Fifty years after minstrel shows and their ilk were made illegal, racial stereotypes persist in the United States. They probably always will; as long as there's the slightest bit of physical dissimilarity between two life forms, one will deride the other for one reason or another.
Probably the most charming and least-detrimental stereotype that I have ever encountered, in a city with omnipresent racial tension, is double-sided and is more amusing than hurtful.
White people are all marauding, cold-loving Vikings. Black people are all heat-natured jungle dwellers.
You can tell this in Baltimore because of the way they dress. Any time the races come together, which in this town is pretty much daily, you will hear someone say "Black/White people just don't know how to dress for the weather!"
Now, this is often uttered in reference to me, as I have a tendency to wear shorts all year. This habit is partially born of comfort--I just like shorts--and partially because I am aging badly but still have nice legs and want to show off the only body part that hasn't gone South on me. Common knowledge in the black community: it doesn't matter how cold it is, white folks are still going to wear shorts and flipflops. Conversely, some of my black friends/neighbors/students start bundling up when it drops down to sixty degrees. Common knowledge in the white community: it doesn't matter how warm it is, black folks are still going to have a coat on. You can even tell what part of white Baltimore a guy is from; if he's a snooty North Balto boy, he'll wear a heavy coat with shorts. From Dundalk--long underwear, jeans and boots; but a tank top and nothing else. Last winter I showed up at a local bar with my friend Jeff, who is from Dundalk. Naturally, I wore shorts and he had a t-shirt on. Someone pointed out that, between the two of us, we had enough clothes on for one person.
I'm starting to think that there is something to this global warming silliness just because people evidently wear a lot less clothing now than they did a century ago. The accoutrements involved in stepping outside the house in 1907 were considerably more complex. Was it just that much colder, or didn't people mind the hot, scratchy wool so much?
If that's the case, this last week has been tailor-made for 1907. About time--we have real winter! Amazingly, I remembered to order heating oil.
Probably the most charming and least-detrimental stereotype that I have ever encountered, in a city with omnipresent racial tension, is double-sided and is more amusing than hurtful.
White people are all marauding, cold-loving Vikings. Black people are all heat-natured jungle dwellers.
You can tell this in Baltimore because of the way they dress. Any time the races come together, which in this town is pretty much daily, you will hear someone say "Black/White people just don't know how to dress for the weather!"
Now, this is often uttered in reference to me, as I have a tendency to wear shorts all year. This habit is partially born of comfort--I just like shorts--and partially because I am aging badly but still have nice legs and want to show off the only body part that hasn't gone South on me. Common knowledge in the black community: it doesn't matter how cold it is, white folks are still going to wear shorts and flipflops. Conversely, some of my black friends/neighbors/students start bundling up when it drops down to sixty degrees. Common knowledge in the white community: it doesn't matter how warm it is, black folks are still going to have a coat on. You can even tell what part of white Baltimore a guy is from; if he's a snooty North Balto boy, he'll wear a heavy coat with shorts. From Dundalk--long underwear, jeans and boots; but a tank top and nothing else. Last winter I showed up at a local bar with my friend Jeff, who is from Dundalk. Naturally, I wore shorts and he had a t-shirt on. Someone pointed out that, between the two of us, we had enough clothes on for one person.
I'm starting to think that there is something to this global warming silliness just because people evidently wear a lot less clothing now than they did a century ago. The accoutrements involved in stepping outside the house in 1907 were considerably more complex. Was it just that much colder, or didn't people mind the hot, scratchy wool so much?
If that's the case, this last week has been tailor-made for 1907. About time--we have real winter! Amazingly, I remembered to order heating oil.
posted by Daniel | 1:24 AM
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