Scots in Scotland are highly aware of the “stingy” stereotype, which is actually less prevalent in the UK nowadays than the “dour, Calvinistic” stereotype which is often used in relation to Gordon Brown by the press. The other one that we get a lot is “rabid nationalist / English-hater”.

I always think the epitome of horrible stereotypical Scottishness is Groundskeeper Willie: he lives in a spartan hut, he’s grumpy, misanthropic and possibly violent, and he talks with an accent not known in actual Scotland. Practically the only one missing is “drunken”. Oh, and there’s the red hair. I am bemused to find that everyone in mainland Europe thinks Scots have red hair and green eyes. Scots think typical Scots have dark hair and blue eyes.

Sorry to go on and on. This is (obviously) the main set of cultural expectations I come across in daily life, so the only one I have much to say about.

I used to live in a town that was actually called Berlin before the outbreak of WWI and there is a thriving community of Germans, many of who can trace both family lines straight back to Germany. Yet I never had anyone specifically tell me that they were of German descent until I moved to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

I found it really bizarre too because most of them who offered up this information were only 1/8 to 1/4 German, but there was a real sense of pride to have any German ancestry in the area.

The difference is, though, that while they did this, it wasn’t necessarily as successful, because to many other Americans of all races and ethnicities, these immigrants were Black. Yes, maybe accented, maybe from Jamaica…but still Black. So whereas a person of European ancestry can choose to ignore their Polish ancestry if they want, and it’s unlikely people are going to know they are Polish and think of them as Polish if they don’t bring it up, a person with African ancestry can reject an African American identity…but it’s still important to outsiders.

As for the terms, Waters used data from the U.S. Census, which asks first about “race,” then about “of Spanish origin” (i.e., Hispanic), and then “ancestry.” So “South African” could be EITHER a Black or White ethnicity–the person would answer the racial question first, then pick from a list of ancestries (the equivalent of ethnicity, more or less).

Also, with all due respect to Mary Waters’s book (which, I admit, I haven’t read), I often see Latinos and Blacks actively emphasizing various ethnicities, depending on the social context. I know a couple of Brazilians, for example, who sometimes highlight their African roots, and sometimes their South American roots. I haven’t really seen this done when a Latino or Black person was running for office, but that’s probably because I don’t live in a place where too many Latinos or Blacks run for office.

Etain, you’re absolutely right that Whites aren’t always claiming an ethnicity or ancestry to be “neat,” and Waters makes that clear in the book–that the identities can be just as strong and meaningful for Whites as for anyone else, obviously. But it appeared that in many cases, they were held fairly loosely and meant little more than celebrating St. Patrick’s Day if a person was Irish or maybe eating some special type of food at Christmas. That doesn’t mean they’re not meaningful, but it does indicate they are more optional than, say, being Asian American is in the U.S., since outsiders are unlikely to enforce an Italian identity.

But I wouldn’t at all want to speculate about how White ancestries work anywhere else.

And thanks for the info about the harp as a symbol of Ireland!

In my experience living with and around immigrants from all over the world, that a white person doesn’t always choose to recognize their ethnicity to be “neat,” sometimes they just are of that culture and relate to it naturally and strongly like any other ethnic group member.

As a Scot who has worked in genealogical research, though, I have met a great many Americans who do make much of their Scottish ancestry (or express an interest, even if they don’t have it). There are enough of them that 15% of visitors to Scotland are there in search of their roots (and the majority of these are North American, with an Australian minority).

There’s also the phenomenon where women of my age get highly overexcited by a) men in kilts, b) “sexy Scottish accents”. (English girls do this as well as Americans.) I find this an interesting example of objectification!

Something weird about this election has been the number of people (supporters all) who’ve told me that Obama isn’t “really” black. To which my response (viz. “What is he, then?”) is met with some confusion.