Stereotypes

[JWH]

I know... another post on the issue. Sorry!

Does anyone find themselves slowly fitting the stereotypes that we percieve others labelling us with?

A bit of background... I've been very slow to achieve awareness in the past, so I probably didn't even realise a while back. Lately all I have to do is state that I don't work/I am supported by my parents/name my suburb and I'll get the knowing looks or the "your parents must be loaded" statement. After a while of hiding this nowdays, I just state it straight out.

It's funny though. When I went to school, I was an utter nobody in terms of wealthy parents but change the environment and there are so many people who find this issue offensive. Depite the fact that there are many international students in their midst whose parents are paying the earth for their education, it's still a big issue to be a local in such a situation.

Anyway, this isn't too big an issue for me but something I'm finding I have to confront more and more as I emerge from hiding. So I'm curious - do any of you see yourselves being stereotyped? What do you do to combat it or do you just accept it?

 

[tommydog]

well like you say JWH, your "thing" might get totally ignored, or be completely unimpressive in one environment, get put into another and it becomes a "something" all of a sudden.

Im going through issues with my race atm. im a med boy lol greek background, i grew up in the most densely populated and multicultural parts of sydney. Around here, if you dont have some kind of ethnic background, whether it be greek, lebanese, south american, maori, asian, whatever, then you probably dont live here.

Many parts of sydney, large portions of it, are very much like this. Were im living now you could probably find about 1 in 15 people that dont have an ethnic background put it that way.

anyway ... unfortunatly ... many parts of outer sydney, and most parts of the rest of australia probably outside parts of melbourne .. are not like this.

To them, im different, and to them, the way i look, the way i talk, the things i like, they "ethnic". In my world, you talk with that tone and youl get your head kicked in so fast you wouldnt know if you were coming or going ... but i feel like im vulnurable as soon as i step out of a cluster of about 15 suburbs i feel comfortable in.

that other thread about bieng skeptical about moving to the goldcoast that i made .... this is probably the biggest concern for me. Sydney, Melbourne, or New York, take your pick, anywere else, im skeptical :lol:

 

[JWH]

I do notice it Tommy, there's no denying it.

So what's your fear? You're not going to be surfie enough?

 

[tommydog]

well .. yer i mean i guess so. well not really .. just the whole not relating to people in general. i dont WANT to be like them though this is the thing, i like how i am, and i like my crowd .. but i want to be able to learn to accept the whole country isnt like that .. and i should be able to feel comfortable in a place like gold coast.

see i actually deal with being judged with aggression .. and it works great generally .. but what i deal with generally ... compounded with feeling like the whole population is looking at me .. i wont be able to deal with it.

the idea is to change my attitude .. but i have to learn how.

um ... so yer :lol:

edit: writing things down is actually clarifying alot of stuff in my head its good.

i think what it is .. places like that .. and coffs harbour were i have spent some time .. the people make me feel second rate .. i think thats what it is. unfortunatly.. im not sure if its just me, or if that really is what they think .. in reality .. i reckon its a bit from column a and a bit from column b. thing is, im not into letting other people dictate how i feel .. and i feel very strongly about that .. but i dont want to deal with this head on because i dont want my life to be rules by aggression .. i want to just look at it from some kind of other point of view.

 

[Chilling__Echo]

wow, didn't know that bout austrailia, i didn't really thing about their background...

i more have had to avoid being steteotyped. living in the south, i've heard from northern friends that the race issue here is so much more inflamed than up north. i remember one time i was riding home from middle school on the bus and this black guy straight up asks me if i hate black people. it's stupid because really the only ones that were affected by the so called race issue were the ones that were making everyhting a race issue. now in college i guess everyone grows up and gets along nicely. i'm no longer "white girl" or "cracker".

 

[Yossarian]

I can't imagine what stereotype I would be supposed to fit. I've never felt like that. Then again I've never fitted in with any group. I'm sure many people have stereotyped me but I was just unaware. I seem to always mean different things to different people.

 

[pitkreet]

soldier boy? You don't still play with your Action-Man or anything?

One thing I guess I've worried a little about since SA has resulted in me spending lots of time alone is that when you hear of someone going off the handle and randomly gunning people down in the streets, they're nearly always male and described by people who knew them as "loners".

So I don't like the word "loner" now because I think there's a growing perception in society that if you're a loner and male, you have the potential to be unstable and bitter, and one day could just lose the plot.

In fact, I think one of the reasons I don't tell anyone I have a mental illness is because it only makes that perception worse....male, loner, mental-case.....MI5 would probably view me as a potential terrorist.

 

[Yossarian]

My Grandad (who was my father figure) was a loner too. That said he did manage to father 5 children so I guess taking after him wouldn't be so bad :wink:

Soldier boy?? I always imagine american soldiers to stand up straight, have crew cuts and call everyone sir. Anything like you? I dunno it's weird what some people can read into us :?