Stereotypes about your country that's not true?

[Zkat]

The stereotypes about America in general have already been covered, so...

My favorite stereotype about Delaware is that it isn't a real state, because it's funny and it's also just really ironic when you consider that it was actually the first state.

 

[Poke Trey]

I am brown so people thinking that people like us eat chicken non-stop and smoking weed and even listen to the blackest music ever annoys me even though it doesn't affect my family ever.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I'm from the Netherlands and it annoys me when people call my country Holland (since Holland is just a small part of the Netherlands), but that's more a misconception than that it's a stereotype I guess.

Amsterdam, weed - no, Amsterdam is not all representative for my country. For such a small nation, we have a wide diversity. When foreigners speak of The Netherlands, the first few things that seem to pop up are somehow pot and legal prostitution. That is what Amsterdam is famous for, and yes those things are legal in all of the country, but it's not representative for Amsterdam nor The Netherlands. I have never done drugs, nor will I ever do, but I'm not against other people using it as long as they don't harm others with it (yes, the Dutch are mostly liberal, that is one stereotype that is true).

Wooden shoes, tulips, windmills, cheese - These things, while present in my country, are just marketing tools used by tourist agencies (frankly I'm sick of it). Not all Dutch people are wooden shoes wearing, tulip loving, cheese eating windmill owners (does anyone actually believe this tho'?)

Eh I can't think of much more actually. I don't really encounter stereotypes that much. I encounter more internal stereotypes. I'm from the Dutch province of Friesland, and whenever I meet people from other provinces they automatically assume I speak Frisian or are able to ice skate (both things heavily associated with Friesland), when I can't do both of these things.

 

[1023475849038261304976210]

I agree that "American" is a problematic term, however I think it would be difficult to call everyone by their state as that is what they are, just states of a country.

The difficulty is what someone from the USA would call themself, to refer to their country. American is simplest while incorrect.

While I have heard of the above issue numerous times I have not encountered ways to circumvent it.

For Los Angeles I wish people would stop thinking that it's just Hollywood and realize that Los Angeles is much more than that and has many different neighborhoods within the city, and that many cities such as Glendale, Redondo Beach etc merge into it.

There's Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Eagle Rock, West Hollywood, Little Tokyo, and more neighborhoods that have their own flavor.

 

[cloysterh]

Mexicans wear sombreros
everyone is involved with narcotrafficking and dream of moving to the United States
Mexico men are super macho and are moustached
drugs are legalized in Mexico and everyone drinks and smokes
Tacos and burritos are all we eat all day and night
Mexico is a desert and people ride donkies

 

[Freesia]

I never posted on this thread, so I thought I should. As an American I don't know how well I can contribute since I'm sure some of these have been addressed.

Gun Loving Culture - Americans love guns right? Speaking for myself I don't have that much of an opinion on guns and I know almost nothing about guns. Guns actually sort of scare me, but I would use one for self protection maybe. I dunno really.

Obesity - While we are a country with one of the highest obesity rates, many of us are also quite underweight (myself included), or of average weight. There are several countries with a higher obesity rate than America, but this stereotype is mostly attributed to us. -_-

Lack of cultural knowledge - There's also the stereotype that we know little of other countries and cultures and that we're ignorant of the world. I'm not a scholar of the outside world, but this doesn't exactly apply to me as a non native to America. I also have many friends from other countries. :P

We love war - Another stereotype that doesn't apply to me is that a lot of Americans seem to love war and big military. I'm a pacifist and don't think that war is the right solution to 99% of the world's problems. I won't question why our government spends so much on the military, but I think it's.. odd.

 

[Revenge of the Boyega]

Australia... well, we don't ride around in kangaroo pouches, we don't shoot crocodiles that often and some of us are quite intelligent. We may be sport's hooligans but hey, isn't everyone? I'm not really sick of these stereotypes, they're funny! They're probably the only reason we get tourists. They must be expecting that every second man on the street is a Crocodile Dundee impersonator, wielding a rifle and a pair of safari shorts. We're in a great country, (biggest island, suck on that, England) some of us are really nice and we have one of the most diverse wildlife there is on this Earth. If you're into stalking possums and all.
I'd say some stereotypes about Australia is true. We're highly obnoxious, but really awesome.

 

[hartyguy]

not everyone is Scotland is an alcoholic, or a smack head.

 

[ReturnofMCH]

I hate the stereotypes about my state in general
"iowa is too unimportant"
iowa state university made the first modern day computer in the 50's

"iowa never did anything war wise"
in the american civil war, iowa was the leader behind the union, being the first to respond and having lots of farmboys who used firearms for a living. if it weren't for us, african americans would still be PROPERTY and not HUMAN BEINGS.

"des moines isn't a city"
by definiton, a city has over 15,000 people
des moines has more than that without factoring in it's combined metro.

"no one famous is from iowa"
famous author bill bryson lived in MY NEIGHBORHOOD and went to MY HIGH SCHOOL and one of his books is a blockbuster hollywood movie based off of his true story.
also olympian athletes lived in my city
and slipknot is a famous nu-metal band from iowa

"iowa is all farming"
we have cities too you know.

 

[Lone_Garurumon]

No, mate, we do not ride kangaroos, mate.
No, mate, we don't all live in the outback, mate. The majority of people are actually in quite built up areas, mate.
Our accents are not that extreme, mate. I will admit that some people get close, mate, but it's no where near Crocodile Dundee, mate. In fact, I'm repeatedly asked if I'm British, mate.
Also, mate, we do not say "mate" all the time... Mate.

 

[King Robert]

We in Minnesota do NOT get as much snow as everyone else believes.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

More PA stereotypes:

We're all Amish: Really, less than 1% of our population is truly Amish.
We hit into deer, all the time: I've never hit into one in my life.
Hunting season is a state holiday: Pennsylvania does have the most registered hunters in any state, but there are plenty like me who don't really care about hunting.
Rural state: No, our state is actually quite urbanized. Most of the state is composed of small Steel/Coal towns and decent sized cities that were built around industry.
Red state: Actually we're veering toward a blue state.
Philly cheesesteaks are popular: Okay, this one's true.

 

[Pikochu]

More California Stereotypes:

- Entertainment is our main industry. Not true, California is home to Silicon Valley (where I am from) and we are the agriculture state of the country.
- Everyone is a wannabe celebrity. Not true, we also have hella wannabe Mark Zuckerbergs and people who just don't care.
- California is hella expensive everywhere. Not true, you can move to areas like Sacramento and the extreme north of California for fairly cheap.
- Everyone goes to Disneyland at least once a year. Not true, hell I haven't been there in years.
- We are scared of earthquakes. Well, our buildings and infrastructure should be the most part be okay if the "big one" hits so we aren't too afraid.
- We love In-n-Out so much and we have our favorite Mexican street food place and/or taco place. Actually, that's true.
- And yes, Bay Area and most of Northern California is "hella chill"

-

 

[zakisrage]

Australia... well, we don't ride around in kangaroo pouches, we don't shoot crocodiles that often and some of us are quite intelligent. We may be sport's hooligans but hey, isn't everyone? I'm not really sick of these stereotypes, they're funny! They're probably the only reason we get tourists. They must be expecting that every second man on the street is a Crocodile Dundee impersonator, wielding a rifle and a pair of safari shorts. We're in a great country, (biggest island, suck on that, England) some of us are really nice and we have one of the most diverse wildlife there is on this Earth. If you're into stalking possums and all.
I'd say some stereotypes about Australia is true. We're highly obnoxious, but really awesome.

Another Australian stereotype that's true is that there's tons of big spiders.

Spoiler

This one's actually pretty small by Australian standards, amirite?

"no one famous is from iowa"
famous author bill bryson lived in MY NEIGHBORHOOD and went to MY HIGH SCHOOL and one of his books is a blockbuster hollywood movie based off of his true story.
also olympian athletes lived in my city
and slipknot is a famous nu-metal band from iowa

"iowa is all farming"
we have cities too you know.

Nate Ruess is from Iowa too. Iowa City, to be exact.

 

[Osprey]

No, we don't ride horses everywhere in Texas. Yes, there is a lot of open space out here still, but no, it does not all look like the wild west or what have you.
Yes, everything is bigger in Texas, except for prices for just about anything. Those go down considerably.

 

[TwinklingCupcake]

Not a country, but:
No, in Alaska it is not snowing all year round, we do not live in igloos nor do we live deep in the mountains or forests, and there are no polar bears.

 

[leaf-green]

There should be another thread for stereotypes about your state...

 

[Lyrebird]

There should be another thread for stereotypes about your state...

We thought about it we decided to not go into that direction.

 

[LauriJ]

Some say the Finland has polar bears. I mean, really? Can't even check Wikipedia or something?

 

[Lyrebird]

Mod Note: This thread isn't used to attack other nations, cultures or people in a derogatory manner. This is a warning. Doing so will lead to severe consequences.

Back to the topic: We don't drink Fosters but we do love Vegemite. Love that stuff.