Stereotypes

[androidhippy]

Does anybody else feel stereotyped?

I hate stereotypes and I try as hard as possible to clear my mind of preconceptions based on frivolous things. To me they seem like a shortcut to thinking, but I guess that most have some kernel of truth in them that has to be acknowledged in order for them to be dispelled. I would now like to ***** about the stereotype that I feel people assign to me.

Engineer.

A friend once told me, long ago, while a group of us were having dinner, that I "scream engineer", and everyone at the table giggled and said "he does, hehe". I didn't think much of it at the time because I figured it was just something facetious to say about the unabashedly science-minded guy who just happens to be an engineer. But over the years I've noticed that whenever I mention to someone that I'm an engineer, no matter how little else they know about me beyond what's in front of them, the next thing they say is along the lines of an agreeing chuckle, eye roll, or even a more blunt "I know your type". It certainly doesn't feel flattering, and I have to admit that I've become a little sensitive about it.

At work I regaled my little tale to one of my coworkers, who also happens to be an engineer, and she burst into laughter and said "you are!". I hid my wounded feelings as best I could, but then I decided that I just had to have someone clarify it for me, and she was just the kind of blunt matter-of-fact person I could trust with such a task.

Her description didn't seem bad to me. She said I wear boots (am I a sloppy dresser?), have long hair (Am I not well coifed?), and have the calculating demeanor of someone who "nothing got by" (am I an arrogant dick?). I think she was probably being kinder than she could have been. My other friend would probably have just used the word geek and been done with it. The ironic thing is that I used to have such short hair, and I grew it out so that I would seem like "less" of an engineer; and somehow it made me more of one? Appearances mean so much to people and I just wish that I could create one for myself that's non-threatening, or even compelling.

I don't know why it bothers me, probably because I get the honest feeling that american women are repelled by engineers. I say this because even though the vast majority of my american colleagues are married, most of them married women born in other countries. It may just be a consequence of working in such a multicultural field, I really don't know. Is engineering sexy in any country? If anybody thinks so let me know and I'll move in a sec (maybe Germany?).

Does anybody else feel like they're looked down upon for their job?

 

[Jesse]

First let me say I don't get what those people are talking about. Engineers are different than other people? The only thing I'd think was that you must be intelligent. I didn't know it was a personality type.

As for me, I get the opposite reaction when I tell people my job because they ask where I work and I tell them, the local hospital. They immediately think I must be a doctor or someone who makes a lot of money, but I'm just a medical records employee. Never do they say, oh you are! You're definately a medical records type guy. Wtf?

I think I'm one of the geeks. I don't hide my geekness, but I do think people judge me for it. Don't be ashamed of being an engineer.

 

[androidhippy]

First let me say I don't get what those people are talking about. Engineers are different than other people? The only thing I'd think was that you must be intelligent. I didn't know it was a personality type.

As for me, I get the opposite reaction when I tell people my job because they ask where I work and I tell them, the local hospital. They immediately think I must be a doctor or someone who makes a lot of money, but I'm just a medical records employee. Never do they say, oh you are! You're definately a medical records type guy. Wtf?

I think I'm one of the geeks. I don't hide my geekness, but I do think people judge me for it. Don't be ashamed of being an engineer.

Thanks . I don't think I realized how much I needed to hear that. I think my heart's a little like a bathroom rug, it indiscriminately absorbs everything that touches it, it tends to make me a little uncomfortable around people I don't know (and who I can't tell if they're being folksy or cruel).

 

[Jesse]

First let me say I don't get what those people are talking about. Engineers are different than other people? The only thing I'd think was that you must be intelligent. I didn't know it was a personality type.

As for me, I get the opposite reaction when I tell people my job because they ask where I work and I tell them, the local hospital. They immediately think I must be a doctor or someone who makes a lot of money, but I'm just a medical records employee. Never do they say, oh you are! You're definately a medical records type guy. Wtf?

I think I'm one of the geeks. I don't hide my geekness, but I do think people judge me for it. Don't be ashamed of being an engineer.

Thanks . I don't think I realized how much I needed to hear that. I think my heart's a little like a bathroom rug, it indiscriminately absorbs everything that touches it, it tends to make me a little uncomfortable around people I don't know (and who I can't tell if they're being folksy or cruel).

I'd try not to let it bother you too much. I used to take everything people said about me here at work and let it bother me, but then one day I realized they didn't matter anyway. I'm not trying to impress them.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

I think a Pioneer kicks ass. I owned a few those.
There's a Kenwood currently in my truck. It sounds awesume.
I hear Boss is also top of the line and gives amazing sounds.
I had a Sony with 16" woofers once..someone hijacc that sum *****

Yeah man...I scream freaken $.99 store N luandry cleaning wizzness

U wnt ur fuccin compounded cikken noodoo wit the fie lice?
I pee pee in U wan de ton soup 2 give it a nice favor for your flavor...ya keep asking far.
Yes...yes drop off ur latop in de back..Mr. Ho wil we-boot tha chineses made POS for ya.
What?!? U wat me to do wat?
Light a fire cracka in your cracka lacka ass.?? O_0
No..we don't sell little girls in here...
Try Poncho Burrito Chop across the street...Lots of kitty meat and hot sauce I heard.
No...IhumpAlot dosn't work here anymore either. She found a better job....sewing.

You wat talk to the manager?? >_<
Hole On...
Mah, Mah...that crazy white man wiht a badge is here asking for my green cards again. I thought you say I was born in the USA...wtf??
I told him freaken Obama is god living in a white house. Obama pissed off at Hillery for not cleaning the cum stain off the wall of the
Licoln bed room after all these year.

 

[VanillaCreme]

I don't know why it bothers me, probably because I get the honest feeling that american women are repelled by engineers.

Wat?

 

[Lonesome Crow]

I don't know why it bothers me, probably because I get the honest feeling that american women are repelled by engineers.

Wat?

He said he carries a pocket calculator an pen holders in his shirt pocket.
He wears high water pants and geeky looking glasses..even thou
they look like a pair of my raybans...lol

God forbid that a freaken engineer is capiable of making mistakes..
Have you ever tired making phone calls or sent e-mails informing
engineers that they freaken gooffed?
Holy honeysuckle man...sometimes I rather stab myself in the eyes with a screwdriver.

My boss and I used to sit behind closed doors for hours and negociate
who in the hell should go talk to our engineer about some hick ups..
Sometimes we flipped a coin then put on our..Fragile handle with care kit gloves.

Mathematics equations or calulations is almost absolute or preditable.
An engineers can do amazing calculations with numbers becuase
the answers are either right or wrong...

However when it comes to women...A woman will scar the living
honeysuckle out of an engineer...A woman is unpreditable. A woman changes
her mind. Becuase it's not always black and white with a woman..
Theres gray area and emotions.

Errr...A woman will also tell an engineer....
"you're fucken wrong buddy...It dosn't take rocket science to show me you love me"
That would be a fun converstation to listen to..lmao

As he stated...he has a calculating demeanor...blunt as a matter of FACT...
yet he's afraid to deal with his emotions becuase he dosn't know how to deal with that.

Emotional intelligent is not a matter of fact and it's an inside job...
not outter appearance (as in the clothe you wear or how long your hair is)

More left brain (logic/calculations) than right brain (emotions/intuition)

 

[cheaptrickfan]

First, I have big love for geeky types. I'm a Girl Geek, and trust me, lots of American men are repelled but that... but not all. My first major in college was AeroEng, my dad was an engineer, lots of my friends were engineers.

... and have the calculating demeanor of someone who "nothing got by" (am I an arrogant dick?).

I know just what she means by that. I read this as not arrogant, but focused and intelligent. You catch the small details of a situation, maybe at the expense of the big picture (maybe not), but you're methodical and consistent.

I don't know why it bothers me, probably because I get the honest feeling that american women are repelled by engineers.

Not all of us.

There will always be those who are intimidated by intelligence or who place a higher value on some sort of arbitrary social status. Do you really want to waste your time on someone like that?

 

[Naval_Fluff]

Age. People are always talking about how us teenagers are either drug addicts, notorious kleptomanaics or violent people that go berserk att he drop of a hat, and I'm tired of it. One day this generation will be running the earth, and every little ignorant comment will come back to haunt the people that said them.

 

[cheaptrickfan]

However when it comes to women...A woman will scar the living
honeysuckle out of an engineer...A woman is unpreditable. A woman changes
her mind. Becuase it's not always black and white with a woman..
Theres gray area and emotions.

Oh c'mon, you really can't lump all women into a single category like this! Unpredictability is not a gender-specific trait, and I say that to women who use the line "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind." Sexist bullshit like that, coming from fellow women no less, really chaps my ass.

As he stated...he has a calculating demeanor...blunt as a matter of FACT...
yet he's afraid to deal with his emotions becuase he dosn't know how to deal with that.

Emotional intelligent is not a matter of fact and it's an inside job...
not outter appearance (as in the clothe you wear or how long your hair is)

Likewise, I think that it's wrong to assume that just because someone has a great deal of specialized, mathematical intelligence that they're somehow deficient in emotional intelligence. You're treating engineers like idiot savants or something. That's just not the case.

---

Age. People are always talking about how us teenagers are either drug addicts, notorious kleptomanaics or violent people that go berserk att he drop of a hat, and I'm tired of it. One day this generation will be running the earth, and every little ignorant comment will come back to haunt the people that said them.

Please be nice to me when I'm in my nursing home.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

Oh c'mon, you really can't lump all women into a single category like this! Unpredictability is not a gender-specific trait, and I say that to women who use the line "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind." Sexist bullshit like that, coming from fellow women no less, really chaps my ass.

mmm...Okay you're right
Sorry, maybe I was wrong.

As he stated...he has a calculating demeanor...blunt as a matter of FACT...
yet he's afraid to deal with his emotions becuase he dosn't know how to deal with that.

Emotional intelligent is not a matter of fact and it's an inside job...
not outter appearance (as in the clothe you wear or how long your hair is)

Likewise, I think that it's wrong to assume that just because someone has a great deal of specialized, mathematical intelligence that they're somehow deficient in emotional intelligence. You're treating engineers like idiot savants or something. That's just not the case.

---

---

Well...I did take calculus in college..

 

[cheaptrickfan]

Oh c'mon, you really can't lump all women into a single category like this! Unpredictability is not a gender-specific trait, and I say that to women who use the line "it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind." Sexist bullshit like that, coming from fellow women no less, really chaps my ass.

mmm...Okay you're right
Sorry, maybe I was wrong.

;-)

Likewise, I think that it's wrong to assume that just because someone has a great deal of specialized, mathematical intelligence that they're somehow deficient in emotional intelligence. You're treating engineers like idiot savants or something. That's just not the case.

Well...I did take calculus in college..

Well, you're not disproving my point here, as you seem to be to be a man who is very much aware of and in touch with his emotions.

 

[Lonesome Crow]

Well, you're not disproving my point here, as you seem to be to be a man who is very much aware of and in touch with his emotions.

Maybe...
Or perhaps I just know better then to argu with a woman..

yeah prolly.... but I rather get in touch with your emotions.
In order to get in touch with your..I'll have to get in touch with mine...
Touching here and there is a good thing.

 

[Jesse]

Oh c'mon, you really can't lump all women into a single category like this! Unpredictability is not a gender-specific trait, and I say that to women who use the line "The best thing about being a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun (fun, fun)

Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady
Men's shirts-short skirts
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style
Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction
Color my hair-do what I dare
Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel
Man! I feel like a woman!"
Sexist bullshit like that, coming from fellow women no less, really chaps my ass.

mmm...Okay you're right
Sorry, maybe I was wrong.

;-)

Likewise, I think that it's wrong to assume that just because someone has a great deal of specialized, mathematical intelligence that they're somehow deficient in emotional intelligence. You're treating engineers like idiot savants or something. That's just not the case.

Well...I did take calculus in college..

Well, you're not disproving my point here, as you seem to be to be a man who is very much aware of and in touch with his emotions.

 

[cheaptrickfan]

Is the prerogative to have a little fun (fun, fun)

Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady
Men's shirts-short skirts
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style
Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction
Color my hair-do what I dare
Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel
Man! I feel like a woman!"

Y'know, I can't stand Shania Twain, and I hate that song. lol

 

[androidhippy]

God forbid that a freaken engineer is capiable of making mistakes..
Have you ever tired making phone calls or sent e-mails informing
engineers that they freaken gooffed?
Holy honeysuckle man...sometimes I rather stab myself in the eyes with a screwdriver.

My boss and I used to sit behind closed doors for hours and negociate
who in the hell should go talk to our engineer about some hick ups..
Sometimes we flipped a coin then put on our..Fragile handle with care kit gloves.

Believe me I feel your pain, I work at a major engineering company and I'm surrounded by some of the biggest dickheads on earth, and the more expensive the school they came from, the more acidic and impregnable their egos are. I think part of the reason I hate being thought of as an engineer is because I really do dislike most engineers myself.

One of the few people I really respected at my company just quit recently out of exasperation and disgust with the insurmountable egotism she had to deal with. She's about five years younger than me and I felt such a bond with her because she reminded me of me before my spirit was crushed (basically my general lack of seriousness caused me to be an object of scorn, which eventually took its toll). I remember her coming to my cube with eyes watering, recounting this awful conversation she'd had with one of the "architects" (the guys who think they're God). She was just honestly asking questions about how to use this new set of libraries he'd made and he just tore into her about the most trivial idiotic crap, he basically made her feel like she was a disgrace to engineering because of her lack of knowledge, and being young and vulnerable (like I remember being) she absorbed it raw and it went it right to her heart. Maybe it's just a natural reaction to a woman in tears, but I swear I wanted to just crush that man's skull. I tried as hard as I could to stick up for her and help her through it, but in the end she just couldn't handle it and quit. That's engineering, your surrounded by massive and mostly undeserved egos.

However when it comes to women...A woman will scar the living
honeysuckle out of an engineer...A woman is unpreditable. A woman changes
her mind. Becuase it's not always black and white with a woman..
Theres gray area and emotions.

See this is what I'm talking about when I say there's a stereotype about engineers. It's why I try to distance myself from it if at all possible. Maybe I should just tell people I'm in marketing?

As he stated...he has a calculating demeanor...blunt as a matter of FACT...
yet he's afraid to deal with his emotions becuase he dosn't know how to deal with that.

Actually I just have a low tolerance for bullshit, like the kind I'm beginning to smell

---

First, I have big love for geeky types. I'm a Girl Geek, and trust me, lots of American men are repelled but that... but not all. My first major in college was AeroEng, my dad was an engineer, lots of my friends were engineers.

Marry me!

I know just what she means by that. I read this as not arrogant, but focused and intelligent. You catch the small details of a situation, maybe at the expense of the big picture (maybe not), but you're methodical and consistent.

I agree with that. The thing that usually surprises people about me is that I can be both a dead serious professional, and a completely irresponsible artistic type. I finish running a test suite, then head off to Burning Man.

There will always be those who are intimidated by intelligence or who place a higher value on some sort of arbitrary social status. Do you really want to waste your time on someone like that?

Absolutely not, thanks for the paradigm shift!

---

Age. People are always talking about how us teenagers are either drug addicts, notorious kleptomanaics or violent people that go berserk att he drop of a hat, and I'm tired of it. One day this generation will be running the earth, and every little ignorant comment will come back to haunt the people that said them.

Trust me, generation X will destroy the earth way before generation Y gets a chance to take it over, we're the cynical MTV generation who listened to music you guys lovingly refer to as "butt rock" . We've already taken down the housing market and the economy because of that drunken internet boom a few years back (I don't know what we were smoking). Once we get middle aged we'll probably start world war 3.

 

[cheaptrickfan]

That's engineering, your surrounded by massive and mostly undeserved egos.

You'll see those gargantuan egos in other disciplines too. It's really ridiculous, because any field needs new blood. Women can have it tough in the sciences. Lots of men just don't think that women belong there.

First, I have big love for geeky types. I'm a Girl Geek, and trust me, lots of American men are repelled but that... but not all. My first major in college was AeroEng, my dad was an engineer, lots of my friends were engineers.

Marry me!

Ha!

I agree with that. The thing that usually surprises people about me is that I can be both a dead serious professional, and a completely irresponsible artistic type. I finish running a test suite, then head off to Burning Man.

Well, that's because people stick to yet another set of simplistic stereotypes about left-brained/right-brained people. Anyone who's good at math can't possibly have any talent for music or art and vice versa. I doubt that there are few people with a hemisphere that is so dominant it totally beats the other side of the brain into total submission.

There will always be those who are intimidated by intelligence or who place a higher value on some sort of arbitrary social status. Do you really want to waste your time on someone like that?

Absolutely not, thanks for the paradigm shift!

I'm always good for shaking things up a bit. ;-)

Trust me, generation X will destroy the earth way before generation Y gets a chance to take it over, we're the cynical MTV generation who listened to music you guys lovingly refer to as "butt rock" . We've already taken down the housing market and the economy because of that drunken internet boom a few years back (I don't know what we were smoking). Once we get middle aged we'll probably start world war 3.

As an apathetic X-er, I prefer to blame the ills of the world on the Baby Boomers.

 

[Naval_Fluff]

I hate stereotyping in general...It just makes it harder for all of us. It's so hard to get a job as a teen because people either think you'lre gonna steal something or just be lazy as hell. But then racial or sexual stereotyping is just as bad. I hate it, I just wish it didn't exist there's just no point to it at all. If everyone' uniqe, how can you throw everyong of one sex or one group into a category? The world is a funny place :/

 

[Lonesome Crow]

As he stated...he has a calculating demeanor...blunt as a matter of FACT...
yet he's afraid to deal with his emotions becuase he dosn't know how to deal with that.

Actually I just have a low tolerance for bullshit, like the kind I'm beginning to smell

---

---

hahaha...maybe you should try not telling anyone what you do for
a living period. Going around promoting yourself. Women can smell bullshit
from a mile away. Look at me, look at me. I'm a fucken engineer. I'm smart and I honeysuckle money.
I'm all messed up on the outside and the inside...lol

Havn't you heard about the laws of attractions?
It's attractions rather than promot'in.

Stop clowning around and just throw your money down.
Get slick, hip and cool and send a gal some flowers as a secret lover.

You know how it is...what's on the drawning board in not the real deal.

You gatta put the theory to test in the real world.
Into the actions to get some actions Jackson.
Adjust accordingly due to variables in the real world and not in a controlled enviornment.

 

[androidhippy]

I hate stereotyping in general...It just makes it harder for all of us. It's so hard to get a job as a teen because people either think you'lre gonna steal something or just be lazy as hell. But then racial or sexual stereotyping is just as bad. I hate it, I just wish it didn't exist there's just no point to it at all. If everyone' uniqe, how can you throw everyong of one sex or one group into a category? The world is a funny place :/

Yea I think it's an evolutionary tactic that keeps us from danger. When faced with an unknown, we magnify what little info we have so that we can feel like we have some control, and that makes the unknown feel less threatening. It's a lazy way of feeling safe that hurts more than it helps.

There's a line I heard from some comedian, who's name has escaped me, that just summed up prejudice so perfectly to me: "What's the point in hating people based on race when there are so many perfectly valid reasons to hate people on an individual basis?"