OMG I am so Pissed off. I'm a blonde Essex girl (please don't laugh) and I've living in Leeds for a year and a half now, but the boys in my class are still reeling off the same Essex girl/blonde jokes. It's like they think they invented them. It's pathetic. They need ot get it into there thick skulls that not all Essex girls are stupid slags/sluts/whores. It is really annoying me. I've had it constantly for the last year and a half, but it's the same jokes every time. They need to realize that I've hear them all before. I'm not a slut and none of the girls from Essex that I know are. Yes, the stereotype does exist, but it's the minority. We know how to have fun, thats it, and they turn it around on us. I think thats it... Fantasy Girl xx
People all over the country have perceptions of how people from other areas are like. Stereotypes depending on where you were born. It's ridiculous, I don't know if you've ever watched Russell Howard talk about how people don't get to choose where they're born, but it's hiliarious. He's got a good point aswell. Don't let these immature boys define you by where you lived, but give them a reason to see you some other way, instead of 'Essex Girl' - 'The Boy-puncher' sounds like a good idea haha =] They'll grow out of it. Just don't give them a reason to class you as this [wrong] stereotype. xxx
Honestly? Ignore it. Don't act as though it's offending you (even when it is) because it only eggs them on. Give them a joke in reply, but one with a point. I always hear people insulting Essex around me even though they know I live there, so I just say something like: 'Oh yes, and all Jamaicans are lazy and the Irish are all called Paddy' - I can laugh after saying that, but not because of its contents. I laugh because what they're saying is as ridiculous as the quote i've just given. They're obviously very aware of the stereotypes Leeds has, and are trying to bypass that by picking on you. If it's really hurting your feelings, then consult a teacher - you aren't there to be marginalised, you're there to get an education.
My mother is from Essex, and I've been friends with a few 'Essex Girls' for a couple of years now. I can say with confidence that they are no more or less stupid or 'slutty' (stupid word) than any other group of similar-aged females. Frankly, do whatever you like and disregard what they say. On the one hand, it doesn't particularly matter what a series of braindead teens think about you, since anyone with the intelligence to be worth talking to for more than a few minutes is going to be mature enough to not care about infantile stereotypes like that. On the other hand, there's nothing you can do to change their minds. The narrow minds of the prejudiced wouldn't be narrow if they accepted the obvious when it ran counter to their bias. Of course, this is only if they believe what they say (which, being pubescent males, isn't likely). Half of it is likely to be bravado and masculine humor; boring, but infinitely appealing to teenage boys. Laughing it off is probably, in reality, the best recourse. Getting overly stressed out about what's either light-hearted humor (at your expense) or sheer idiocy is easy, but worthless. There's a trap here, though. If you talk to them, disprove their stereotypes, and become friends with them, everyone else will notice that you hang around with males a lot. If, on the other hand, you ignore them, people are wont to think you haughty and arrogant. So, in conclusion: if people want to put you down, they will. As an 'outsider', you're an easy target. Ignore what they think and get on with your life.
I'm Scottish by birth, and thus get some of the jibs that are naturally subjected to the Scots; however, most of the time it is in a joking manner, and I never take offence from it. I then just make jokes about the English.
I confuse people in England; they think I'm Polish, but I claim that Gaelic is my native language. They seem to think I should have a Scottish accent Remember that it's easier to insult a stereotype than a person, so just seen yourself as a person, and everyone else you don't like as stereotypes.
^ Interestingly, I'm of a Scottish family (the Armstrongs) and I've spent a lot of time in Scotland, and yet, I have no trace of a Scottish accent. It might be why people jump on it when I tell them that.
Being an American...I have no knowledge of any city/regional stereotypes you may have across the pond. However, with any bullying situation...ignore them. You know who you are and what you are. If they want to be ignorant and not get to know who you are...you shouldn't give a piss about them.
Make some small cards. Hand one to any guy who throws an insult. On the card, there will be one simple line: "Be nice to me. Some day, I'll be your boss!"
