The long lasting stereotype
Since the early 50s, the stereotype is that Swedes, in particular Swedish women, are decadent, and promiscuous. For 70 years we have lived with this picture of us, and it doesn’t look like it is getting any better, so in my next episode I am taking a closer look at the sources of this stereotype, and what the truth is. Some of the content might surprise you. Of course, I will also share my personal thoughts about the topic, and the stereotype.
About stereotypes
According to the American Psychological Association (APA) Dictionary of Psychology Stereotype are defined as
n. a set of cognitive generalizations (e.g., beliefs, expectations) about the qualities and characteristics of the members of a group or social category. Stereotypes, like schemas, simplify and expedite perceptions and judgments, but they are often exaggerated, negative rather than positive, and resistant to revision even when perceivers encounter individuals with qualities that are not congruent with the stereotype (see negative stereotype; positive stereotype; prejudice). See also exemplar theory; gender stereotype; kernel-of-truth hypothesis; sex-role stereotype. —stereotypicadj.
https://dictionary.apa.org/stereotype
The most interesting part about this definition is at the end, resistant to revision even when perceivers encounter individuals with qualities that are not congruent with the stereotype, which is very much the case about Swedish women as being “easy”. But is there any truth in stereotypes?
Many researchers nowadays say yes, one very interesting article I read was in Yale News called “Lecture concludes stereotypes are true” from a 2016 lecture, in which Alice Eagly a social psychologist from Northwestern University said among other things “Stereotypes are profoundly predicted,” she said. “They’re not social constructions by any means. They’re observations of what people do.”
Conclusion
So what are my general thoughts on stereotypes? I do believe that in every stereotype there is a grain of truth, a behavior that is shared by many, not all, in any kind of group. I also believe that it is important to realize that stereotypes can have very negative effects when used as the almighty truth for all individuals in a group. We need to look at the stereotypes with an open mind and always reflect.
If we are talking about the stereotype of Swedes being decadent, and promiscuous, of course, there is some truth in that statement, or at least it could be seen as truth compared to the rest of the world back in the 1950s, but as I see it this was more of Sweden being ahead of the world in many aspects, and the rest would eventually catch up to some degree. But even if the rest of the world today has adapted too much of what Sweden was doing back then, and the differences have shrunk, Sweden still “suffer” from this stereotype.
Hope you will enjoy
I hope you will enjoy this episode. Monday 8 AM for the audio-only version at Buzzsprout or at 3 PM on YouTube. Until next time, as we say in Sweden
Hej Då
