Swedish stereotypes?


hkepoetry's avatar
Stereotypes can be somewhat amusing, no matter what it's about. But sometimes they can be weird and not make any sense at all. :)

One of the most common stereotypes I've heard about Swedes is that we are tall, blonde, blue-eyed and good-looking. One weird stereotype I've heard is that we love cheese. :XD: Another common stereotype is that we are very polite.

What stereotypes have you heard about Swedes? :)
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PaintingSaint's avatar
I've heard that they're blond haired and blue eyed, that they're extremely liberal, and that they like their saunas. They also have a sing-songy language, and talk like the Swedish chef. ;)
NYAHCAT's avatar
since I'm a finn, I know plenty of negative stereotypes : D but I think you have heard all of them
skyhndx's avatar
A swede I used to chat with once worked as a trick rider and acrobat in a french circus. He trained and rode Arabian horses. When he was a boy his dad called him, "liten apa". I haven't heard much about Swedish stereotypes so I have no clue if anything he ever said about himself would be considered a stereotype. ...other than the fact that his name was Jonas and he said you pronounce that as Yonas. :bucktooth:
FeralTao's avatar
VERY sensitive about all kinds of stuff.
Liberal but like to blame shit on the government.
SimplyLemie's avatar
Never talk to anyone unless you know them. That is one of the few reasons I love this country. If someone tries to talk to me at the bus, I could just brush him off as a drunkard or a madman.
Gemdrop's avatar
Gay men, pretty women. Also, all finnish swedes are rich and snobby.

Also, 6-1 :iconteheplz:
hkepoetry's avatar
No, no and no. :D

6-1? :confused:
Gemdrop's avatar
No kidding?

Oh you know what I mean :stare:
Bullet-Magnet's avatar
There's the Swedish Chef, but he sounds Norwegian to me.
hkepoetry's avatar
Hahaha! :XD:
Well, it's nothing like Swedish, that I can assure you. :XD: And not Norwegian either, to tell you the truth. It's just plain old gibberish. :nod: Yup.
Bullet-Magnet's avatar
Well yeah it's gibberish. But the sing-song accent sounds Norwegian.
RiseofGreenBean's avatar
Blonde, blue-eyed, tall, handsome guys.
Polite, professional, formal
Modern, high tech.
Not really religious.
Big on metal (Dark Tranquility!)

Idunno...I don't want to write about IKEA.
hkepoetry's avatar
Blonde, tall, blue-eyed, handsome guys = not true. ^^ I'm engaged to a shorter-than-average, greenish blue-eyed and oh-so-very-handsome brunette. :D And he's a Swede.

Polite, professional and formal is kind of true, but there are assholes everywhere. Sweden has them too, trust me. :XD:

The modern and high tech stereotype is true (at least I think so), but the not so religious stereotype... hmm... I guess it depends on what other country you compare it with? I dunno. I don't care. :)

But why on Earth do people think Swedes are big on metal rock??? What the Hell?

And yes, thank you for not writing about IKEA. :hug:
UltimateRidley's avatar
But why on Earth do people think Swedes are big on metal rock??? What the Hell?


Several metal bands are from Sweden, and many bands which are often considered among the best metal bands in the genre hail from Sweden. Scar Symmetry, In Flames, At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, Meshuggah, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, etc, all of which are considered among the best metal bands, all originate from Sweden.

Granted, claiming Swedes to love their death metal might be on the same level as acknowledging the black metal scene in Norway or the folk metal scene in Finland--they're in those respective countries, all right, but standard pop music probably still dominates in both.
hkepoetry's avatar
Most of those bands.... oh, how should I say this... I have never heard of them. :shrug: In Flames are the ones I know of, but the rest... nope.

I listen to mostly rock, but I can listen to almost any genre of music.
UltimateRidley's avatar
Oh I understand. It's like in America: we got loads and loads of metalcore bands here, but most people couldn't name more than one, and that one is probably All That Remains or some other well-known one. I just wanted to propose why that stereotype exists. :)
RiseofGreenBean's avatar
I just heard from somewhere that Sweden is the least religious country in the world or something...

And as a metal fan, I think the Nordic nations really love their metal. Sweden has some pretty good death metal, from what I see people say on youtube. I like Dead by April and Dark Tranquility. Why? Is metal not so popular in Sweden? Is Swedish pop all the rage?

You're welcome ^^. I noticed that almost nobody talked about the meatballs. I've never tried Swedish meatballs. Are they good?
hkepoetry's avatar
Yeah, I think we're one of the countries who are the least religious.... but I have no idea if we top the list. :XD:

But regarding metal, I have to say that even though we might have a lot of metal bands here in Sweden, I cannot name more than two, maybe three of the bands. It's not that I dislike the music. But I'm telling the truth when I say that I have never heard of 90% of the band names people throw my way, claiming them to be some of the best metal bands in the world. Whenever someone say "oh but Sweden has this cool band called "blablabla" and they are awesome!!", I'm like "I'm sorry, who?"

I don't listen much to Swedish Pop. I prefer rock. And asian music.

Swedish meatballs are the best! Nothing compares to a real Swedish meatball. :D
RiseofGreenBean's avatar
I've never tried Swedish meatballs before, and the only place close to home I know of that serves them is Ikea.

Ooh I have another one: the schools are very proper and teaching is a really good job to have in Sweden.
UltimateRidley's avatar
Why? Is metal not so popular in Sweden? Is Swedish pop all the rage?


From what I have seen, the death metal scene in Sweden to which you refer is about as prevalent as the metalcore scene in America (if you've ever been down here): You'll have to do a tiny bit of digging, but there's a whole community underneath. Otherwise, the country is probably flooded with pop music like most other countries that have a reasonably-sized music industry.
RiseofGreenBean's avatar
ahh I understand what you mean. It's like in most other countries where pop music dominates but metal flourishes underground.
UltimateRidley's avatar
Everyone is blond, all the girls are smokin' hot, car lights are always on, moose everywhere, the government is super squeaky clean, and all prisons are actually resorts.
hkepoetry's avatar
Hehehehe. I have to agree that the last one about the prisons might actually be true. :XD:
The rest are not, though. ;)
tamz1988's avatar
i've never heard anything about sweden unless it was in conversation about IKEA..