As in, what stereotypes do you feel others may have or have had of you, and what have you done (consciously or subconsciously) to avoid fitting those stereotypes???
I’ll try to respond after I’ve thought about it myself, but this is a question that’s been brewing in my mind for a while.
I never got into the “pink” polo shirts cuz I didn’t want to be labeled a fairy.
Maybe its just something I made up in my head, but I avoid plaid (sp?) shorts like the plague, something in my mind associates them with assholes.
Also thong sandals, as of until recently.
I also wear a belt and wear my pants where they should be, to avoid being labeled a fucking idiot, as others around my age are.
It would be a waste of my time to try to avoid stereotypes.
I regularly go to church, because after all, I listen to Death/Black/Extreme Metal, therefore, ‘I worship Satan’
:rolleyes:
It’s a stereotype that I’m REALLLLYYY tired of, ya know?
Also, I’ll never drive a mini-van. I apologize to any T-Men here that are victimized by their significant other to have to drive one. I’ll never drive one, ever.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
It would be a waste of my time to try to avoid stereotypes. [/quote]
Right, so would you consider doing so to be another side of the vanity coin?
I guess I brought up this topic because I have always considered myself one who is not easily stereotypable, that is, who does not have a particular social mold to fit (not by my own active doing, but just naturally so).
As a consequence, I think my dating pool is narrowed. I say this because I feel there are always conjugate stereotypes that will be your primary dating pool.
For instance, you go to a bar/club and see the guidos and laugh at them. But you know what? There are a whole subculture of chicks that lust for that shit, and together, they are all one giant Melrose Place cluster fuck.
Not that I am worried about dating in general, but I bring it up as a core highlight of what I’m talking about here. Your ‘world’ is more fragmented, more piece-meal.
I don’t seem to find many others like myself. I’ve always been a bit solitary, too, though I am highly extroverted.
[quote]Stuntman Mike wrote:
Maybe its just something I made up in my head, but I avoid plaid (sp?) shorts like the plague, something in my mind associates them with assholes.[/quote]
Call me ‘asshole,’ then. I’ll enjoy my comfortable and roomy shorts.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
It would be a waste of my time to try to avoid stereotypes.
[/quote]
You mean you aren’t losing sleep over what total strangers think about you???
I think the one thing that I have become conscious of as of late is my desire to NOT be defined; I only want to be defined on my death bed, when I have stopped living, stopped working.
Not by active aversion of stereotypes but by pursuing anything and everything that crosses my mind and not pigeon-holing myself even with my own passions.
That, and ‘fuck dogma’ are the two philosophies that have kept me going. Maybe the quarter century mark is eeking out the last of my naivete, and I’ll be singing a different tune next year. Who knows.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Professor X wrote:
It would be a waste of my time to try to avoid stereotypes.
Right, so would you consider doing so to be another side of the vanity coin?
I guess I brought up this topic because I have always considered myself one who is not easily stereotypable, that is, who does not have a particular social mold to fit (not by my own active doing, but just naturally so).
As a consequence, I think my dating pool is narrowed. I say this because I feel there are always conjugate stereotypes that will be your primary dating pool.
For instance, you go to a bar/club and see the guidos and laugh at them. But you know what? There are a whole subculture of chicks that lust for that shit, and together, they are all one giant Melrose Place cluster fuck. Not that I am worried about dating in general, but I bring it up as a core highlight of what I’m talking about here. Your ‘world’ is more fragmented, more piece-meal.
I don’t seem to find many others like myself. I’ve always been a bit solitary, too, though I am highly extroverted. [/quote]
I get stereotyped every single day. I am bored with the surprised look on people’s faces when they find out what I do for a living and that I can form complete sentences without a social-working aid.
Because of that, it would be a waste of time for me to worry about PREVENTING stereotypes. I know full well that if I told everyone that I was a bouncer or a boxer, they would accept it without question.
The same goes for “drop out”, “football player” and “contract killer”.
As far as women, they are the worst in the world for thinking they have you all figured out from the moment they lay eyes on you. That seems to work for me at times…until it comes to the women I really want who can also form complete sentences and don’t act like their IQ matches the size of their implants.
I only wish I was MORE superficial.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
I think the one thing that I have become conscious of as of late is my desire to NOT be defined; I only want to be defined on my death bed, when I have stopped living, stopped working.[/quote]
Good luck with that. Your only chance at that happening is if you don’t stand out in any way. If you do stand out, you can guarantee someone has labeled you as something whether it is true or not.
I worry about being stereotyped as a, immature, over aged, spandex wearing, mid life crises, show off inline speed skating jock, pot smoking, know it all, arrogant son of a bitch, who speaks his own mind, twenty-four carat asshole. Other than that I’m cool!!
[quote]Professor X wrote:
As far as women, they are the worst in the world for thinking they have you all figured out from the moment they lay eyes on you.
[/quote]
That’s been my experience lately as well…I’ve been amazed even at the women I thought I knew or whom I thought I’d respect for their depth of character; what they later admitted to thinking of me as a first impression really blew my mind.
I actually think women are more guilty of it than men, but that’s probably a reflection of my interactions than an absolute statement on differences between genders.
And X, it’s not so much a desire on my part to be ‘indie’ as it is me wanting to do fifty things in parallel and enjoy the chaos of juggling it all.
I hear where you’re coming from…but I really have come to where I don’t care what people think about me. If I’m walking in a store or down the street, I do probably look pretty unapproachable. At the same time, I make a point to be nice to everyone I interact with if feasible (aka not dealing with complete dickwads).
What it comes down to is that you should be confident enough to not care what most people think, but decent enough that those who know you think well of you.
I agree.
Again, maybe I conveyed this incorrectly - I’ve been off the last few days for some reason - but it’s not so much that I care what OTHERS think; I want to be able to look back on my own life, my own patterns and think, “Fuck, I don’t know what I’d call myself.” Based purely on the variety of things I had invested my time in, he endeavors I’ve had lined up, etc.
I should’ve been more clear: I don’t even want to be able to define me, fuck what other people think; I’ve never cared about that.
I’ve been running on all gears for the last few months and everything is just going my way. I don’t want that to stop and it’s a liberating feeling…
Hey, my neighbors think I’m a pot smokin’ hippie just because I have long hair. I’m sure they’d think the same of Chad Waterbury as well. lol
I always assume anyone over the age of 16 who wears his cap backwards is a total idiot.
I’m standing by that one. lol
But I do try to avoid categorizing people. It is difficult since today it seems like most people would rather follow the trends rather than march to their own beat.
i dont know. as far as dressing is concerned i just wear what i like and what i think looks good, and i avoid things that are retarded or totally out of style. so like you wont ever catch me wearing a fubu shirt and carpenter jeans.
i guess i just dont want people to think im dumb before they get to know me just because they see im bigger than average. i also probaly get stereotyped as dumb because i go to community college. like, sorry im not at Harvard but i did kind of drop out of highschool in 9th grade.
Leather boot wearin’, beer drinkin’, gun totin’, weight liftin’, sail racin’, foul-mouthed guitar slingin’ bitch. Yeah.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
PonceDeLeon wrote:
Professor X wrote:
It would be a waste of my time to try to avoid stereotypes.
Right, so would you consider doing so to be another side of the vanity coin?
I guess I brought up this topic because I have always considered myself one who is not easily stereotypable, that is, who does not have a particular social mold to fit (not by my own active doing, but just naturally so).
As a consequence, I think my dating pool is narrowed. I say this because I feel there are always conjugate stereotypes that will be your primary dating pool.
For instance, you go to a bar/club and see the guidos and laugh at them. But you know what? There are a whole subculture of chicks that lust for that shit, and together, they are all one giant Melrose Place cluster fuck. Not that I am worried about dating in general, but I bring it up as a core highlight of what I’m talking about here. Your ‘world’ is more fragmented, more piece-meal.
I don’t seem to find many others like myself. I’ve always been a bit solitary, too, though I am highly extroverted.
I get stereotyped every single day. I am bored with the surprised look on people’s faces when they find out what I do for a living and that I can form complete sentences without a social-working aid.
Because of that, it would be a waste of time for me to worry about PREVENTING stereotypes. I know full well that if I told everyone that I was a bouncer or a boxer, they would accept it without question.
The same goes for “drop out”, “football player” and “contract killer”.
As far as women, they are the worst in the world for thinking they have you all figured out from the moment they lay eyes on you. That seems to work for me at times…until it comes to the women I really want who can also form complete sentences and don’t act like their IQ matches the size of their implants.
I only wish I was MORE superficial.
[/quote]
Proving stereotypes wrong should be entertaining for you. Show people an intelligent and eloquent black man, and break the stereotypes people have. It won’t eradicate racism but isn’t that a step in the right direction?
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Proving stereotypes wrong should be entertaining for you. Show people an intelligent and eloquent black man, and break the stereotypes people have. It won’t eradicate racism but isn’t that a step in the right direction?
[/quote]
They seem to figure that out within the first 5 seconds of speaking to me. It won’t stop me from wearing my earrings, my leather wrist cuffs, riding my motorcycle, lifting really heavy weights or shaving my head. I haven’t had to compromise my personal style much at all (aside from the earrings and leather while active duty and on the job) once in my life. I don’t plan to now.
People can think what they want of me from a distance.
Unless I am on the job, my style is my own and I value it.
I think that maintaining my individuality goes far enough at breaking stereotypes. Anyone who won’t take the time to find that out and judges me negatively because of it is clearly the one with the problem.
I used to care. I even used to care a lot. I quit caring once I found out that no matter how I dress, bigots and those with limited perspectives will still think the same things even if they don’t say it out loud. I would simply be compromising myself by trying to “fit in”.
The last generation was forced to do that in order to succeed at all. I honestly think it is time for society to change a little.