Stereotypes

Going into Vienna, I didn't have very many stereotypes in mind. I had read that the Viennese were kind of grumpy and that they had a thing for ceremony, but that was it. As far s Europeans in general are concerned, I expected most of them to be very liberal. 

In some respects, the Viennese were liberal compared to Americans, especially concerning the human body. For example, you can change into your bathing suit on the beach, which would get you arrested in America. As far as tolerance was concerned, however, Americans seemed to be much more understanding than many Europeans. We had a discussion in our class about whether or not burkas and hijabs should be worn at work and school. I, as well as many Americans my age, said that I thought islamic dress should be accepted on the grounds of religious freedom. My teacher, and many of my Ukrainian classmates, were of the opinion that these coverings represented female oppression. This was very surprising to me. 

As far as stereotypes about Americans were concerned, I heard many that I had already anticipated. Americans are fat. Americans are stupid. Americans have too many guns and a problem with violence in general. Americans are far too individualistic. So on and so forth. None of these stereotypes really offended me because, after some discussion, I don't think my classmates really believed them. Additionally, there is some truth to all of these stereotypes and some portion of the population fits one of them. The most upsetting stereotypes I encountered were related to gender, not nationality. Our class generally held to the view that women were more emotional than men and communicated in fundamentally different ways. Certainly, there are differences between women and men, but to label women as outright emotional and therefore less rational is foolish. Not everyone in my class held this view, but enough did that it was troubling. 

None of my stereotypes about the Viennese were really proven. Nobody from Austria complained more than most Americans I have met and I didn't really get to witness a modern example of concern for ceremony. However, it does seem that many Viennese hate small talk and are much lighter on pleasantries than Americans. If you go to a store in Vienna, nobody will ask you how your day has been, they will just say hello and let you shop.