# What is White culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652 "2009-11-15T13:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/21 "2009-11-15T21:04:14Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Oh yeah, not just another blogsite for people who are too cool for the stuff that’s cool, but for people too cool for the people who are too cool for the stuff that’s cool. God… it’s like two mirrors facing each other. In the end all you can wear is Dockers and Rockports. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/22 "2009-11-15T21:34:27Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > There is no such thing as “white culture.” That “stuff white people like” site is absolutely stupid (and if the same thing were created about black people, it would be considered extremely racist.) I have virtually nothing in common with that list. As soon as it came out, and created an internet sensation, I thought it was dumb, and I still think it’s dumb. Nearly everything on it is complete bullshit. Just selecting something at random: > > _TOTAL BULLSHIT!_ I have seen far more white people with tattoos of the above, than I have of people of any other race with them. Especially the “tattoos with more than one color” part. What the fuck do they even mean by saying “white people hate tattoos with more than one color?” White people are practically the _only people_ who have tattoos that are more than one color. I know about a zillion indie rockers with elaborate, colorful ink. It’s a joke, dear. Take a breath. The site is talking about a very specific type of white people. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/23 "2009-11-15T21:54:14Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > There is no such thing as “white culture.” That “stuff white people like” site is absolutely stupid (and if the same thing were created about black people, it would be considered extremely racist.) I have virtually nothing in common with that list. As soon as it came out, and created an internet sensation, I thought it was dumb, and I still think it’s dumb. Nearly everything on it is complete bullshit. Just selecting something at random: > > _TOTAL BULLSHIT!_ I have seen far more white people with tattoos of the above, than I have of people of any other race with them. Especially the “tattoos with more than one color” part. What the fuck do they even mean by saying “white people hate tattoos with more than one color?” White people are practically the _only people_ who have tattoos that are more than one color. I know about a zillion indie rockers with elaborate, colorful ink. Maybe you’re not really white? Ha ha. Oh, **A.T.** , I know it’s not nice to tease you that way. That kind of talk is liable to give you the vapors. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/24 "2009-11-15T21:58:02Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > _TOTAL BULLSHIT!_ Chillax. It’s all a joke, and not worth getting in a snit over. The white people being made fun of are yuppies. If you can’t relate to that blog, it’s probably because you aren’t one or don’t hang around a lot of them. And yeah, there is a [black version](http://stuffblackpeoplelikealso.wordpress.com/) too. It’s about yuppies too, funnily enough. Just black ones. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/25 "2009-11-15T23:00:00Z")
I think the point of SWPL is that for a very long time many people have taken for granted this idea of ‘‘mainstream culture’’ without stopping to consider that some people (like minorities) may not connect with it, or find it relatable, at all. I think the question proposed in the OP is a good one if only because it challenges people to consider that such a culture, or plurality of cultures, exists. We don’t consider our environment any more than a fish considers the water he lives in, but there are people who have always been aware of white culture because they had no choice. I think it would be a great thing if white people took some time to consider what it means to be white in America. It may not be easily defined, it may not apply to every individual, it might be fractured and split geographically and according to class, there may not be one right answer or a universal definition, but there is certainly meaning in it. For one thing it’s one of the strongest statistical predictors of overall quality of life. Maybe we can start there. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/26 "2009-11-15T23:06:29Z")
I don’t know how to define white culture, but I’m fairly sure jello salad is involved somehow. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/27 "2009-11-15T23:21:19Z")
> [@Queen\_Tonya](#): > > I don’t know how to define white culture, but I’m fairly sure jello salad is involved somehow. And all these years I thought I liked jello salad because it’s delicious. Turns out I’m genetically predisposed to liking jello salad! [/Dave Chappelle] ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/28 "2009-11-15T23:26:26Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I think the point of SWPL is that for a very long time many people have taken for granted this idea of ‘‘mainstream culture’’ without stopping to consider that some people (like minorities) may not connect with it, or find it relatable, at all. I think the question proposed in the OP is a good one if only because it challenges people to consider that such a culture, or plurality of cultures, exists. Yeah? I read that website and giggled because it reminds me of way too many people I know. I also read it and thought, “Holy shit! I’m at least 25% white!” :eek: I don’t really read the word “white” to mean “white.” It roughly translates “Young, ultra-hip, American yuppies.” ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/29 "2009-11-16T00:51:31Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yeah? I read that website and giggled because it reminds me of way too many people I know. I also read it and thought, “Holy shit! I’m at least 25% white!” :eek: I don’t really read the word “white” to mean “white.” It roughly translates “Young, ultra-hip, American yuppies.” I agree. I think SWPL is funny because it describes things that are preferred by a demographic group that is made up of people of diverse races (“Young, ultra-hip, American yuppies,” as you call it). So the name “SWPL” itself is ironic humor about race, which happens to be a type of humor favored by Young, ultra-hip, American yuppies (e.g., ironic covers of rap songs, before they became passe). ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/30 "2009-11-16T01:03:49Z")
In fact, SWPL has entries for [“Irony”](http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/03/50-irony/) and [“Self Aware Hip Hop References.”](http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/08/18/107-self-aware-hip-hop-references/) ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/31 "2009-11-16T01:34:39Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I think the point of SWPL is that for a very long time many people have taken for granted this idea of ‘‘mainstream culture’’ without stopping to consider that some people (like minorities) may not connect with it, or find it relatable, at all. I think the question proposed in the OP is a good one if only because it challenges people to consider that such a culture, or plurality of cultures, exists. > > We don’t consider our environment any more than a fish considers the water he lives in, but there are people who have always been aware of white culture because they had no choice. I think it would be a great thing if white people took some time to consider what it means to be white in America. It may not be easily defined, it may not apply to every individual, it might be fractured and split geographically and according to class, there may not be one right answer or a universal definition, but there is certainly meaning in it. For one thing it’s one of the strongest statistical predictors of overall quality of life. Maybe we can start there. I agree that the question posed by the OP is a good one for the reason you state. But I wonder whether it is fair to say that white people do not take time to consider what it means to be white in America. I don’t presume to speak for all white people (nor do I think you were), but in my own personal experience, topics like whiteness, institutional racism, white privilege, etc., have been discussed in formal and informal settings (in my case, at my college and grad school, and while I was living in two major metropolitan areas). One thing that has certainly stood out for me is that these discussions about whiteness can get heated, which is, of course, all the more reason to continue the dialogue. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/32 "2009-11-16T02:38:46Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > And all these years I thought I liked jello salad because it’s delicious. Turns out I’m genetically predisposed to liking jello salad! > > [/Dave Chappelle] This is funny stuff.^^ The reason I ask is because even though there’s about 35 million ways to be Black, you always get the stereotype when describing black culture. (Rap, dancing, sports, crime, poverty, etc.) A lot of it is true. I like rap. I like sports. I’m not good at them though. Can’t dance either. It has been said that minorities know more about white people than vice-versa. But if you ask me what white culture is I can’t answer. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/33 "2009-11-16T03:12:57Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Yeah? I read that website and giggled because it reminds me of way too many people I know. I also read it and thought, “Holy shit! I’m at least 25% white!” :eek: I don’t really read the word “white” to mean “white.” It roughly translates “Young, ultra-hip, American yuppies.” In several entries they mention that some white people don’t actually like whatever is being described, but add that there aren’t “the right kind of white people” (presumably the type of white person who ISN’T young, hip, or a yuppie). So even within the blog itself there’s open acknowledgment that it isn’t really an accurate description of _all_ white people. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/34 "2009-11-16T03:14:47Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > It’s basically the anglo-dutch-protestant culture. Sausage and clog fest? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/35 "2009-11-16T03:19:25Z")
I don’t think you can have a “white” culture because there’s so many white people that there are a huge number of different cultures. So you have the young, hip, yuppie “white” culture that gets parodied on Stuff White People Like, you’ve got the redneck “white” culture out in the country and the South, you’ve got the WASP culture, etc… (This isn’t to say that non-whites don’t also have a wide range of cultures, but given that they have less people, at least in America, there’s a smaller number of cultures in that respect). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/36 "2009-11-16T03:25:20Z")
Mayonaise? Golf? ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/37 "2009-11-16T05:29:26Z")
NHL hockey? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/38 "2009-11-16T05:30:24Z")
> [@Sidney Evgeni Jordan](#): > > NHL hockey? I’m going to take a guess that by your name, you’re a Pens’ fan? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/39 "2009-11-16T06:26:20Z")
Yes! I was born in the City of Champions in time to experience the Lemieux era. 🙂 I no longer live in Pittsburgh, though, so I have to get my Pens fix via NHL Center Ice. I miss Pittsburgh, but luckily I do get to visit family there a few times a year. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2009, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652/40 "2009-11-16T12:46:46Z")
> [@Sidney Evgeni Jordan](#): > > I agree that the question posed by the OP is a good one for the reason you state. But I wonder whether it is fair to say that white people do not take time to consider what it means to be white in America. I don’t presume to speak for all white people (nor do I think you were), but in my own personal experience, topics like whiteness, institutional racism, white privilege, etc., have been discussed in formal and informal settings (in my case, at my college and grad school, and while I was living in two major metropolitan areas). One thing that has certainly stood out for me is that these discussions about whiteness can get heated, which is, of course, all the more reason to continue the dialogue. I’m only going from my own experience. I was raised in an environment (suburban Midwest) where I was expected to believe we live in a post-racial society, but I was surrounded by racism. The dialog between races was completely shut down. As an undergrad we spent a lot of time talking about how racism is bad, and more time talking about what it means to be non-white, but very little time considering whiteness itself. I have no doubt such courses were taught at my extremely liberal school, I just never took them. The only formal race education I got was in ‘‘Contemporary Moral Problems’’ philosophy class in which racism was but a segment, and that was mostly about defining racism and affirmative action. Thus the very liberal intellectually curious me made it to 26 before ever critically evaluating the idea of white culture, and that might never have happened if it weren’t for the fact that my grad school happens to require a course sequence on American racism. I figure if it’s a question I never considered, there may be others out there who have never considered it either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-white-culture/517652.md?page=3)