Stereotypes

A European's Road Map

By Reginald Dale International Herald Tribune

WASHINGTON - In the United States, it is widely considered unacceptable to attribute people's behavior, good or bad, to their racial or ethnic origins. Ethnic stereotyping is taboo. In Europe, however, almost the reverse is true. Europeans tend to rely on ancient but often accurate national stereotypes to help them understand their neighbors. Both the French and the Germans, for instance, have pretty good, and similar, ideas of what constitutes a typical Englishman. While those ideas may often be caricatures, they also reflect centuries in which Europeans have observed each other, as trading partners and on the battlefield, at very close quarters. European stereotypes apply not just to individuals but to whole countries, too. Thanks to their differing histories, cultures and geographies, the European nations have developed distinct and recognizable personalities. Those personalities are often, in fact, more important than the official policies of national governments or their political complexions in explaining how European nations interact with one another. As the European Union approaches decisions on economic and monetary union that will be crucial to the destinies of its member nations, it is only natural that many of those nations should be indulging in stereotypical behavior. Traditionally aloof Britain is staying out of the planned single European currency, the euro; France is justifying its reputation for arrogance by demanding the top job in running the currency, and Germany is showing its self-righteousness in seeking to impose its own economic and monetary standards on everybody else. In Britain, Tony Blair's Labour government sounds more enthusiastic about the euro than its Conservative predecessor did. It is promising to join the currency in perhaps five years, provided Britain meets certain economic criteria. But the British people's dislike of the euro has not disappeared with the change of government. Everyone knows that the British will have to shed a great deal of historical and cultural baggage before they can agree to scrap the pound and accept the euro in the referendum that Mr. Blair has promised them. The big question is not whether Britain will fulfill the economic criteria but whether the British national character will change.In France, the advent of Lionel Jospin's Socialist-led government has done little to diminish the country's traditional Gallic conceit, the latest example of which is a proposal that the new European central bank be headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, the governor of the Bank of France. The proposal should not be dismissed just because it has irritated most of France's partners. France is traditionally good at getting its way in such things. Nor does it matter that the independent-minded Mr. Trichet would not necessarily run the bank the way Paris wants. Experience suggests that France would settle for the appearance of power if it cannot have the reality. Germany's national need is for reassurance, before it embraces the euro, that the currency's other members, especially Italy, will behave like sensible Germans. Here is an example of a damaging stereotype at work. Italy is stuck, at least in German eyes, with an image as an economically irresponsible and politically unstable country, even though it has probably been more successful than any other EU member in changing its economic and political behavior for the better to qualify for the single currency. That shows how difficult changing a stereotype can be. But the point is that even if Italy does succeed in radically upgrading its economic and political image, that need does not make it any less Italian. For most Europeans, the challenge is to achieve economic and political integration without losing the best of their national characteristics. Europe would be much less interesting without its ethnic stereotypes.
Tuesday, November 18, 1997, page 13

A. Let's come to terms with stereotypes, and recognize that stereotypes do contain some truth, but also can not be applied across the board. This lesson helps us improve our descriptive adjective vocabulary while we discuss perceived differences between nations through stereotypes. American food is fast food. OR Americans love guns.

Choose two adjectives that you think describe the nationalities listed below. Choose two countries of your own to describe.

• American _____ _____ _____ _____
• British _____ _____ _____ _____
• French _____ _____ _____ _____
• Japanese _____ _____ _____ _____

punctual tolerant romantic respectful hard-working emotional outgoing nationalistic well-dressed humorous lazy sophisticated hospitable talkative sociable serious quiet formal aggressive polite rude arrogant ignorant casual
B

1. Group the following adjectives under categories (taste, attitude, feelings, organization, etc) and indicate which are positive or negative traits.

appetizing, aloof, mean, polite, honest, solid, ardent, bland, pleasant, organized, friendly, tedious, sloppy, methodical, chaotic, systematic, tidy, unpleasant, nasty, passionate, tender, uninterested, cruel, organized, cold, negligent, horrifying, untidy, refined, insipid, flavourless, tasty, reliable, careless, unstable, romantic, uninteresting, sophisticated, dull ,disciplined, unresponsive, messy,

" Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and it is all organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and it is all organised by the Italians ".

Heaven is a ___________ place to be (fill in with an adjective)
What qualities make a good policeman/a cook/a mechanic/lover/ manager ?

A policeman should be

A cook should be

A mechanic should be

A lover should be

A manager should be

In this joke
the British are regarded as being

the French are portrayed as being

the Germans are considered as being

Italian men have a reputation of being

the Swiss are said to be

Hell is a_________ place to be (fill in with an adjective)

What is the inference made about
German policemen:British food:French mechanics:Swiss lovers:Italian management:

Do you think this is true?

What do these statements have in common?

2) Working on your own, write down five or six stereotypes for your own nationality.

3) Did the completed statements make you feel uncomfortable? Why? Why not?

4) In general, were your responses positive or negative?

5) List the stereotypes under positive, negative or neutral. What does this tell us about stereotypes?
6) Fill in the following questionnaire on your own and later discuss it with your teacher and colleagues. You may use :A= I agree B= I'm not sure C= I disagree

• 
  
  National stereotypes are dangerous because they may provoke racial prejudice.
• 
  
  Stereotypes contain a certain amount of truth.
• There is no such thing as national character and therefore the idea of national stereotypes is rubbish.
• The reason stereotypes exist is because people are afraid of diversity, change, and what is unknown. They prefer to cling to simple classifications, which maintain an old, familiar and established order.
• Stereotypes are simply harmless sorts of jokes we tell about other nationalities or groups of people.

7) What is, in your opinion, the best way to challenge a stereotype.