Ethnic stereotype

An 18th-century Dutch engraving of the peoples of the world, depicting the inhabitants of Asia, the Americas and Africa as savages. Shown below are an Englishman, a Dutchman, a German and a Frenchman.

A 19th-century children's book informs its readers that the Dutch are a very industrious race, and that Chinese children are very obedient to their parents.

An ethnic stereotype, national stereotype, or national character is a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group or nationality, their status, society and cultural norms.

National stereotypes may be either about their own ethnicity/nationality or about others. Stereotypes about their own nation may aid in maintaining a national identity.^[1]

It is sometimes held that such stereotypes must contain a grain of truth.^[2] Research suggests that this is most often not the case.^[3]

Various anti-national phobias and prejudices operate with ethnic stereotypes.

Ethnic stereotypes are commonly portrayed in ethnic jokes, most of which are usually considered to be offensive in various degrees. Richard M. Steers and Luciara Nardon in their book about global economy use the "You have two cows" joke to illustrate the concept of cultural differences. They write that jokes of this kind:^[4]

• Russian company: You have two cows. You drink some vodka and count them again. You have five cows. The Russian Mafia shows up and takes however many cows you have.
• Californian company: You have a million cows. Most of them are illegals.

– are considered funny because they are realistic caricatures of various cultures, and the pervasiveness of such jokes stems from the significant cultural differences. Steers and Nardon also state that others believe that cultural stereotypes in jokes of this kind must be viewed with caution.

See also

• National character studies
• Mores
• Racism
• List of ethnic slurs
• List of archetypal names
• Stereotypes of Americans
  • Stereotypes of groups within the United States
• Stereotypes of Argentines
• Stereotypes of South Asians
• Stereotypes of Jews

Notes

1. Terracciano A, Abdel-Khalek AM, Adám N, et al. (Oct 2005). "National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures". Science. 310 (5745): 96–100. doi:10.1126/science.1117199. PMC 2775052. PMID 16210536.
2. "Why do people find racist jokes funny?". BBC News. 2002-05-07. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
3. "Science gets the last laugh on ethnic jokes". MSNBC.
4. Managing In The Global Economy, by Richard M. Steers, Luciara Nardon (2005) ISBN 0-7656-1551-7

References

• Alí, Maurizio. (2010). Medios de comunicación, asuntos étnicos e intercultura en Colombia. En Revista Razón y Palabra, 74 (nov.2010/ene.2011). México DF: ITESM Campus Estado de México. ISSN 1605-4806.
• Macrae CN, Stangor C, Hewstone M.(eds.) "Stereotypes and stereotyping." Guilford Press, 1996.

External links

• 18 Things You Shouldn’t Do Abroad