I hate stereotypes…
But every now and then they ring true! Last night I went to watch the Rangers’ game at some friends’ apartment, and I ended up falling asleep on the couch. When I looked for breakfast this morning, do you know what I found in the guys’ fridge?
A lot of beer.
And not much else! They also have a pinball machine in their living room. As Chandler Bing might say, “Could it be more of a bachelor pad?” (Although I must admit… I kinda want a pinball machine for my new place now.)
The moving process is going along well. I think we’re finally done with the boring part of unpacking boxes, which means we get to focus on more fun things, like decorating. It’s always difficult for me to imagine how “big” decorations—wallpaper, furniture, curtains, etc.—will look in a room, but I love adding little touches of flair.
For the kitchen, I’m bringing back all the red pepper stuff I bought the last time I lived on my own. My roommate says that as long as I continue to make desserts and give her samples, she couldn’t care less what I do to decorate the kitchen!
Foodie Decorating:
Later today, I get to put my decorating skills to another use. My friend is a kindergarten teacher, and she asked if I’d like to make a special treat for her kids’ Halloween party. She still raves about last year’s Funfetti Blondies. I’m not sure what I want to make. Cupcakes? Cookies? Definitely something with chocolate.
Maybe Chocolate-Chip Banana Bites.
But the banana part probably wouldn’t hold up very well, so I’m trying to brainstorm something else to put in the middle of the mini cookies. Ideally, I’d like to tie the dessert in to Halloween, too. Maybe spider cookies? With pretzel legs… Or maybe I should abandon the cookie idea and just go with cupcakes. Kids seem to love cupcakes above all else.
Do you think stereotypes are sometimes true?
I think that some are based on truth. Like Asians being smart? I’ve been blessed to know many amazing Asian friends, especially when I lived in China, and they are all very smart. My one friend—who ended up at MIT and now works for the government—actually fell asleep during the English AP test and still got a 5! (EDIT: Please read my responses to some of the comments below. Your comments made me realize that my words above–although meant as a compliment–were misguided.)
However, I don’t understand other stereotypes at all. I think the “Mexicans are lazy” stereotype is the most ridiculous and offensive one out there, because I have never met a more hard-working ethnic group. And I would like to go back in time and clock the person who first uttered the phrase, “You hit/throw/run like a girl.”
And now, since I know you’ve all been wondering only one thing throughout this entire post, I’ll answer the important question: No, I did not have beer for breakfast 
. I managed to find an apple hiding in my friends’ kitchen, to tide me over until I drove home.
Then I threw together my favorite Pumpkin Breakfast Cereal.
How lovely to see a well-stocked fridge!
Oh Katie,
Reading this, I was struck by two things:
1. People need to stop being so easily offended. Not just here on your blog, but in the world in general. It seems like someone gets offended at ANYthing these days, to the point where people are afraid to speak! Lighten up, people. Take a joke, have some compassion, and realize that people are meant to speak what’s on their mind, without having to worry about censoring every single syllable first!
2. I am so impressed with how you handled the comments. Most people, when told they were wrong, will get defensive and angry and will respond in a negative manner. But you were gracious and courteous and actually admitted you might have been in error. I have always admired your blog, but I now think even MORE highly of you, if that’s even possible.
Totally agree^^
Observer,
Very few people here responded to Katie in a way that was aggressive or insulting. Most just very respectfully shared why stereotypes, even “positive” ones, can be detrimental to people.
We have a responsibility to calmly and thoughtfully express when someone is using stereotypes. No one learns any better if no one says “hey, that’s hurtful and here’s why.”
PS: we don’t need to “lighten up” or “take a joke”. This isn’t comedy and only by drawing attention to these issues in an mature way can we cause society to change. It drives me batty that people feel the need to tell those of us who care about certain important social justice issues (animal rights/veganism, feminism, racial equality, LGBT issues, rape culture issues) that we’re just too sensitive and easily offended. Words have power and words express what our culture believes and how it works.
I know Katie gets that and that’s why she responded with her usual grace and tact.
You’re my hero in this post, Melissa. Stay fabulous.
I have to agree with “An observer.” I am a vegan now, but I probably would’ve become one much sooner if it hadn’t have been for first meeting close-minded and easily-offended vegans that turned me off of the whole movement and made me THINK I never wanted to be like that.
When you’re that easily-offended, and you can’t laugh at yourself, you hurt your own cause.
I have found that when I’m able to laugh at myself, others are more at ease around me and thus more apt to listen (open-mindedly) to my message.
I agree! People, please- have a sense of humor! That doesnt’t mean i am in favor of these stereotypes, not at all!
Perpetuating derogatory stereotypes is NOT the same as “having a sense of humor.”
I would also like to point out that very few of Katie’s gentle critics were calling her “wrong,” but merely using this opportunity to offer a differing perspective. Before I took several courses on Ethnic Studies, Global Poverty, Anthropology, among others, I did not have the resources or insight to analyze these complicated matters. I am the first to admit my academic bias and privileged background from which I have gained access to this knowledge (and the limitations that come along with that) as well as realize others may not have had similar experiences. I also would argue that institutionalized education is far from the sole route to gaining knowledge, especially with the increasing availability and, arguably, democratization of information via the internet.
We obviously all have internet access and as intelligent people realize we are on a public forum in order to facilitate the diffusion of our opinions and beliefs. Often misconceptions about the world stem from a narrow perspective, such as the number of comments by people that use a single example of their “Mexican friend” can be extrapolated and applied to an entire ethnicity. Whether or not the characteristic carries a positive or negative connotation in our society, the fact is that it is a limited and ultimately constricting viewpoint.
Making jokes regarding preexisting stereotypes is generally widely accepted. I would argue it is the compassionate person that realizes these jokes come at the expense of entire groups of historically margainalized and people that have often been discriminated against solely on the basis of race/color/creed/gender/etc, and not the person that excuses one making a joke. (Note: I am replying to the phrase “lighten up” regarding jokes, not arguing Katie was making a joke, which I do not believe she was.)
True, people get easily offended. However, I do not think this is a bad thing. If anything, “taking offense” is proof that people are aware of their human and social rights and do not stand for the violation of these rights, even if it is in what you consider a harmless fashion. Social change never came because people were afraid to point out blatant ignorance that was the de facto racial policies of the US. I would keep some of these points in mind next time you have the desire to dress up like a Native American for halloween, or don’t understand why nobody laughs at your Speedy Gonzales impression. Hint: The “I have a black friend” card won’t help you out. BE OFFENDED. I bet you are after reading this.
TL;DR: Be offended, be be offended.
“Be offended, be be offended.” Thank you for this, esp. the last paragraph! You and Melissa have had the best comments.
Food blog or no, we all have a social responsibility. I think Katie has handled this incredibly well. I have commented on recipes before, but the reason I wanted to comment on this was that Katie is obviously an intelligent and caring person, and I wanted to share some resources I’ve found helpful in the past for understanding the role of class/sex/gender/ethnicity and stereotypes in the past. (Cultural Studies BA, Japan Studies MA, female, and now experiencing what it’s like to be an ethnic minority in Japan as a woman.) Even though I took Asian American history coursework, I don’t even think I understood how awkward and hurtful even positive stereotypes can be until I moved here and they became directed at me.
Anyhow, even though I really came out of the woodwork for this post, I’m going to try harder to leave feedback for your recipes! I’ve only just discovered this blog thanks to Freshly Pressed, and I’ve been trying to sort out how to make some of these in Japan, since the ingredients here are a bit different. Alishan jumbo oats (even bigger and tougher than Quaker) make good boatmeal but don’t stick together well for the cookies, and I hate to be that commenter who makes the “I changed something; why didn’t it work?!” comment, even if it’s really about availability and not just changing things for the hell of it. 😉
I know that you meant to be complimentary, but the “Asians are smart” stereotype has a bit of a backlash. I went to high school in a predominantly Asian area, and while there were highly intelligent people at my school, it didn’t matter where they came from, rather, it was their motivation and dedication to making the most of their intelligence that truly made a difference. The problem I saw with that stereotype was the consequence for those of us that do not come from Asian backgrounds. With the perpetuation of the stereotype, there was almost a hierarchy, with students from other ethnic backgrounds at the bottom. I fought for four years to be recognized as intelligent, Caucasian or not. There was even an NPR program regarding my school, titled “Are Asian Students Smarter?” which, as you can imagine, was unbelievably painful to those of us who aren’t Asian but work just as hard.
I am unbelievably blessed to come from the circumstances that I do, and I’m not trying to insult anyone. I know that I didn’t have to work my way up from nothing to make it in this country, but I also know that I still work really hard to secure a future for myself. I also don’t want you to feel attacked by my words at all, I just want you to know that when that stereotype is prevalent in a community, even that of a high school, it is used to promulgate prejudice and exalts one group while dismissing the potential of another.
I’m not going to stop reading your blog, I think you are unbelievably adorable and have a great take on life and health, I just wanted you to know that after four years of fighting the “Caucasians are dumb” stereotype, I’d rather focus on the attributes of an individual that works hard than a generalization about a group.
Did you see the edit in my post, or some of my responses to others’ comments above? I do now realize it was wrong to generalize.
I did, and I think you did a beautiful job handling the situation-I’ve been reading for long enough to know that you’re a sweetie and wouldn’t have said something with the intention of hurting anyone! Like I said, I’m not going to stop reading, impossible actually, seeing as I eat chocolate for breakfast quite a lot 🙂
I just wish you weren’t someone who had to “realize” this. It should be obvious. Please take some time to think about the world–maybe as much time as you take to think about food.
I just read this at a great blog called chookooloonks and thought I’d share it since it seems to go perfectly with this topic:
“People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot … Biologists often talk about the ‘ecology’ of an organism: the tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just becaue it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured. We all know that successful people come from hardy seeds. But do we know enough about the sunlight that warmed them, the soil in which they put down roots, the rabbits and lumberjacks they were lucky enough to avoid?”
~ Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success
Hahaha I think some stereotypes people actually try to fit, which can be quite annoying!
I can completely understand where your comments are coming from and living in Texas myself, I have heard more than a few rather nasty stereo types. What people fail to understand though is that the ‘lazy’ lable was applied to not only Mexicans, but generally all Mediterreanean peoples that had a tradition of taking mid-afternoon siestas. People also fail to understand what people of those cultures know in that when you push yourself for hours on end your brain gets tired even if you don’t feel it and you tend to be less productive but if you take a couple of hours in the afternoon to get something to eat, rest a little and relax your productivity goes through the roof! See, we all need to have recess in the afternoon to recharge our batteries, not just the grade school kiddies! 🙂
When someone says you run/hit/throw like a girl, you simply smile graciuosly and say ‘Why, Thank You!’. Or you could be snarky and say ‘jealous much?’. 😉
While I understand that people may have been upset by the stereotype issue, this is a blog about delicious, healthy, desserts. This is not a political blog or a social issues blog. I think its fine to politely disagree with someone in a few concise sentences, but I dont think this is the best platform to delve into the social, political, and economic reasons why stereotypes exist or to write several paragraphs on the issue. Just my opinion
Yes! Agreed! Katie doesn’t say that her blog is about politics or sociology or being politically correct. She shouldn’t have to worry about every tiny little word she writes, JUST in case it offends someone.
(And just so no one says I’m a biased American or anything, I am actually Taiwanese, so I know first hand about the pressures of being Asian. Are we judged differently? Yes. Is it fair? No. But you know what? Life isn’t fair. And also, it works both ways: sometimes teachers grade us more EASILY because they are subconsciously inclined to think our essays are good simply because of our heritage.
I really don’t see the need for a lecture, especially from commenters who don’t normally bother to comment unless it’s to say something negative :(.
So then Katie shouldn’t have brought it up.
Why is that simple concept so difficult for people to understand? When you bring something up ON THE INTERNET and you invite comments, you WILL get comments and they may not all agree with you and think you’re a special snowflake… how is that hard to *get*?
Katie is such a sweetheart. She also handles herself very well, but most importantly her recipes are great….. this is after all, a FOOD blog!
Katie, thank goodness you chose to keep your blog! I loveeed the frosting!
Agreed! This is a FOOD blog! And people who only come out of lurking to say something negative should try leaving a GOOD comment every now and then. As Thumper would say, “If you can’t say something nice…”
All this stereotype drama aside, I can’t believe no one’s said how beautiful you look in that photograph. Gorgeous! 🙂
Congratulations on your new digs – there is something, and I don’t know exactly how to define it – that is so freeing about being able to fully express yourself in your own home. EVerything about my home is me, me, me… and that is what is the most wonderful feeling of all – being in my own skin in my own space. Happy housewarming!
Sorry, but this whole post just annoys me. If this is your food blog, it would be great to keep it that way… it really irks me when bloggers try to start some sort of “intelligent” conversation about who-knows-what when their JOB (the one that pays them) is to blog about food. Obviously, I get that you can do whatever you want on here, but don’t get surprised when people call you out on things that are outside of your expertise, especially on something that is so personal for everyone.
Totally agree. I don’t read your blog regularly (sorry, I just can’t deal with all this low calorie stuff), but if photography and food blogging is your thing, stick to it. Don’t start asking random questions about something like stereotypes and race. Everyone is going to have an opinion about this and I can’t help but wonder if you ask questions like this just to get hits since you say this is your “job”.
Seriously, Eden and Julie? If you don’t even read Katie’s blog, don’t you think you have some nerve to assume her reasons for asking certain questions and even for saying what her “thing” is? I’ve been a reader of Katie’s blog for a LONG time, and I can tell you that she always likes to throw discussion questions into the mix. And her regular readers appreciate it and love the discussion that ensues. Not everyone just wants to talk about food all the time. One thing I really love about Katie’s blog is how three-dimensional the content is. It’s not just a bunch of recipes.
So please don’t come in here and try to ruin a nice atmosphere for those of us who really do enjoy being open-minded and learning from others’ comments.
Also, I think it’s kind of sad that you don’t even read this blog, yet you took time to leave a snarky comment.
If you like the discussion, then why how is my opinion “ruining” the atmosphere? I’m not trying to be mean, I just noticed there are lots of other commenters so she shouldn’t be surprised that not everyone is agreeing with her. If this were a “mean” spirited comment, I’d probably not have the guts to post as myself.
discussion that she solicitied is perpetuating some VERY misguided viewpoints from both herself and other readers — “hard-working Mexicans,” “smart Asians,” “dumb Caucasians” and “ghetto blacks” among them. She spreads this poison while claiming she is a college graduate and has done a bit of traveling/studying abroad??
And for the record, Deb, I have read this blog… I come by to check out her recipes instead of ingratiating myself by defending her and instead offering the advice to stay within her niche, since she doesn’t know what she is talking about and has obviously offended a lot of readers, minority or not.
P.S. As an Asian-American, that “model minority” thing bugs the heck out of me… please don’t assume all Asians are well-off financially and academically. Kudos to the commenter above mentioned that a lot of Southeast Asians, for one, struggle more circumstantially and are beaten hard by this stereotype threat. A personal peeve of mine, since I am among that group.
Eden: I just find it offensive that you would assume things about how this blog is run when you don’t ever read. And also, I don’t see anywhere on this post where Katie has said she’s surprised people don’t agree with her. The opposite, in fact. She handled differing opinions with tact and open mindedness, which is much more than most people will do when faced with opposing views. I have a lot of respect for how she was open to changing her original opinion.
Julie: Katie already apologized for offending people. What more do you want? Are you so perfect that you never make a mistake? Well I guess maybe you are. I’m not, and I doubt anyone else besides you is. So I hope you someday share your perfection secret with the rest of us.
I’m sorry for my negativity here, and I won’t be posting any more responses to you both on this post or even looking back. Like I said earlier, I value the positive atmosphere on this blog, and I fear my responses here are only contributing to bringing it down. I’ll be moving on now.
I grew up as a white girl in a mostly white, very small midwestern town. We had one black family in our town. We had a small population of mexicans, a few south/central americans, and like 3 asian/mixed families (mother asian, father white). Yes, my town was small enough that I could actually tell you how many of those families there were in town.
I heard a lot of things growing up, offhanded comments that people didn’t realize were completely not okay. I remember it bothered me, but I didn’t really take as much offense as I do to them now. I was told I had “N***er lips”, there were some kind of nuts that people called “N***er toes”. If someone was told to do something, I’d hear them come off with the smart aleck reply of “I’m white in America” implying freedom based on being white. I could go on and on about it. I think that the majority of people saying those things were just ignorant and not really hateful. But ignorance doesn’t get a pass.
I moved away from there, into a more diverse city, and the only men I’ve dated since (not by exclusion, just by coincidence) have been black men. I began to appreciate a culture that I knew nothing about, apart from the Cosby Show, growing up. I have fallen in love with this culture. My current boyfriend and most likely the man I will be marrying, has done so much in educating me about race. He’s open and honest about the issues in the area of race, and talks about it mindfully and intelligently. It has opened my eyes to so much that I didn’t realize.
Stereotypes are damaging. Comedians make a lot of money by joking about them, but it’s not funny. It separates us. It labels us. Have I laughed at “stuff white people like”? Of course I have. But should I? No. Because it doesn’t help unite us as human beings. It drives the wedge between us.
Ignorance doesn’t get a pass. We live in a technologically advanced age. There’s no reason for anybody to not be educated about the role that race plays in our everyday lives, and how other races have been unfairly labeled and judged because of the shade their skin is. There’s no excuse for lack of awareness. Not anymore.
Bravo.
Ditto the Bravo.
if u dont like what she has to say, and go ahead and misinterpret everything in the worst possible light, well the x button is right there n u can live off gruel and stale crusts from this day foward!
I cant believe I’m married to Chocolate Covered Katie!!!
*wakes* goddamn it! =(
Did you know that female arms are indeed different from male arms? They’re sort of naturally bent at the elbow (stand up, let your arms hang by your sides, and twist your palms forward to see what I mean). Male arms are mostly straight. The angle is supposed to make it easier to bring a baby you’re nursing to your chest and cradle its head on the inside of your elbow.
Anyway, because of this girls throw differently. So the stereotype of “throwing like a girl” really is true! I don’t know if our throwing is just different or if it’s actually inferior like the boys say . . . but I’ll leave that discussion for another time. 😉
These ‘discussions’ are hilarious. I don’t know why people with ‘higher educational backgrounds’ get so bent out of shape with political correctness. My husband has an international degree in business and marketing, speaks three languages fluently, comes from Zimbabwe, has very dark skin, and thinks all of this stuff is so funny–everyone getting all bent out of shape. Seriously…he just read all of these comments and is shaking his head right now.
I came here to read about the house and see some recipes, and everyone is arguing over Mexicans and Asians and who knows what else that I didn’t bother reading. If people would relax and stop ALLOWING themselves to be offended, racial stereo-types would actually start to die as being a ‘mainstream’ thing. Things can ONLY be offensive if the other person allows them to be. It’s a co-created situation, my friends. I’m a white German, married to a black Zimbabwean, and we’ve BOTH heard everything from both sides of the spectrum. My family is filled with Moroccans, Germans, Zimbabweans, French, Americans, and even Chinese people. (I’m not kidding–our family is so racially mixed and diverse, it’s starting to become difficult to tell, based on physical appearance alone, who the heck is what anymore!) We always joke around and call ourselves mutts. There are racial stereotypes thrown around amongst my large, extended family…and not one single person gets offended. We all have a good laugh and choose to ENJOY LIFE rather than waste time trying to ‘politically correct’ other people (as if we are all perfect??). As my mother used to say…don’t go sweeping the neighbor’s front porch until you are sure that yours is spotless. All of this is akin to people being grammar nazis. Do something constructive with your time, like perhaps volunteering toward a POSITIVE venture. It’s like how it doesn’t make any sense for rabid animal rights activists to pour red paint on someone wearing fur. Waste of time, my dear friends. Instead, go and volunteer at those animals shelters where those furry friends really need our help. My husband has had his fair share of getting pulled over for DWB (driving while black), and it doesn’t even bother him. He says it’s such a waste of time and energy, and he even says that many stereotypes appear to be true because…well, they are to some degree. LIGHTEN UP, EVERYONE. Bake a chocolate-covered-Katie-single-lady-muffin and R.E.L.A.X.
Amen to that, Trish! All this fretting over PC really gets out of hand. I’ve heard of cases where people mention that they don’t agree with a policy of President Obama’s and are accused of being racists. Like, really?! I think racism goes both ways. You shouldn’t be specifically sensitive about someone’s race or color because it shows that you can’t view them as equal to WASPs. A real non-racist doesn’t bring up someone’s race at all.
(A word in defense of grammar Nazis: Many grammar Nazis are just trying to teach people the proper grammar rules. They don’t mean to come across as snooty; if someone points out that you used a word incorrectly, he probably is just trying to help and be informative so that next time you can do it right.)
Hi Katie, I’m very new to cooking and I love your website! The homemade nutella was wonderful. However last night I tried out the Beer bread and it did not do well. The outside made a crust, golden brown, but the inside was all white and doughy. I don’t know what I did wrong. Thanks, SJ from Vegas
Did you check through Katie’s Recipe FAQ page at the top of her blog? It has a troubleshooting section. Please report back!