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Stereotypes of white Americans

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Stereotypes of white Americans in the United States are generalizations about the character, behavior, or appearance of white Americans by other Americans in the United States.

As the definition of white Americans has changed over time, so have stereotypes about white people. Different groups of minorities have different stereotypes about white Americans. Historically, stereotypes about white people were more likely to be based on specific ethnicities. Stereotypes of white people also generally tend to vary according to class lines.[1]

In the media, White Americans are often stereotyped to be white-collar suburbanites who are middle class or wealthy.[2] The term Chad refers to a handsome, athletic white man who is seen as the most desired by heterosexual women, while the terms Karen or Becky refer to white women who are annoying or aggressive.[3][4][5]

Stereotypes

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Social stereotypes

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The term Chad refers to a stereotypically masculine white American male, who is handsome, gainfully employed and blond-haired.[3]

Becky and Karen have been used as terms to refer to white women who act in a clueless, condescending or entitled way.[4] These stereotype names are derived from names that white women commonly have. Kyle, a similarly named stereotype, refers to an angry white teenage boy who consumes energy drinks, punches holes into drywall, and plays video games.[5]

The blog Stuff White People Like addressed early 21st century stereotypes of white hipster bohemians in a humorous way.[6] Comedian Dave Chappelle also used humor to address the stereotype that white Americans cannot dance in a sketch in which groups of whites erupt into frenzied dancing every time they hear an electric guitar.[7]

Stereotypes of white Americans have been shown to vary according to socioeconomic status.[1] In general, stereotypes of white people portray upper class white Americans as WASPs and they portray lower class white Americans as "backward", "barely-educated" rednecks.[8] Rednecks, conversely are seen as "racist, hot-headed, too physical, violent, uncouth, loud, mean, undereducated—and proud of it."[9]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, entitled White women were often stereotypically dubbed as Karens while displaying unhinged behavior.[10]

Academic studies

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An early study of stereotypes of white people found in works of fiction which were written by African-American authors was conducted by African-American sociologist Tilman C. Cothran in 1950. White Americans were commonly viewed as feeling superior to African Americans, harboring hatred for Blacks, being brutish, impulsive, or mean, having a sense of pride, and anti-Semitic beliefs.[11] In another study on stereotypes in 1951, Cothran observed that the black lower and upper classes at that time had the least favorable stereotypes about white people, and the black middle class the most favorable.[12]

In a 1972 study, American whites were stereotyped as "materialistic and pleasure loving" when compared with Asian and African Americans.[13] In a study among college students of different races in 1982, White Americans were described as materialistic, ambitious, intelligent, conventional, industrious, and conservative. The study's author noted that the white stereotype had decreased in favorability over the years while the black stereotype had increased.[14][15]

In a 2018 study of children of different races, six year olds chose photos of white men as being "really smart" over photos of white women or black and brown people.[16]

Negative portrayals of specific groups of white people

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As the social definition of "white people" has changed over the years, studies have shown that members of different races, ethnicities, and nationalities have different stereotypes of white people.[17][18] Before the 1980s, ethnic groups such as the Irish, Italians, Armenians, and Polish people were portrayed in popular media and culture in a negative fashion.[19] Stereotypes of West Virginians and Alabamians include incest and inbreeding.[20] Poor whites in the Appalachian region have often been stereotyped as hillbillies.[21] White Hispanic and Latino Americans are often overlooked by the U.S. mass media and frequently, American social perceptions incorrectly give the terms "Hispanic or Latino" a racial value, usually mixed-race, such as Mestizo,[22][23] while they, in turn, are overrepresented in the U.S. Hispanic mass media, are admired by it, and shape social perceptions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.[24][25][26][27][28][29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Morgenroth, Thekla; Begeny, Christopher T.; Kirby, Teri A.; Paaßen, Benjamin; Zeng, Yanzhe (2024-02-17). "Dissecting Whiteness: consistencies and differences in the stereotypes of lower- and upper-class White US Americans". Self and Identity. 23 (1–2). Informa UK Limited: 70–94. doi:10.1080/15298868.2024.2322179. ISSN 1529-8868.
  2. ^ Interracial Communication: Theory Into Practice. p. 220.
  3. ^ a b Gibson, Rebecca. Cyborgs, Ethics, and The Matrix. Springer Nature. p. 12y. ISBN 978-3-031-61010-3. "Chad Thundercock or Nordic Gamer, is a memeable character sketch based on a drawing of a very stereotypically masculine man who gets with a lot of women and is tough and stoic. Square jawed, usually blond haired, muscular."
  4. ^ a b Young, Damon (27 April 2016). "Where 'Becky' Comes From, And Why It's Not Racist, Explained". The Root.
  5. ^ a b "How 'Kyle' became synonymous with angry, Monster Energy-chugging white boys". Daily Dot. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  6. ^ Lisa Respers France (2009-01-29). "Finding humor in 'Stuff White People Like'". CNN.
  7. ^ Chapelle, Dave (22 August 2017). "Dave Chappelle, White People Can't Dance". Critical Media Project. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Deggans, Eric (May 1, 2013). "On 'Hicksploitation' And Other White Stereotypes Seen On TV". NPR. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  9. ^ "Redneck Stereotype". Facinghistory.org. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Tiffany, Kaitlyn (6 May 2020). "How 'Karen' Became a Coronavirus Villain". The Atlantic.
  11. ^ Cothran, Tilman (1950). "White Stereotypes in Fiction by Negroes". Phylon. 11 (3): 252–256. doi:10.2307/272012. JSTOR 272012. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Cothran, Tilman C. (March 1951). "Negro Conceptions of White People". American Journal of Sociology. 56 (5): 458–467. doi:10.1086/220791. S2CID 144012717. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  13. ^ Makovitch, MInako Kurukawa (March 5, 1972). "Reciprocity in Racial Stereotypes: White, Black and Yellow". American Journal of Sociology. 77 (5): 876–897. doi:10.1086/225229. JSTOR 2776927. S2CID 143996344. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Clark and Pearson (1982). "Racial Stereotypes Revisited". International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 6 (4): 381–393. doi:10.1016/0147-1767(82)90020-7. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Bowser, B.; Hunt, R.G. (1996). Impacts of Racism on White Americans. SAGE Publications. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8039-4994-2. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  16. ^ Khan, Amina (October 23, 2018). "By Age 6, Kids Tend To See White Men As More Brilliant Than White Women". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Fernandez, R. America Beyond black and white: How Immigrants and Fusions are Helping Us Overcome the Racial Divide. University of Michigan Press. p. 174.
  18. ^ Han, A. and Hsu, J.Y. (2004) Asian American X: An Intersection of 21st Century Asian American Voices. University of Michigan Press. p. 208.
  19. ^ Leo W. Jeffres, K. Kyoon Hur (1979) " white Ethnics and their Media Images", Journal of Communication 29 (1), 116–122.
  20. ^ Lapidos, Juliet (3 June 2008). "How Did West Virginia get a reputation for inbreeding?". Slate.
  21. ^ "Rural White Stereotyping". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Richard Rodriguez. "A CULTURAL IDENTITY". PBS. Archived from the original on 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  23. ^ "Hispanics: A Culture, Not a Race". campello.tripod.com.
  24. ^ Newsweek Staff (June 18, 2003). "Y Tu Black Mama Tambien". Newsweek.
  25. ^ The Blond, Blue-Eyed Face of Spanish TV[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "Blonde, Blue-Eyed Euro-Cute Latinos on Spanish TV".
  27. ^ "What are Telenovelas? - Hispanic Culture".
  28. ^ "RACIAL BIAS CHARGED ON SPANISH-LANGUAGE TV". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  29. ^ "Pride or prejudice?". Boston.com.
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