The Wisdom of Stereotyping
A crowdsourced library of stereotypes from around the world. There is still so much that has not been shared with us, by us.
It is interesting to hear some of the stereotypes that people have prepared for me when I travel, sometimes. Often, they are repetitive and annoying. I’m Russian, after all. But occasionally unique stories do pop up.
Cultures are fascinating, but their impession of others is even more.
The work of Yanko Tsvetkov is fascinating. There is something striking about our identity from outsiders’ perspective. His project is general, however, and not as comprehensive as one would hope.
A surprise example
I’m studying in Sweden now and when I went home for a visit I saw some giggling faces and weird smiles among the older generation. What was it?
“How is Sweden treating you?” they asked. “Good.” Even more giggles followed.
They had been thinking about group sex. Apparently, Sweden was famous for the shared accommodation in the seventies, thus people of the Soviet Union latched onto this stereotype. Group sex it is. Ikea and Abba it is for most. But, are there other surprises?
This is a simple project, with the desire to gather unexpected stereotypes, from anyone, by anyone.
Go ahead and share your “Stereotype Wisdom” at Stereotyping.eu
By the way — there are endless possible stereotype combinations.
ps. The site may be a bit buggy.
