a little bit:)

i've found that people seem to be into whatever pleases their ear, whatever race they may be, its just dependant on how many songs from a genre pleases a persons ear, how many does it take to be "into" a style of music

i think i've gone and confused myself

Well Im metsican american and listen to almost everything,I guess my stereotype would be that I listen to northern mexican music that goes:Umpa umpa umpa. I listen to a lota shi* from trance/pop to rock/some metal.Also I listen to spanish rock/pop,Ill even listen to the umpa umpa music whenever someone is playing that.It doesnt annoy me as much as it use to.

A stereotype I make of europe is that they dont like us colored folk,it might be true to an extent.I feel like if I took a trip out there I would get killed or somethin,especially Germany.

I live in a tiny town and we actually have a little bit of everything! Indie kids, scene kids, gangster kids, and metalheads.. but the people who have lived here the whole time are almost all hicks. They just listen to southern rock and country. Surprisingly the few people who don't are usually metalheads. There's about 5 local heavy metal bands compared to one indie artist and.. that's it. I've lived here my whole life and listen to electronica, black metal, and alternative. One time we had a guest speaker from a local college who said "see since I'm black most people think I like hip hop or rap but in fact I listen to a lot of trance like Paul van Dyk". Needless to say I damn near shat myself. Ever since then I've tried to be less judgemental but for the most part it's usually true.

Most people tend to think I'm a metal head 'cause I have long hair and a beard. While I do love metal, my favorite genre is folk rock of the indie persuasion. Also, when I was in college, my favorite band was Phish and most people i met could not grasp the fact that I didn't smoke pot or drop acid on a regular basis. For me it's about the music, not the lifestyle.

When I think of what I used to look like, and what my style was I was probably considered emo, as I eh.. couldn't put down the eyeliner at one point (long time ago.) Now based on my style I'm most likely considered Indie-ish. I dunno really. When I tell people what music I like, I get called a Ned often. Which I am most definetly not.

definition of ned for those who don't know:

I think pretty much everybody can be put into one of five categories;

1) Those who listen to whatever is on the radio.

2) Those who are limited to a specific genre.

3) Those who have developed their tastes and are limited to a subset of genres and bands.

4) Those that have a diverse taste in music but have only scratched the surface of most genres.

5) Those that are musically experienced in almost every way.

If I had to apply stereotypes to the above categories, I would say:

1) Predominantly women.

2) Predominantly teenagers through to mid-twenties.

3) 40+ Dads.

4) More difficult to explain (see below).

5) Predominantly men (see below).


Category 4 will tend to be filled with people of a higher than average intellect (not necessarily academically). They will generally be more inclined to learning and accumulating knowledge about any subject that interests them. You'll probably find they have many other subjects about which they have a good deal of knowledge and experience.

Category 5 will tend to be filled by men because, time and time again, research has shown that men are more prone to hobbies of the obsessive variety. The step from category 4 to 5 is simply one of the time devoted to the subject.

Dave

^ I liked that analysis. It seemed mainly accurate... except that I'm a teenager and I would at least put myself in category 4.

Decent list there Dave. I feel like I'd fit into category 4, but I'm not so sure about that "higher than average intellect" thing. Mostly I feel like I'm just too scatterbrained to focus on one genre long enough before the next new and interesting thing comes along that I just HAVE to check out. Therefore I know just enough about each genre to get myself in trouble.

As far as stereotypes go, well, being white and living in the southern US of course means that we must love country music. I don't feel like this stereotype is enforced too much in larger cities though, where things are more urban and more of a melting pot of people and tastes.

This did remind me of a time at work though, when Gladys Knight's "Midnight Train to Georgia" came on the radio and I started singing it before Gladys got around to it. The black data entry guy was lookin' at me all crazy, and at first I thought it was because of my awesome (translate: absolutely terrible) singing, but as it turns out he just couldn't fathom a white girl knowing the words to a Gladys Knight song. It really surprised me to be honest. In this day and age when there are so many outlets to explore all types of music, I wouldn't be surprised by anyone's taste in music and in alot of ways I think it's strange that people still hold on to these musical stereotypes.

Dave, I also liked this explanation you gave, and definitely agree with the truth of Category 3 (based on my observations), although often it seems to me that teens may be fixated on a certain genre since they are young and just haven't had as much time to explore others. Plus, they are in a "learn myself/express myself/find myself" through music stage, I think.

I'd probably classify myself as a member of Category 4 since I don't listen to the radio, except when captive at work, and I don't really listen to any one genre. Plus, I think your explanation of Category 4 fits me perfectly, heh heh!

Cute story, nonsubmissivewife, and a valid observation!

Wow,right on.Im deffinetely number 4.

I like musical stereotypes. I mean, to destroy them. :laughing: It's funny. For instance, some conversations could be like these:

- Oh, Brazilian! Samba?
- No, Metal.

- Oh, Spaniard! Flamenco?
- No, Celtic rock.

- Oh, Argentine! Tango?
- No, Blues-rock.

It is true that there are too many stereotypes, but I think it's not that worrisome. In addition, if you take it with humor, the "revenge" can be very funny :):

25 year old male from Australia that is into anything (wait when did this become a dating site?)...

Anything but not a majority of rap and rnb...

A lot of people seem to agree with this but I disagree. I think the first part of your list is good but I'm not sure about the second part. Here's my take:

1) Most people. Though it shouldn't be ignored that the radio is genre specific so these are people who listen to whatever is currently popular in the specific genre they like, be it pop, hip hop, or rock music. They do not delve or think very hard about why they listen to what they listen to.

2) This is a broad one and could include members of the first group. But if you mean people who listen to one genre only and are well versed and opinionated about that genre, I'd say its mostly older people who have decided what they like and want to listen to that. Some teenagers, though I think a lot of teenagers are in a place where they are trying to discover themselves and are more ready to search out and listen to different genres of music. This category could also include youngins like middle schoolers who either fall under category 1 and just listen to pop radio or who were like me, obsessed with one specific thing (musicals in my case). maybe I'm wrong but I feel like middle schoolers are less likely to search extensively through multiple genres of music.

3) College students or around college age folks and older who really care about music. I consider myself to be a member of this category as someone who spent her teens experimenting with every genre and finally realized that metal has always been my calling. I listen to certain bands from almost every genre that I think are especially good for that genre but mostly listen to metal and its subgenres.

4) College age folks +/- a few years who care less about their music and can't decide what they are really passionate about so they just listen to everything. This is most people I know.

5) No one. I think your reasoning is logical about men being obsessive but it is impossible to be well versed in every aspect of music. I for instance am extremely well versed in musicals (from my youth), metal, classical music and operas (being a classical voice major). I am fairly well versed in indie, pop, jazz, electronic, industrial and many other genres and consider myself to be probably more knowledgeable about a vast array of genres than most people (certainly not the people on this forum of course) but I don't think a person exists who is extremely knowledgeable about all areas of music.

So anyway:

I am a 21 year old white female from California and I am constantly met with shock when people find out that I am heavily into metal (and not MTV style metal like Lamb of God)
I had an interesting experience at a bar the other night. I was walking behind a large guy with long hair and a beard and another guy in a Lamb of God shirt was walking toward us. the long hair (as I lovingly refer to members of the metal community) got really excited and said something encouraging to the LoG guy. Now, granted, some true metal heads do like Lamb of God, but in my experience, people who are that excited about Lamb of God (ok we were at a bar and he was probably drunk and that contributed to his excitement) are mainstream metal heads who enjoy the watered down music you can find on tv and wouldn't know who varg vikernes is if you stabbed them in the forehead with a large knife. So, my point is... I'm looking at this long hair from across the room and thinking that he has no idea that if we were to have a conversation about metal, this petite little white girl in a cute little outfit would probably SCHOOL his balls off.

In fact, since long hair is the best indicator of a metal head and most girls have long hair, the only way most people can tell what I'm into is when I wear a metal shirt. And even THEN, most people think it's a fluke and that I just happen to like maybe one good metal band.

I'm not surprised though since I agree that chicks usually don't know anything about music.

So that's been my experience with stereotyping. I feel a kinship to black folks who are into metal as well because metal heads are mostly white/mexican/south american males of all ages.

whew! that was a long one :D

I'm a little bit of both 3 and 4, though I have been very open minded about music as of late so I'm probably more of a 4 nowadays. I mainly listen to metal, rock/hard rock from the 70s and 80s, 80s pop, and electronic dance, but I give other music a chance if I think it's good.

I just came out of the seventh grade. I feel slightly prejudiced. (I failed grade 3, BTW.)

How do you fail grade 3

I did really bad in math and my parents requested that I should re-do grade 3.

That's a pretty harsh punishment for what could have been solved with a remedial tutor, given that grade 3 isn't entirely composed of mathematics.

My parents are a bit old fashioned. If I do something wrong, I take responsibility for it.

That's still a really ignorant punishment. No offense to your mom and dad. Mine were really bad, but when I failed the only class I've ever failed in school (first year of algebra), it was punishment enough just having to take it again. My folks knew how much I hated math... it's not like I needed to repeat all the other classes I aced... that wouldn't have been much of a punishment. I already knew all the material anyway. I could have slept through an entire school year except for the algebra class. (algebra was where I did most of my sleeping anyway)

I take no offense to that. I even think it's a bit harsh, but I cant get mad at them, because they were nice enough to buy me band T-Shirts and pay for my Last.FM account, so I guess they're pretty cool.

You don't have to be mad at them... just remember this when you get older and have kids of your own... don't hold them back on all academic fronts if they do bad in a single area. It's counter-productive and the furthest thing from wise.

nice life lesson there, FD.

I'll keep that in mind.

I don't want to sound preachy or anything... but on the off chance no one has told you that your parents royally screwed you, I figured I would be the one to break the news.

I'm not sure if by this you mean you feel that you are prejudiced (against someone) or that I am being prejudiced against you as a middle schooler. If it's the latter then that's a little silly since we are talking about stereotypes! I didn't get upset when many people stated that girls have worse taste in music, I just accepted that I am the exception.
Though seventh grade is almost high school so you barely fit in the category of middle schooler anymore ;)

I think the argument about your school depends on what kind of school you're in. If you're going to struggle in 4th grade math because you never got past 3rd grade math and there is no way to help you catch up then i can see why your parents might have wanted to keep you back. But it seems to me like the best solution would have been to let you move forward and then get you some extra math help like tutoring to help you catch up. How did you feel about your parents decision? Do you think it helped you? haha this is so off topic.

meh. I never really ever payed attention in school in general until the repeat of the third grade, so I guess it taught me a lesson. I guess it helped me understand what school is for, because before that, I always thought it was a prison for kids with fluorescent lighting. I sure learned a lot from that repeat.

Then that's great :) I think it's everyone's responsibility to take their experiences, even if they're negative, and make something positive out of them. Give that experience meaning you know?
I was always a really good student and loved school but in highschool I got disillusioned with it and dropped out. That experience gave me the opportunity to go to junior college and take back my education with the understanding that I was doing it for myself now, because i really wanted to learn, and not just for my parents or whatever.
Sounds like your school kind of sucks if it makes you feel like you're in prison...

So you're basically saying that you're accepting the notion that girls do have worse taste in music. You know, I once got a pm on last.fm from some guy expressing his disbelief that a female listens to the kinds of music I listen to. I thought he was full of shit, so I told him to look around last.fm and he will find many, many girls with very similar taste to mine. I don't have the need to feel like an exception, because I don't accept that prejudice that girls have worse taste in music, in the first place. But I do believe that passionate music lovers of both genders are an exception from the mass music consumerism of general public.

eh, it was my elementary school, and all kids thought that. Now, I appreciate school much more, because it means I'll be able to go to college and get a job I'll actually like.

Thanks :)

:laughing:

Oh to be young & naive again.

1) when we are talking about stereotypes, it doesn't necessarily mean that we think they are true. We are just acknowledging the fact that the stereotype exists. So, I may say that I consider myself to be an exception to the perceived stereotype, independent of its ultimate truth or falsity.

2) That being said, I had previously stated that I do indeed agree with the idea that girls generally have worse taste in music. It is true that passionate music lovers are the exception from the norm... and I also think that (from my experience) it is true that there are more passionate male music lovers than females. If you need any evidence, take a look at this and most other music forums on the internet and you will see that the majority of members are males. The same goes for last.fm.

3) Yes, there are many many women with great taste in music. Don't, however, make the mistake of thinking that many = most. The fact that there are many girls with great taste in music does not undermine the idea that there are more men with great taste in music. Or at least (since taste is rather subjective) an intense passion for it.

As I understood from your last two paragraphs, under 2) and 3), it all boils down to numbers - how many guys have good taste and how many girls. That line of thinking will inevitably lead us to the conclusion that there are more men in the majority of activities that demand passion, obsession and time. I think you mentioned in one of your previous posts that men are more obsessive in nature. I might agree with that. Or I might say that men tend to be mentally more easily liberated from the confinements of everyday practical life and thus have more energy for obsessions. That's the main difference for me. It may be biological or sociological, but probably a bit of both.

But, when a woman has the will and energy to invest time in developing an extensive musical taste, do you still think her taste will be inferior to that of man's? Or in other words: Do you think that a true female music lover's taste is inferior to that of a true male music lover? That is the real question of taste: Are women just as capable in having a great taste as men? 'How many' is a different kind of question. It asks us why aren't women more obsessive and why aren't they willing to invest time?

I'm not really sure what you are arguing here. I agree with the claim others have made that in general, fewer women have good taste in music than men. So yes... it's a numbers game. It was never anything else.

I'm confused by your final line... are you saying that thinking in terms of numbers will inevitably lead us to the conclusion that there are more men in the activity BECAUSE it is an activity that involves obsession and men are obviously more obsessive?
Or are you saying, literally, what you said, which is that thinking in terms of numbers will lead us to the conclusion that men are more involved in activities that demand obsession.
Because thinking in terms of numbers does not reasonably lead to the conclusion that men are more involved in activities that demand obsession... the conclusion and premise of that argument have nothing to do with each other.

I was referencing a previous poster's claim that men are more obsessive. I wasn't claiming that. It was an if/then.

I never claimed that when two people of good taste are compared the man will always beat out the woman. I'm not sure where you're getting that from. All anyone said was that there are more men with good taste in music than women. As I said before, taste is subjective so I'm not sure how you would determine that anyway. But if we're talking about two people with passion for music, no I don't think that a man's passion is always deeper than a woman's and I don't think that that should be inferred from what I have said.
What has been clearly stated is simply that there are more men who are passionate about music than there are women. The possible explanation has been offered that men are simply more obsessive in nature. Nothing else.

Looking back I can see how you might have derived your interpretation from my statement in the beginning of 2) that "women generally have worse taste in music" but I think I made it clear that I meant in numbers and not comparatively on an individual basis.

Musical stereotyping is inconsequential. What's the worst that could happen if you assumed a gay person likes pop divas, a black person likes rap, or a hot girl likes Top 40?

I'm an ABC (Australian Born Chinese) and people are always really surprised when they find out what I listen to. They think that I listen to either emo/pop punk (ew), Top40 :(ew), or classical (I like classical though but its not my favourite genre). When I tell them I love Pink Floyd or Tool or even Radiohead they are always taken aback.


I think it may be because mainstream pop is generally targeted at young women. Women are more likely to follow trends then men (just look at the fashion. Women's clothing can have complete 180 turnarounds and mens fashion stay pretty constant.) therefore, they are easier to market crap to.

I don't want to sound sexist, but thats really how it is.

You don't listen to William Hung??????

Very astute and almost too obvious! I can't believe no one has said this before. I'd say you're pretty accurate.

On that note, I am a die hard metal head who loves my music as heavy as possible and the man I'm dating loves what he calls "electro-rock." It's sort of... rock style electronica like ratatat.
He and some of our friends are always remarking on how much "gayer" his choice of music is than mine. Especially since he and our other friend actually prefer bands with female singers (Metric is my friend's fave band).
Bustin stereotypes left n right ;)

The sexism against our own gender is absolutely appalling.