Quaintness, Rudeness, and Bad Food

by Joyce McGreevy on June 5, 2017

An urban view of the Grand Canal, Dublin counters cultural stereotypes of Ireland as “quaint” and “rural.” (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Beyond quaintness and cottages: This, too, is Ireland.
© Joyce McGreevy

A Travel Guide to Cultural Stereotypes

“Do people in Ireland talk normal?” the 13-year-old girl asked me. “You know, do they say things like cowabunga?” As cultural stereotypes go, this was one of the more intriguing. I’d never thought of cowabunga as a barometer of normality.

Cowabunga is a bundle of cultural stereotypes. Considered surfer slang, it’s a word no real surfer would utter. But actors playing surfers on Gidget, a popular ‘60s TV show, used it frequently. In the ‘90s, animated series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons resurrected cowabunga. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Life Lessons/Stereotypes/Worldwide Sites

Jan

Fashionable Generation Gap Revealed in Singapore

by Meredith Mullins on January 19, 2015

Malayasian grandfather and grandson swap clothes in a generation gap experiment of conceptual photography by Qozop (Photo © Qozop)

A style-swapping experiment in Singapore
© Qozop

Qozop’s Conceptual Photography Features Creative Clothes Swapping

If our eyes are the windows to our souls, are our clothes the curtains?

Clothes have always held a certain fascination.

Children love to dress up in grown-up outfits.
Fans flock to the red carpets of the world for a glimpse of glamour and the answer to the inevitable designer question: “Who are you wearing?”
Halloween costumes release the inner actor that lurks in all of us.
Fashion Week in trend-setting cities influences the future of style and color.
Cultural traditions are revealed through clothes of the past and present.

While clothes don’t “make the person,” they are an important part of culture, giving clues to our identity and impacting how we feel about ourselves. Read more...

Meredith Mullins Comments

Clever Ideas/Singapore/Stereotypes/The World's Photography