# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/121 "2013-02-12T23:19:51Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Uh, you do realize Burlington Coat Factory is a black people store, right? That’s one I haven’t heard before. [Chuck E Cheese, though](http://ask.metafilter.com/77089/What-has-caused-the-demographic-shift-of-Chuck-E-Cheese-customers-over-the-past-10-years) … that’s an odd one. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/122 "2013-02-13T02:25:59Z")
Many years ago when my daughter was a teenager, she went through a phase where she liked to wear a lot of black clothing. My mother-in-law complained that it “made her look Jewish.” I had never heard of such a a thing in my life. What, and if she wore green she’d look what, Catholic? Do different Protestant sects where different shades of blue or something? ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/123 "2013-02-13T16:03:07Z")
Re: getting “head” “would say about 10, 15 years ago, it suddenly became cool.” Finally I’m aheadf of my times. Actually based on my experiences, the woman who posted this is off by several decades. 10-15 years ago is pretty much the 21st century and anyone who thinks oral sex was not very common before then must have led a very sheltered life. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/124 "2013-02-13T21:43:36Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > 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. Wait, so 10-15 years ago it became okay for black girls to give head? Were the girls on the vanguard of this change derided for going for it? I’m not trying to be a wiseass, I’m really curious. How does such an intensely personal act that is derided STOP vexing derided and become acceptable ? And, was there a backlash against women who said, " Nuh uh, I didn’t give head before. I’m not doing it now. I don’t care how the winds of change are blowing. " ? ---
**Author:** ![Sine\_Nomine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sine_nomine/32/513_2.png) [@Sine\_Nomine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sine_Nomine)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/125 "2013-02-14T13:18:50Z")
The college where I attended grad school had a large fountain near the middle of the campus, and it was a popular place for students to sit. One day, a black classmate and I (white) were walking by it, and she commented with some disappointment in her voice that there were black students sitting there. “Usually it’s just white people sitting by the fountain.” She quickly added, “I don’t mean anything offensive by that.” I found that pretty funny. Who knew there were any cultural divides to sitting along a water fountain? Plus the fact that she seemed to find it… distasteful? Like she was embarrassed that the black kids were sitting there. Every time I would pass that fountain after that, I couldn’t help laughing a little. And I couldn’t help checking whether there were any non-white kids there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/126 "2013-02-14T15:20:17Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Wait, so 10-15 years ago it became okay for black girls to give head? Were the girls on the vanguard of this change derided for going for it? I’m not trying to be a wiseass, I’m really curious. How does such an intensely personal act that is derided STOP vexing derided and become acceptable ? My boyfriend (35) said when he was in HS, he and his peers made a conscious decision to start going down on girls so they would stop refusing to do it. That, like most of what he says, sounds strange to me on a large scale like that, but it’s probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/127 "2013-02-15T13:54:12Z")
For that matter, when did purple become marked as a feminine color? When my teenage son and my young grandson were selecting characters to play in some video game, my grandson suggested a purple one and my son refused on the grounds that purple is girly. I don’t think I ever got the memo on that one. When I was growing up in the 1960s, the only individuals who ever wore purple were the Catholic priests during Lent and Advent and also the Joker on Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/128 "2013-02-15T14:38:35Z")
The only BCF I’ve ever been to _seemed_ pretty white although I didn’t look around on purpose. It was big enough to not be crowded thankfully even though there were a lot of people there so I didn’t see a lot of faces. The suit I bought did have a black man on its tag but I didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t purple, though, and I don’t remember seeing any purple suits when I was looking. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/129 "2013-02-15T16:35:49Z")
I bought my purple coat at a Burlington Coat Factory, so therefore it must be a black people store, right? 😃 I really don’t remember what most of the other shoppers there looked like. I’ve only been there the one time. Got a great deal on the coat, just haven’t had a reason to go back. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/130 "2013-02-15T17:41:49Z")
The last coat I bought a BCF was khaki green and from China… so I guess it’s an Asian-people store? I suspect the perception of BCF has more to do with where one is located than an actual corporate master plan or ownership. If people in an area want purple stuff a smart shop will supply them with that, nothing more or less. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/131 "2013-02-16T01:58:05Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I’ve only been there the one time. Got a great deal on the coat, just haven’t had a reason to go back. Well, you know what they say: Once you go to BCF, you never go back! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/132 "2013-02-16T17:51:35Z")
Around here, it’s widely believed that Jewish people eat nothing but Cantonese Chinese food. I can only say that as a student, I worked as a waiter and busboy in a hotel restuarnt. I served several Seder dinners, after which everybody left-and headed for the chinese restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/133 "2013-02-16T18:17:47Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Many years ago when my daughter was a teenager, she went through a phase where she liked to wear a lot of black clothing. My mother-in-law complained that it “made her look Jewish.” I had never heard of such a a thing in my life. What, and if she wore green she’d look what, Catholic? Do different Protestant sects where different shades of blue or something? Back when I was a teenager in the American high school I attended the stereotype was that the WASPs never wore black during the day only at night. Navy blue was the WASP daytime dark color and if you saw a white student in black during the day they were, according to the stereotypes at our school, either Jews or working class (or poorer) white scholarship students (i.e. the ones the WASPS said “Not our kind” when people mentioned one of them was white). ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/134 "2013-02-16T18:21:23Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I had a black manager once who used to believe that… until she got 2nd degree sunburn on a trip to Hawaii. She’s been singing the praises of sunblock ever since. I went to Daytona Beach once with three white friends, and I was the only one who didn’t get sunburned. They hated my gloating that night. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/135 "2013-02-16T18:27:09Z")
Love purple, btw (Omega Psi Phi alumnus). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/136 "2013-02-16T18:39:08Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > My boyfriend (35) said when he was in HS, he and his peers made a conscious decision to start going down on girls so they would stop refusing to do it. Also known as the Head Start Program. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/137 "2013-02-16T18:59:44Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > My boyfriend (35) said when he was in HS, he and his peers made a conscious decision to start going down on girls so they would stop refusing to do it. That, like most of what he says, sounds strange to me on a large scale like that, but it’s probably true. Damn. What a cycle of humiliation, control, pressure. Did those girls stop refusing, and if they did, how much did they resent their own sexual gratification because their pleasure was in truth applied pressure? Damn. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/138 "2013-02-17T04:05:34Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Many years ago when my daughter was a teenager, she went through a phase where she liked to wear a lot of black clothing. My mother-in-law complained that it “made her look Jewish.” I had never heard of such a a thing in my life. What, and if she wore green she’d look what, Catholic? Do different Protestant sects where different shades of blue or something? When I lived in a neighborhood with a high Orthodox Jewish population, there were a LOT of women wearing black, brown or navy blue clothes. Bright colors seemed pretty much reserved for high school kids. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/139 "2013-02-21T21:49:21Z")
Here’s one I just heard. **Black people always back into parking spaces, while white people always pull forward into them.** Sounds ridiculous, huh? For kicks, I took a virtual drive through my childhood neighborhood, which experienced racial transition from the mid-1980s through the 1990s, and it now almost entirely African-American. My conclusion? Not always true, but back-in parking is certainly more prevalent in black neighborhoods. Here’s a few random Streetview ploppings: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.948162,-78.806198&spn=0.014136,0.013883&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=42.948154,-78.810291&panoid=6F0LeZtEiJrMKfKV4J5L9g&cbp=12,79.88,,0,-0.79 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.943434,-78.807957&spn=0.014137,0.013883&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=42.943435,-78.81245&panoid=itrtaBbh2KOmXo-Cn0lhtA&cbp=12,263.78,,0,4.03 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.944203,-78.801756&spn=0.028273,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.944199,-78.809697&panoid=TFA3J6sxNR3F-gMvmdkVbw&cbp=12,276.83,,0,7.44 Deeper into the 'hood https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.916929,-78.836045&spn=0.028286,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.91694,-78.844145&panoid=Vnxd8p2tyFWTN0ckHERM9w&cbp=12,270.28,,0,4.82 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.918532,-78.842955&spn=0.028285,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.918519,-78.851025&panoid=a-8AaO3pSiZJFKYLrCx_5g&cbp=12,278.23,,0,7.44 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.916238,-78.843083&spn=0.028286,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.91624,-78.851143&panoid=LZ_-mNlfn2Il2O50ZJnAfg&cbp=12,275.34,,0,11.29 It seems like a quarter to half of the cars in driveways are backed in. Now, let’s check nearby neighborhoods where relatively few black people live. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.952151,-78.842268&spn=0.02827,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.952263,-78.850478&panoid=PDK3Q3Y0716_87t5V8SL8w&cbp=12,179.82,,0,11.03 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.951774,-78.834414&spn=0.02827,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.951764,-78.842605&panoid=inffKWB-xe73MBSJclROGA&cbp=12,188.49,,0,-0.7 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Buffalo%2BNY&ll=42.949795,-78.793817&spn=0.028271,0.027766&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Buffalo,%2BErie,%2BNew%2BYork&gl=us&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=42.949804,-78.802277&panoid=jYUDDDeMaPPEMvBrypSQGw&cbp=12,101.91,,0,14.88 I did more Googledriving, and almost every car is pulled into a parking space, ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240/140 "2013-02-22T02:44:52Z")
I always back in. I’m white as the driven snow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-stereotypes-only-black-people-wear-purple/649240.md?page=8)