Last week we had an interesting discussion on whether or not white culture exists in our society. Some jokingly said it doesn't while others pointed out various white stereotypes. It got me thinking, why isn't white culture as tangible as other ones? What does race mean to us?
There's no point in denying it: our society is comprised of countless divisions ranging from a variety of characteristics. No matter how hard we try to break down those barriers, they still exist. That being said, out of all of them, it seems the racial one has cracked the most. All one has to do to see the progress is compare 17th century to 21st century America. It makes sense that we are the most progressive/open-minded today then we've ever been but it doesn't mean we should take it for granted or be satisfied with where we are.
When you think of white people who immediately come to mind? Caucasian Americans right? Black people? African-Americans. Asians? Chinese. Latinos? Mexicans. Alright so the last two aren't consensus but definitely common misconceptions even today. It's easy to place minorities into set groups but what about whites? Black people are associated with rap, slang, fried chicken, watermelon and Asians with math, video games, bad English, rice. We've heard it all. Most racial cultures are pretty concrete yet when one encounters a random White person, it's hard to categorized them into a predetermined standard. Yeah there's the rich white man or the redneck hillbilly but they aren't as "obvious" as the other stereotypes.
By definition a Caucasian is a white-skinned person; a person of European origin. So there's the answer to my first question. There are just so many different types of white people all with varying physical features, accents, dialects that it would be preposterous to put them all under one huge classification, right? But then what about other races? For Asians, there are Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. each with -American counterparts. Latinos: Mexicans, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Argentinians, Columbians, etc. each again with northern hybrids. Most Asian-Americans are more similar to Caucasian Americans than Asians. While occasionally we have prejudices derived from personal experience it's mostly media and/or ignorance that fuel the irrational organization. I admit it, I do it a lot. Happens to all of us.
It's fair to say that race has more of a social association than biological. That barrier is no longer held up by science but by us. It's so easy to get entrapped in our own bubbles and forget how massive the world is. Everyone is most accurately defined by where and how they live, not by social constructions.
I see what you are saying--that it is hard to classify people into stereotypes because there are simply so many of them. In answer to your question, what is white culture, I have to agree that the answer isn't as obvious as one would hope. Then again, assuming that other cultures have apparent stereotypes isn't necessarily ideal, either. Between having a set stereotype and being an ambivalent culture, I would guess that the latter is better. Of course, the fact that white culture is very multi-layered and other cultures are more rigid with their stereotypes when seen through the eyes of an American is a downside. I'm on the same with you regarding this topic--stereotypes are wrong, but getting out of the habit of subconscious categorization isn't easy, either.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Paul, "white culture" whatever it may be, is definitely multi-layered. It's interesting that white culture and black culture are seen as entirely different, though both are parts of American culture. Also, Joon, I think you made a good point about media and other factors that misconstrue different cultures, and in that sense they distance Asian-Americans and Caucasian Americans, though being American is still a common trait. Basically, I agree with you. (it probably took too long for me to get to that point)
DeleteI agree that people are too often grouped together for having the same skin color as them rather than the culture they identify with. There isn't a concrete "white" culture because far too many groups of people fall into this category, though I do believe that a stereotyped white culture does exist, at least for white Americans. In America, we have the stereotypes of "white people can't jump," white people can't dance," and "white girls love Starbucks," but the majority are positive, with white people being stereotyped as rich and educated. Though, many foreign countries see most white Americans as the redneck stereotype you mentioned, being uneducated and simple. "White" culture is hard to generalize, as you are attempting to condense dozens of cultures into one.
ReplyDeleteI agree, people often judge each other from just outward apperarence. I think when you say that the rich white guy or redneck hillbilly are cultures, you are correct, but I think there is more to "white culture." When we think of white culture a lot of things come to my mind, but many of them are things like the rich white guys, the redneck hillbilly, the white trash, the basic white girl. For white culture stereotypes it seems as though we have categorized them by class, rather than race. The business man is rich, the hillbilly is poor, the white trash is poor, the basic white girl is upper middle class, etc. I think it is interesting how for white culture this occurs, but it really doesn't do that for any other culture, even though there are differences among them
ReplyDeleteRacist stereotypes tend to be a lot more common in America than in other countries because of its many years of having a very diverse population. Stereotypes about white people (if they even truly exist) have little to do with their race and culture because white Americans don't really have a culture to themselves. They have traditions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., but most of us celebrate these things. "White culture" is just a hodgepodge of a bunch of different cultures, especially with the advent of the internet. It is now mainstream culture. This makes it impossible, in my opinion, for true white stereotypes to exist. On the whole I think what mainstream culture has become is a good thing.
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