Ethnic stereotype

According to an article by The Guardian titled European stereotypes: what do we think of each other and are we right?, the Europe stereotype towards Britain is as "drunken, semi-clad hooligans or else snobbish, stiff free marketers", their view towards France is "cowardly, arrogant, chauvinistic, erotomaniacs", and they see Germany as "uber-efficient, diligent [and] disciplined". To Europe, Italy is "tax-dodging, Berlusconi-style Latin lovers and mama's boys, incapable of bravery", Poland is "heavy-drinking ultracatholics with a whiff of antisemitism", and Spain is "macho men and fiery women prone to regular siestas and fiestas". While some countries such as Germany proudly own their stereotype, others like Spain argue that theirs is a warped view based on experiences while on holiday instead of having actually lived there.[2]

A Pew Global survey of the European countries Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic found that European stereotypes found Germany to be both the most hardworking and least corrupt, Greece to be the least hardworking, and Italy to be the most corrupt. It is also worth noting that 5 out of the 8 countries thought their own country was the most corrupt.[3]

Yanko Tsvetkov has designed many maps which serve as pictorial representations of such stereotypes, giving an impression of how certain regions of the world may view others.[4][5][6] They have named such as "The Arab Winter" and "Crystal Ball View Of Europe In 2022".[7]

It is sometimes held that such stereotypes often contain a grain of truth.[8][9] However an extensive study by personality psychologist Robert R. McCrae of the National Institute on Aging and colleagues found that in general they are not trustworthy.[10][9]

An NBC.com article on the validity of national stereotypes suggests that "the stereotypes we all know and love, like the "French lover" and "the icy Brit," were mostly created by literature". It explained that "partly because of such "dirty books," and partly due to French PR, France got the reputation of being sexually free", and offered evidence to the contrary with a recent survey that showed "76 percent of the French sometimes suffer from lack of sexual response".[11]

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

Ethnic stereotypes are commonly portrayed in ethnic jokes, some of which some consider to be offensive to varying 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:[12]

• 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.[12]

• List of archetypal names
• List of ethnic slurs
• Mores
• National character studies
• National personification
• Objectification of people
• Presumption of guilt
• Racial stereotyping in advertising
• Racism
• Stereotypes of Americans
  • Stereotypes of groups within the United States
• Stereotypes about indigenous peoples of North America
• Stereotypes of Argentines
• Stereotypes of Jews
• Stereotypes of Lebanese people
• Stereotypes of South Asians

• 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.

• Pawel Milicki, Naomi Ellemers, Being different or being better?, European Journal on Social Psychology, vol. 26, 1996, pp.97-114

• National Stereotypes and Product Evaluations in a Socialist Country (journal article)
• Ethnic and National Stereotypes: The Princeton Trilogy Revisited and Revised (journal article)
• National Stereotypes: Correct Images and Distorted Images, ed. Blanca Valota, 2007, ISBN 8876949534
• National Stereotypes: an Educational Challenge (book)
• Haiti and the United States: National Stereotypes and the Literary Imagination (book)