Why does Minnesota have stereotypes? (St. Paul, Duluth: school, college, live)

[uptown_urbanist]

Everywhere has stereotypes. I'd guess that in many parts of the country people don't think much about Minnesota to begin with, or if they do, they think of Prairie Home Companion (seems like everyone I met while living in other parts of the country said "you're from Minnesota? I LOVE Garrison Keillor!"), or the even more obvious, the cold.

[Radical_Car]

Texas and California have tons of stereotypes. Montana does as well. And Californians moving to Montana... yeah, lol. Heck, Californians have a bad rap everywhere moving and increasing cost of living. It's definitely a stereotype.

[disneyrecords]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

With all stereotypes there is a grain of truth. I found the Coen Brothers portrayal of Minnesotan culture in Fargo to be strikingly accurate, which makes sense because they are natives (but outsiders at the same time, being Jewish and not Scandinavian). They really captured the way that many Minnesotans refuse to talk about personal matters with strangers, or sometimes even with close relatives.

Of course, the truth is that in the Cities, which many natives tout as the best parts of Minnesota, this culture is less pronounced, and therefore less interesting to an outsider, because it is more familiar. It's more the rural, uneducated people that get made fun of, just as the Blue Collar New Yorkers get stereotyped, and the Redneck southerners. People rarely lampoon the bohemian people that live in cities.

[Ghengis]

Perhaps the biggest innaccurate stereotype of Minnesota is this perception of an overwelming Scanahoovian demographic that makes up the population. Yet, there are way more Germans here than all the Scanavoids put together and the Swedes rank even behind those with Irish heritage. So knock it off with those putrid Lutefisk dinners, eh?

36.7% German
17.3% Norwegian
11.2% Irish
9.9% Swedish

Minnesota - Select a Race, Ethnic, or Ancestry Group - American FactFinder=

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

Originally Posted by Ghengis

Perhaps the biggest innaccurate stereotype of Minnesota is this perception of an overwelming Scanahoovian demographic that makes up the population. Fact is there are way more Germans here than all the Scanavoids put together and the Swedes rank even behind those with Irish heritage. So knock it off with those putrid Lutefisk dinners, eh?

36.7% German
17.3% Norwegian
11.2% Irish
9.9% Swedish

Minnesota - Select a Race, Ethnic, or Ancestry Group - American FactFinder=

Yes, but it is the highest concentration of Scandanavians found in the US, and certain areas have extremely high concentrations of them. That certainly contributes to the culture, just as other cities with 15-20% Italian populations are influenced by that culture.

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't think the Coens count as "outsiders", but I do agree with the idea that Scandinavian heritage is a big part of Minnesotan culture. Not because everyone here has ancestors from that part of the world -- many clearly don't -- but this region's Scandinavian history has clearly made a visible mark on the state's culture. After living elsewhere and then returning I definitely noticed it. The fact that so many people have heard of lutefisk, lefse, or those horrible Ole and Lena jokes is evidence of that. You can even buy lefse in the stores year-round, places like Lund's and Wuollet's sell the tiered almond cakes (the ones festooned with your choice of flag), and their are Scandinavian import stores all over the place. I frequently hear people with no Scandinavian relatives say "uff da." I'm too lazy tonight to look at the numbers, but I assume that the percentage of Scandinavian residents used to be higher than it is now. In any case, it was (and is) high enough to stand out in contrast to what you find in most other parts of the country.

And as far as modern numbers, most people these days, at least those who aren't first or second-generation immigrants, are going to have a blend of ethnic backgrounds. The MN side of my family tree includes Germans, Irish, and Norwegians, and I think that's probably fairly typical.

Moving on, my main annoyance with stereotypes is when people think they are true, or that they are the only truth. Minnesota has its share of white sweater-wearing ladies who make "hotdish" for their Lutheran church suppers, but those ladies are no more or no less Minnesotan than, say, the Coen brothers themselves. (and speaking of stereotypes, the Coen brothers' success is probably going to further cement the stereotype that everyone in St. Louis Park is Jewish.)

[yoyoma02]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I don't think the Coens count as "outsiders", but I do agree with the idea that Scandinavian heritage is a big part of Minnesotan culture. Not because everyone here has ancestors from that part of the world -- many clearly don't -- but this region's Scandinavian history has clearly made a visible mark on the state's culture. After living elsewhere and then returning I definitely noticed it. The fact that so many people have heard of lutefisk, lefse, or those horrible Ole and Lena jokes is evidence of that. You can even buy lefse in the stores year-round, places like Lund's and Wuollet's sell the tiered almond cakes (the ones festooned with your choice of flag), and their are Scandinavian import stores all over the place. I frequently hear people with no Scandinavian relatives say "uff da." I'm too lazy tonight to look at the numbers, but I assume that the percentage of Scandinavian residents used to be higher than it is now. In any case, it was (and is) high enough to stand out in contrast to what you find in most other parts of the country.

And as far as modern numbers, most people these days, at least those who aren't first or second-generation immigrants, are going to have a blend of ethnic backgrounds. The MN side of my family tree includes Germans, Irish, and Norwegians, and I think that's probably fairly typical.

Moving on, my main annoyance with stereotypes is when people think they are true, or that they are the only truth. Minnesota has its share of white sweater-wearing ladies who make "hotdish" for their Lutheran church suppers, but those ladies are no more or no less Minnesotan than, say, the Coen brothers themselves. (and speaking of stereotypes, the Coen brothers' success is probably going to further cement the stereotype that everyone in St. Louis Park is Jewish.)

Wait, I thought everyone in SLP is Jewish...?

[xandrex]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I don't think the Coens count as "outsiders", but I do agree with the idea that Scandinavian heritage is a big part of Minnesotan culture. Not because everyone here has ancestors from that part of the world -- many clearly don't -- but this region's Scandinavian history has clearly made a visible mark on the state's culture.

Not to mention we're a fairly progressive state, likely due in part to similar progressiveness in Scandinavia.

[Govie]

Why people would surmise we are "dumb" is beyond me. We have the highest life expectancy in the country, all the great schools (St. Paul has the second highest percent of colleges per capita in the country), great Northern European roots, great sports teams. I could go on.

If that is "dumb," I wonder what that makes the rest of the country.