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Europe joking (none / 1)

Hungary, like France (and Russia) is reknowned for its mathematicians. Remember Mr Rubik, to quote a widely known name? I understand maths is basically the only discipline where you can publish in French or Russian and expect to be read internationally.

I understand the the desks for sophisticated financial products (exotic derivatives and the like) in all banks around the world are staffed pretty much exclusively with French, East European and Chinese (or Asian) people - i.e. places where maths is still a respectable discipline.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 03:55:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

The stereotype about us French being good lovers is actually far from the mark. We're far from being good lovers ... we're awesome lovers!

And it's quite a feat really, because we're handicapped! We're not as tall as the Swedes, not as clean as the Germans, not as kinky as the Spanish, not as powerful as the Americans, not as mild as the Japanese, not as physically gifted as the Senegalese, not as crafty as the Chinese, not as flexible as the Indians, not as lucky as the Irish, not as good listeners as the Tibetans, not as good talkers as the Italians, not as goofy as the Aussies, not as sexy as the Brazilians, and not as charming as the Swiss.

But we make up for all of those handicaps by being excellent politicians ... and knowing how to get your girl/guy to sway your way is all it takes.

by Alex in Toulouse on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 07:56:58 PM EST

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 3)

Some statistics from the 2005 Durex Global sex survey (obviously this is all self reported data so one can question how reliable or representative it is):

Frequency of sex

# Globally, people are having sex an average of 103 times a year, with men (104) having sex more often than women (101)

# The Greeks top the league at 138 times a year, closely followed by the Croatians (134), Serbian Montenegrins (128) and the Bulgarians (127)

# Lovers in Japan are the least amorous, having sex just 45 times a year. Nations among the least sexually active include Singapore (73), India (75) and Indonesia (77)

And here's the frequency of sex chart by country:

by Alexandra in WMass (alexandra_wmass[a|t]yahoo[d|o|t]fr) on Fri Jan 6th, 2006 at 08:34:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The average (none / 0)

103 times per year? How boring ;-)

by Plutonium Page (page dot vlinders at gmail dot com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 10:45:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Japanese Sex (none / 0)

Now we know the reason for the declining birth rate in Japan!

It would be interesting to see stats for married individuals. I think the real reason behind the Japanese number is the low marriage rate.

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape

by rdf (robert.feinman@gmail.com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 12:15:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Japanese Sex (none / 0)

For economic reasons, a lot of married couples end up living apart for years at a time.

However, given the number of adulterous affairs going on just in my staff rooms, it really doesn't seem to be crimping anybody's style.

by Zwackus on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 08:18:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (none / 0)

So if a few persons reports that they have sex 3x a day, 365 days a year...wouldn't that skew the statistics? (oh noooo....) <heh>

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 11:30:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What again?!? (none / 0)

The Dutch are trumped by the humping Brits?? Unacceptable!! Say, did they include drunken sex in that chart?? Since that would really explain both why the Dutch and the UK are so high up in the first place and also why the Brits score higher...

Since this thread has already picked into the relation between food and hump numbers, look at the national dishes. Really now. UK: Fish and chips (or perhaps, curry), Netherlands: mashed potatoes and carrots (or perhaps, raw herring). Something is flawed in this chart!!!

I´ll now bike over to my girlfriend and settle the score...

by Nomad on Wed Jan 11th, 2006 at 07:36:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

"But we make up for all of those handicaps by being excellent politicians"

I'm fascinated, Alex, and I'd like to learn the method. How do you do it, then? Do you run opinion polls? Focus groups? Do you start up political parties with names like Je veux sauter Amandine Lemercier?

And (above all), do you make long speeches while you're doing it?

( "I want to screw Amandine Lemercier")

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:58:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

Fiwst we dazzle them with bawe charisma and by making a lot of pwomises, then we put them to sleep with long, bowing speeches, and then when we've secuwed an ewection, we scwew them the way we want.

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 07:04:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

I see! I think you're confusing having an ewection and having an ewection, if you see what I mean.

(btw, I didn't bold that line about speeches. ??)

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 08:50:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

Oh hey, I just remember this terrible stereotype-based joke I heard/saw in a "Family Guy" episode. The main character, Peter Griffin, tries to sneak past a British guard (you know, the types you find in front of Buckingham). And the guard punches him in the face. Peter Griffin protests "hey I thought you guys didn't move!!". And the guard retorts, in a thick British accent: "No, that's our women". And they all laugh out loud.

by Alex in Toulouse on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 02:14:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? (4.00 / 2)

And plying your lovers with the best wine, chocolate & food on the planet probably doesn't hurt either... The connection between food and sex is undeniable. Look at the Italians. And the Japanese. (Come on. How erotic is cold fish?)

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 01:43:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yet another stereotype in play . . . (none / 0)

While I have no comment on the erotic status of cold fish, I must note that the comment indicates a rather erroneous sterotype about Japanese cuisine. Sushi is only rarely eaten, as it is rather expensive.

More common are noodle dishes, (ramen, soba, udon), friend stuff (friend pork, fried fish, fried shrimp), curry (brown and mild, very distinctly Japanese style, and often poured over aforementioned fried stuff), various pickles (involving either daikon or odd mountain vegetables/roots), soups (a million varieties of miso soup), and skewered meats, (chicken, pork, and organ meat.) They're also quite fond of a variety of western foods, Italian being the variety that most resembles actual Italian food. Their domestic hamburger chain, MOS Burner, is . . . strange.

by Zwackus on Sat Jan 7th, 2006 at 08:24:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yet another stereotype in play . . . (none / 0)

Apologies. The only Japanese cuisine I've been exposed to is sushi, and there is a sushi restaurant on almost every street around here.

That being said, I still see a connection between their cuisine and their rank on that graph...

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire

by p------- on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 12:50:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Yet another stereotype in play . . . (none / 0)

I must agree that Japanese food is incredible. As a business person visiting in Japan, you are entertained often in an incredible style--the sushi is wonderful, but what really blows your mind is the Kobe beef. It would be impossible to believe how much better this is than an American steak, unless you had eaten it. But I spent a lot of time in Tokyo and Kyoto a few years ago, so I know the normal fare is also excellent. And perhaps the best hotel I ever stayed at was the Park hyatt in Tokyo--that was the hotel in the bill murray movie--ahhh, slips my mind now,,,Lost in Transition. malheuresement, un peu cher.

by wchurchill on Sun Jan 8th, 2006 at 02:29:37 AM EST
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Cultural stereotypes: fact or fiction? | 51 comments (51 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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