# Bizarre stereotypes - ''Only black people wear purple"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240 "2013-02-03T18:31:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/1 "2013-02-03T18:31:59Z")
I complimented a woman on her purple sweater. She said, ‘‘Thanks, my Mom didn’t like it because she says only black people wear purple.’’ WTF? I thought I’d heard everything, but this was new. I can’t even imagine how such a stereotype would get started. Have you heard this? Share the bizarre stereotypes you’ve encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/2 "2013-02-03T19:12:45Z")
“Black girls don’t like to give head.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/3 "2013-02-03T19:21:13Z")
“Guys should not have long hair cause it makes them look like faggots.” ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/4 "2013-02-03T19:26:58Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I complimented a woman on her purple sweater. She said, ‘‘Thanks, my Mom didn’t like it because she says only black people wear purple.’’ > > WTF? I thought I’d heard everything, but this was new. I can’t even imagine how such a stereotype would get started. Have you heard this? > > Share the bizarre stereotypes you’ve encountered. I had a purple GEO years ago, and when my then-boss head a car alarm go off, he asked if ti was mine because “those people” liked purple. I have no idea where it comes from, and it was the first (and only) time I’d heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/5 "2013-02-03T19:28:20Z")
“Men should not sing or whistle. It makes them look girly.” (Written by a student of mine in a college-level paper. The rest of the paper was equally WTF-ish.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/6 "2013-02-03T19:51:08Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I complimented a woman on her purple sweater. She said, ‘‘Thanks, my Mom didn’t like it because she says only black people wear purple.’’ > > WTF? I thought I’d heard everything, but this was new. I can’t even imagine how such a stereotype would get started. Have you heard this? I’ve never heard that specific stereotype, but I have occasionally heard a stereotype that black people prefer bright, bold colors. I once saw a one-woman show by a white South African actress that was based on her life, and one of the stories she told involved a well-meaning but kind of racist family friend who wanted to give some old clothes to her black maid. The woman made a point of saying she of course wouldn’t be giving her any pastel colored clothes, just the bright, cheerful colors that “those people” like. The thinking behind this seemed to be that black people were basically children and had unsophisticated color preferences. It is also true that people with darker complexions – including but not limited to black people – can get away with wearing some bold colors that would wash out someone with a lighter complexion. Eggplant purple is flattering on many people, but bright royal purple tends to make me (light, pinkish complexion) look like a corpse. So it may very well be that a black person is more likely to be seen in a purple sweater than a white person with my complexion, although my sister (light, yellowish complexion) loves purple and looks fine in it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/7 "2013-02-03T19:54:52Z")
No, no,no, it’s [homosexuals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletubbies) who wear purple. > [@](#): > > The programme was also at the centre of a controversy when American cleric and conservative pundit Jerry Falwell claimed in 1999 that Tinky Winky, one of the Teletubbies, was a homosexual role model for children. Falwell based this conclusion on the character’s purple colour and triangular antenna; both the colour purple and the triangle are sometimes used as symbols of the Gay Pride movement. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/8 "2013-02-03T20:13:29Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > “Black girls don’t like to give head.” You know something? This used to be true (I mean, it was true that a lot of us wouldn’t give head, culturally it was frowned upon), and then, all of a sudden, that changed. I would say about 10, 15 years ago, it suddenly became cool. But it could still just be a trend. We do have long trends that come and go. For instance, bi-sexuality used to not be a cool thing among black women, then it came in style, and now it has kind of gone out of style again. I’m not talking about real bi-sexuality, I’m talking about the fakey, drunk kind. We used to call that, just like giving head, a white girl thing. But then, all of a sudden, we got into it. Anyway, I don’t wear purple because I’m a big mama, and I don’t want people to think Barney. ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/9 "2013-02-03T20:15:53Z")
I never understood the whole ribs, fried chicken, and watermelon thing. How the fuck do you get a stereotype out of people eating awesome food? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/10 "2013-02-03T20:21:22Z")
> [@Tixenfleaz](#): > > I never understood the whole ribs, fried chicken, and watermelon thing. How the fuck do you get a stereotype out of people eating awesome food? This comes up every so often on the SDMB, and was in fact my first thought upon reading the OP. It turns out that it’s because chicken & watermelon is Southern “poor people food”. ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/11 "2013-02-03T20:25:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > This comes up every so often on the SDMB, and was in fact my first thought upon reading the OP. It turns out that it’s because chicken & watermelon is Southern “poor people food”. Ah, thank you. Heh, it’s like making fun of people for liking beer and sex. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/12 "2013-02-03T20:27:31Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > “Black girls don’t like to give head.” Jewish girls don’t give head. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/13 "2013-02-03T20:32:59Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, no,no, it’s [homosexuals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletubbies) who wear purple. So Tinky winky is gay and black. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/14 "2013-02-03T20:38:23Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > “Black girls don’t like to give head.” Black girls? I remember an old joke “how does a Jewish woman eat a banana?” where you’d pantomime peeling one, then grab the back of your head and struggle against putting you face down. But years later, watching _Rescue Me,_ the firemen are talking about what great head Jewish women give. I’m aware there’s a stereotype of Asian women as being giggly and submissive, but have been disabused of that notion in that it only applies, if at all, to Japanese women. You cross a Korean country girl and she’ll bend your skull. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/15 "2013-02-03T20:48:45Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Black girls? I remember an old joke “how does a Jewish woman eat a banana?” where you’d pantomime peeling one, then grab the back of your head and struggle against putting you face down… Heee! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/16 "2013-02-03T20:56:48Z")
(IIRC, while doing it, you yelled “No Seymour!” in a Lawn-Guyland accent) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/17 "2013-02-03T21:03:47Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > But it could still just be a trend. We do have long trends that come and go. For instance, bi-sexuality used to not be a cool thing among black women, then it came in style, and now it has kind of gone out of style again. > > I’m not talking about real bi-sexuality, I’m talking about the fakey, drunk kind. We used to call that, just like giving head, a white girl thing. But then, all of a sudden, we got into it. That more or less perfectly coincides with the same thing happening among white and Asian women. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/18 "2013-02-03T21:07:20Z")
I’m just hoping that by the time my divorce goes through we’re trending back towards bisexual women who like to perform fellatio. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/19 "2013-02-03T21:10:53Z")
[Comedian Bruce Bruce](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BS_3kMAlmgM/0.jpg) I’ve heard it as “Only Black men can get away with that. White guys would look silly.” See also Eddie Murphy’s red leather suit in Raw. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/20 "2013-02-03T21:27:52Z")
Delirious was the red leather suit. Raw was purple. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240.md?page=2)