Friday, October 14, 2005
There was an Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman....
Studies by the international group at the US National Institute of Health have shown that cultural stereotyping does not stand up to scrutiny. Not big news you might think, but still it is nice when the social sciences affirm the bleeding obvious.

Those old jokes, which begin “There was an Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman…” are just that, old jokes. But I guess the Norman Tebbits of the world truly did believe that they were robust, valid social commentary.

The study asked more than 40,000 adults from 49 differing cultures about how they view members of their own cultures; how neurotic, how extraverted, open, agreeable etc. It then compared the results with the participants’ assessments of their own personalities and those of other specified people they observed.

The Swiss, for example, thought they were 'closed to new ideas'. English people assumed they were ‘stoic’ and the Americans believed they were 'pushy'. Presumably, the French thought they were rude and arrogant, the Italians lazy and romantic, the Welsh insignificant and the Scots mean and dour….. Oh.... culturally stereotyping people again….

However, the study revealled these people were anything but their stereotype.

Australians view themselves as ‘battlers’, who know how to work hard and play hard. They see themselves as classless and irreverent, casual, with a ‘no worries’ (or now, using the American import, ‘too easy’) attitude to life. What you see is what you get, come over anytime and take us as you find us. They also all live in the country.

Dame Edna began to explode this cultural myth back in the 60s. Humphries’ suburban goddess was an image obsessive, the Hyacinth Bucket of her generation.

But still the rough diamond stereotype remained, reinforced by Crocodile Dundee and – oh – Crocodile Dundee 2. And was there a Croc Dundee 3 as well?

Sylvania Waters followed and the lampoon of ‘real’ Australia reached its acme with Cath and Kim. Finally we find the real Australia: totally preoccupied with how they are perceived, wedded to suburbia, obsessed with the ‘lifestyle’ package sold to them by the seamless marketing machine of conspicuous consumption. They are over-worked, over-stressed and please, don’t go around their house uninvited – it might be a mess and not emanate the ambience they wish to project.

But then maybe that’s just me, culturally stereotyping again……

But before we assign generalities to the dustbin of eugenic history, the New Scientist did maintain that many gender stereotypes do bear scrutiny; women are often warmer and men commonly more assertive. Women also can’t read maps, understand the concept of time zones or throw properly.

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