I'm gay. To many people it means that I'm:

• Artsy
• Feminine
• Unathletic
• Creative
• Musical
• A leftist
• An AIDS patient
  
• Sexually promiscuous

Let me be clear, none of those things mentioned are wrong or right. They are just human traits or conditions that people have. None are better than the other (perhaps, with the exception of being overly promiscuous and/or HIV positive -- for obvious reasons).

I have a very feminine gay friend who is the very essence of a stereotypical gay man: bartender, flashy, artsy, feminine, etc. But I'm none of those things. What he is, is perfectly wonderful and I like him that way.

But it annoys me that -- especially straight men -- tend to file me away into the "woman on the inside" file. This category -- again -- is perfectly fine. There are agreeably men who are that identity and who like that identity. I am not that. When people assume that this is me (which happens rather often), I get annoyed.

Contrastingly, I:

• Have zero artistic talent. None. Nor am I particularly creative. When my one gay friend visits, he threatens to seize my gay card for the lack of decoration (I only put pictures on the wall a few months ago). My furniture is bland and functional. This isn't because I don't care -- I do. It's just that, I sorta' like what I have at home. So what if I picked my furniture to match the cat fur!
• I'm reasonably masculine (but I don't feel the need to be more so just to prove I'm a man)
• I run (half marathons, ToughMudder, Spartan Race), I box (arthritis permitting), I bike. For a 38 year old fellow, I'm several times more athletic than even the cock-swinging breeders in my family.
• I have no fashion sense. I go in and see the same woman at Macy's and she dresses me. I don't do "fashion forward" nor do I care -- at all -- what I look like in my free time, though I'm not a slob either. I have a collection of colored t-shirts from Target + three pairs of jeans + two pairs of Vans that are my go-to items to wear about.
• I'm fairly centrist when all my political views are added up.
• Not even remotely promiscuous, though I have a pretty nifty sex-life with my boyfriend. Men love quickies -- we're the king & king of afternoon gummers and late night hand-jobs. That's quite a perk.

Quora User's answer to My 15-year-old son has a very caring, sensitive nature—too sensitive, I think, for a boy—is he gay?

Being a black male with dark skin, broad shoulders, and a large, imposing frame, I'm all but used to people subconsciously being aware or afraid of me whenever I walk into a room. Here's a photo of myself on the far left at the gym.

Believe it or not, the guy in the middle is about 230 lbs of solid muscle. He was my high school cal/trig teacher and track coach. I wasn't nearly as big back then (15 years ago), but you get the picture.

I've seen people at traffic lights reach over and lock their car doors after glancing at me pulling up next to them (This isn't GTA, folks!), I've been eyeballed or physically followed in certain department stores, and I've also been riding the elevator and seen a group anxiously walk to the elevator, before seeing me (the only passenger), giving me The LOOK, and then patiently waiting to catch another elevator.

It's migrated from being annoying to humorous for me mainly because I'm one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I was a youth pastor for several years, so kids of all ages tend to gravitate to me, especially toddlers(I hear they're great judges of character). I volunteer as a mentor to young males, and I'm very articulate and knowledgeable(or so I think!). My close friends actually nicknamed me "Google" because I tend to have a receptacle for so much random knowledge.

I have managed to notice that people usually receive me MUCH different depending on the type of attire I wear. My personal and professional attire consists of suits and business casual attire. However, I may feel the need to rock jeans and Jordans every now and then, and that is when I experience a much more obvious level of apprehension.

I DON'T sag my pants, wear do-rags, have tattoos, or walk around reciting rap lyrics or using Ebonics, and yet people seem to be so pleasantly surprised after about a minute of meaningful conversation. Don't worry, though, I'm a lot more comfortable being the unassuming specialist. When people have low expectations of you, excellence can look like you're walking on water. I'll take that. :-)

1st edit:
I just thought of something else that really grinds my gears: I just recently bought a Buick Lacrosse(I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? And No! I didn't put rims on it either! LOL) and as I was at the gas station filling it up, a couple of white guys filling up at the pump across from me stopped to admire the car. It didn't bother me at all until they asked me with sheer excitement,"Hey! do you know if Shaq could REALLY fit in that car from the commercials?"

Word? You know what, guys? Let me grab my Black access top-secret cell phone that has every Black person's number in it, so I can confirm with Shaq whether or not they needed to use Green screen to fit his big ass in the car!

I didn't do that, but rather responded with a brief chuckle and wished them well, but couldn't help but SMH as I got in the car. And these weren't rednecks, either; these guys were in suits and ties, and probably worked for companies that have HR policies that would frown on this line of questioning at the least. Nevertheless, it is what it is.

2nd Edit:
I'm so sick of everybody thinking that just because I'm Black, that I'm

1. A liberal, or
2. That I'm a loyal fan of Barack Obama

I can tell you the policies I agreed with from every president from Teddy Roosevelt on down to good ol' W., and I'm not beholden to any voting bloc whatsoever. I can enumerate to you with prodigious detail the convergence and divergence of my support and dissent of our current president's policies and political ploys, and if you try the whole "you voted for him because he was Black" thing, just make sure you're ready for a demonstration of the violent stereotype! (just kidding)

Black people are not a monolith!!!!! We don't have secret, closed door meetings where we determine who'll win the BET awards and what new phonetically challenged names we are going to assign to our kids every year, just to damn them to a life of economic and employment instability for years to come. We are a group that is only defined as a group based on our perceived collective:

1. Color
2. Culture
3. Consciousness

And even those three have varying shades within the spectrum of human experience.

I am a Kenyan, and recently I traveled through some European countries and was asked the most weird questions (that are based on some stereotypes about Kenyan people);

1. So, your from Kenya? Can you run a marathon?(not all Kenyans are marathon runners)
2. Wow!!! You're really fluent in English! How did you learn it so fast? (Dude! like....seriously? I have been speaking English since I learnt how to talk, is 2 decades fast for you?)
3. So do you have a lion in your backyard? (Yeah, and I speak Lion too, and if you keep asking me silly questions, I am gonna call my Lion from my backyard to come and eat you).
4. I had a friend who comes from 'Africa', her name is Thande, do you know her?(poker face then sigh)
5. So how is life in "Africa"? (Because Africa is a country and I get regular updates about what is happening in every corner of the continent by morse code, because you know, Africa is so backward, there are no phones or internet)
6. Every time someone asks me to tell them about something about 'Africa', in my head, I am putting their mutilated body in a bathtub and pouring acid on it, it really annoys me. How can you claim that you are from a developed country with a good education system(and probably fast and widespread internet access) and yet you don't know anything about the world? I thought that was part of Geography?

And there is no way I can deal with these issues, I get so drained from explaining things to people that now I don't even try, I just give them a sarcastic response.
Oh well, a day in my life. :)

I am a fat female, therefore I:

-sit on my ass and eat junk food all day
-don't care about my appearance
-am lazy
-am stupid
-don't care about the opposite sex
-automatically envy thinner women and wish to be just like them
-hate thinner women, automatically
-wash down Super Sized, Fast Food meals with gallons of diet soda because I think the diet soda will negate the calories I've just eaten
-am smelly, I don't bathe regularly
-am white trash
-look for sympathy
-should listen to random strangers who will say rude things
-cant get laid, ever

In reality, I am none of these things and do none of these things. I love fresh fruits and veggies. I rarely eat meat or white bread. I don't drink soda of any kind. I don't overeat. I smell quite nice, thank you very much. I've had many friends who were beautiful and thin, and there were so many reasons not to envy them. I despise fast food. I have a condition called PCOS that makes losing weight an absolute bitch, and causes a 10 lb weight gain every time I glance sideways at a cookie. I don't mind exercise-I love to swim, I love to dance and I like yoga. Unfortunately, I had a little accident this year that prevents me from doing any of it now, and it makes me extremely sad.

Some of the Jewish stereotypes are pretty easy to deal with, like the stereotype that we’re pretty smart. I was talking to a very chatty African cab driver once, and I asked if he was Somali. He said yes, but he’s not from Somalia, he’s from Ethiopia, so I asked if he’s from the Ogaden (an Ethiopian region that’s mostly Somali). His eyes opened wide and he said ‘Yes! How do you know that? Are you Jewish?’ and I said yes, so he quietly nodded as if that explained everything.

I'm a stay-at-home dad.

Now, when you read that, you are likely to picture any number of stereotypical images.

Beyond those images, people, especially men, immediately lose respect for you as a man.

They picture you in the equally stereotypical image of women making dinner with an apron on, cleaning the house, talking baby talk to children, going on play dates, watching talk shows, gossiping, etc.

And if you think I'm merely assuming that they do, you're wrong. You can tell in the mannerisms and things they say after hearing that you are a stay-at-home dad.

"Man, it must be nice to not have to go into work everyday!"

F*** you. I work harder than you do because I'm home raising two boys during the day, then spending family time when their mom comes home, and then when everyone goes to sleep, I'm up until 2am working.

"Man, it must be nice just chilling out every day, doing nothing!"

Nothing? I get the boys up for school at 6:45 am. Make them breakfast. When they come home at different times, I'm there to welcome them. I make lunch. I play with them. I put them down for a nap. I work when they sleep. When they wake up, I'm at their beck and call. During summer, there is no school so they are home the whole day. And yeah, when everyone finally goes to sleep, I'm up for hours into the night working my career job.

"Hee hee. You got any good recipes?"

I can't cook. I can make a mean corn dog in the microwave or a PBJ. Give me a grill and I can make some burgers and dogs, just like you. But say that again. Seriously. Say that again;)

They honestly do treat you like a lesser man.

Women can often do the same. Try being a dad with kids at the playground during the day. You will often feel ostracized. Like you don't belong. Like you are invading some sorority meeting.

Now, this isn't always the case. And yes, we live in a different time where this is happening so much more often. Virtual offices are increasing each year.

But it's still taboo to most, whether or not people will admit to that.

That all said, I wouldn't change it for the world. I struggle with my own insecurities and above annoyances, but I wouldn't have it any other way beyond giving my wife a chance to do the same.

I work my ass off. I try my best to raise my boys right.

I'm a guy just like any 9-5 working guy. I just work harder and have more responsibility than most can possibly imagine;) And I have an increased respect for women. Both career women and homemakers.

The general stereotype is basically the Mr. Mom image. A man that has a wife that is more successful than he. A man who is not really a great catch because he's not a doctor, lawyer, business owner, manager, foreman, driver, engineer, etc. A man who can't bring home the bread for his own family.

I'm a writer and consultant. I don't need to work in an office. I don't need to work a 9-5 job. And my "situation" allows my children to have a parent in the house during their childhood 24-7. Beyond that, I'm a guy just like any other guy. I'm a man just like any other man.

Don't call me Mr. Mom. Just call me a man trying to be the best father and husband he can be.

That because I'm deaf, I must be dumb. It surprises people often that...

• I can talk.
• I can lip-read.
• I major in Physics.
• I graduated from Caltech.
• I'm in the PhD program for Physics.

How do I deal with it? Can't hear people talking behind my back, so it doesn't bother me. Is this what you call a win-win?

That because I go to Caltech, I can do any homework problem you give me.

• I like doing homework problems, and filling in gaps, and teaching. But like Jessica pointed out, I have plenty of other non-academic interests when my brain is tired of thinking. It's not that huge of a deal, since it's not like I hate doing random problems, or helping people. Just not all the time.

That because I'm overweight, I must never go to the gym or work out.

• I love food, who wouldn't? I like learning how to cook, and make all sorts of different things. But I also love working out. This part doesn't bug me as much either because it's not something people argue about to me. I've only had one person be absolutely convinced that I've never set foot in a gym my entire life. shrugs It's not that huge of a deal since I do what I want, and I'm pretty confident in my ability to do what's good for me.

Because I am 35, married, with little kids, I must have no social life outside my kids.

People I've known for years are surprised to find out I go to the pub after work with colleagues every now and again instead of rushing home every night. Like hubby couldn't possibly do the kids dinner and bedtime on his own!

New people I meet at my once a fortnight, regular night out with friends (a mixed gender group but not including my husband) are surprised when they find out I have kids and a hubby. I have even been told that I was being disrespectful by being out and about at night talking to other men! Lord forbid a man might be interesting as a person! I must want to sleep with him! (Wish I'd punched that guy.)

And don't try to organise a night out on the town with other couples who have kids. They don't seem to understand why we wouldn't just do something kid friendly and bring the munchkins. Doesn't anyone else want adult time?

Even my own mother tells me how she and my father didn't go out together for years when us kids were little. Cause a date night with my love, some quality couple time to keep us strong together, that's just selfish!

So yeah, that stereotype of the martyred house bound mum gets my blood up.

As an aside, hubby goes out after work and spends time with friends separately to me too. And no one ever says anything to him!

I'm a woman so:

I can't be a geek/nerd
I don't know anything technical
I must not like horror, action or sci-fi films
I must like romance, rom-coms and disney
I must want kids
I must like pink and purple
I must have liked princessy barbie things growing up
I must care about fashion, style and make-up
I must like "glam" magazines and celebrity gossip

None of which is true.

Stereotypes work like this:

As a teenager where I live the stereotype that I'm up to no good and am probably lying and being generally bad applies to me and a lot of my friends.

Also people generally go about think I'm stupid or at least don't know stuff, I once had an elderly guy ask me about what I thought about Hemmingway's 'A Farewell to Arms' and I told him in a bit of detail what my opinion was, then he says "Wait, how old are you?", expecting a nice reply I told him, instead he put the book down, rolled his eyes and walked away.

Honestly the baddest thing I ever did was pass through the cinema to get into a re-showing of 'Annie Hall' after the lady at the counter thought I looked 15- probably because she thought "what 14 year old goes the cinema on his own to watch a 70's rom-com?":)

Generally I cope with this stereotype by just shutting it out and trying to prove it wrong when I can. I also don't really understand it because all the people who say it were my age once, so if they had carried this stereotype back then I often question why they enforce it nowadays.

After all, although some teenagers now do stupid things, we aren't all stupid and up to no good and neither was any group of teenagers before us so I don't see why the stereotype stands and why it should effect anybody.

I guess some of us hang around on street corners, or listen to loud music, or drink alcohol when we shouldn't, or do bad in school, or have strangely coloured hair. But most of us are nice. :)

Because I'm originally from Sri Lanka, and still speak with an accent, people expect me to have a poor command of English.

I'm often asked simple questions, enunciated s-l-o-w-l-y.

"Is it HOT in your country?"

"Do you like the SNOW?"

After several years of knowing me, people realize that I have a better than rudimentary grasp of the language. Then they assume that I learnt English after I came to the USA. Mentioning Sri Lanka's British colonial legacy is usually of no avail.

(As a Physics faculty member, I'm required to clarify quite a few abstract, non-intuitive concepts!)

Added on 6/23/13

It confuses people to see me play classical piano. I guess this stems from the perception that everyone in the developing part of the world has grown up in a mud hut. I've even been told "I didn't know there were pianos in that part of the world".

A stereotype I deal with as a psychologist and therapist is that people I meet outside of my practice will assume or even say "So, are you analyzing me?" I don't know that it's exactly annoying, but it happens so often that I find myself wanting to roll my eyes and say "Really?" so I guess it is a little annoying.

No, I'm not analyzing you or trying to figure out what your issues are or discover what makes you tick any more than you probably are trying to do with me. Believe it or not, that's actually hard work and unless you're going to pay me what I'm worth, I'm not going to analyze you. I don't work for free. So relax. Now tell me about that dream you had last night....just kidding!

I am an Indian male in the Software Industry and living in London. But I am not a software developer. You get it...

I am the director of a company. But everytime I say someone I am in the IT industry I get "Of course I thought so. You guys are all in IT"

And the icing on the cake is a really reputed guy in business was surprised to see me in this position!!! And he even did congratulate me. Damn guys my race has nothing to do with my success except it just adds up to it.

I wear a lot of black and have a lot of tattoos.

People seem to think that this means a few things.

1. That I'm into S&M.
2. That I do drugs.
3. That I drink. A lot.
4. That I'm "goth".
5. That I could never have a good job looking the way I do.

Even if I was into S&M it is absolutely NOT any of the strange guy on the elevators business. I've been asked if I have a dungeon in my basement. Women confide weird sexual secrets in me and a lot of men treat me in that "I know your secret" kind of way that makes women want to puke.

I did the TINIEST amount of experimenting with drugs when I was about 18 and that was just pot and LSD. The only reason I know anything about drugs is because of the patients I've chosen to focus my nursing career on. I can tell some damn crazy drug stories but I've most certainly never been around for them. I work at a drug rehab for fucks sake.

I had a year of nothing but alcohol. Driven by grief. One year out of 39 where I really DID drink a lot. I had years where I was a social drinker. For the past 5 years I've almost been completely abstinent. I just don't like what it tastes like and I don't like not being in control of my body or my thoughts. It's not fun for me. Again, I work at a rehab!

And, I'm not goth. I'm not 15 years old. I'm not crying out for the attention of my parents. I don't ENJOY the security people at stores following me around because they think I'm going to steal something. I don't wear lace clothing. I don't dream of suicide and think death is cool. Crying isn't beautiful. Trying to be scary isn't HIP in my world.

I've been a nurse since 1994. There's never been a time that I didn't have a job other than the year after my husband died and I was unable to work. I never had to take an undesirable job because I couldn't have the one I wanted. I've always gotten outstanding yearly reviews and my bosses almost always loved me. The ones who didn't were the ones who had me help with their statistics homework and didn't appreciate that instead of me just DOING their homework I TAUGHT them what they needed to know. *Oops, there's a shitty side of me I don't hide well.* Some people will never understand that tattoos and cat glasses don't make my brain work slower and less efficiently.

How do I deal with it? I don't. I'm not going to start hiding my tattoos and wearing pink sweaters to please the masses. I go to work and come home. That's it. When asked about any of those 5 I just give them a brief answer and move on. Maybe they don't believe the answer but, hell. They don't pay my bills. They don't make the rules in my house. They don't share the couch with me on movie night. What do I care what they think about me?

Being Hispanic AND white seems something impossible, a contradiction in the US.

They simply don't understand that there are actually white people in Spain, and that Latin America is a melting pot, just like the US.

For them there's this mysterious race "Hispanic" which nobody knows if it's a cultural definition or an ethnic one.

So a white guy from Spain and a Mexican Indian fall in the same category because, hey! They speak Spanish so they must be the same race...

Whenever I visit the US I usually have conversations like this:

What's your last name?
Gonzalez.

You don't look Hispanic...
Really?

You have an Irish mother, right?
Nope.

Where do these blue eyes come from?
My parents, I guess.

Where are they from?
Spain.

(Bewildered face... End of conversation)

I grew up in Alabama and wound up with a humanities PhD. I moved out of the South at age 21 and am now 55. When someone asks me where I'm from, that person often follows up with amazement: "You don't sound like you're from Alabama!" This often proceeds into some kind of backhanded compliment. Translation: Southerners are unsophisticated and stupid. It's stereotype by exception, like a sports announcer's old compliment of a black athlete's articulateness.

The analogy I often run into: Media culture, television especially, is saturated with Southern characters who speak with ignorance and in exaggerated drawls. As often as not, the character comes across as a hillbilly or blissful racist. Exceptions exist, but this is a persistent stereotype that is created out of ignorance. Such characters are trotted out with frequency when writers and producers are looking to embody pejoratives that seem to imply bigotry, lack of general intelligence and trailer park lifestyles.

Just because I am Indian, people at the restaurants ask me if I need hot sauce, sometimes irrespective of what I order. If I say No, they look at me with an "are you sure?" expression on their faces. This happens to me all the time! Sometimes, they just add hot sauce to my take out, even without asking me. Yesterday, I ordered some Orange chicken at the Panda Express and the lady there asked me if I needed some hot sauce along with that.

How do I deal with it? Yes! Please give me all the hot sauce you have, I am going to mix it with water, coke, ice cream, salad, soup, pancakes, everything under the sun and devour it.

Two stereotypes apply to me.

I'm a virgin, have never been kissed, had a girlfriend, anything.
Originally I was planning to answer this question anonymously, but now I think it doesn't really matter, as I shoudln't be ashamed of it. To make it clear here - I'm not looking for sympathy or fishing for compliments, it simply annoys me when I see so many of the ridiculous stereotypes about adults who are still virgins.

I realise it doesn't matter if you're still a vrigin, but by the time you're 25 as I am, it does look rather odd. Anyway, here are a bunch of stereotypes that people bandy around, in Hollywood films, in comedians' jokes etc.

Stereotype 1. I'm completely desperate for sex. I never think about anything else, I lust after every woman I see, sex is all I think about. Absolutely not true for me. I can tell just like everyone else if a woman is physically desirable or not. I don't decide I'll take anything that might come my way, simply because it's sex. I realise sex is establishing an emotional attachment - I won't just do that with any one. I'm not desperate either. When I was at school, at uni, there were numerous chances for me to take advantage of drunk friends or random girls at parties. I would never dream of doing such a thing. I still have morals!

Stereotype 2. I'm a saddo. I don't have any female friends and very few male friends. I just sit in my flat all day getting fat on takeaways, jerking off to porn. Nope. I do have quite a few male and female friends. I do socialise with people plenty! I have a healthy diet, and a very active lifestyle. I don't watch porn, and I definitely don't jerk off. I never have. I am not passing judgement on those who do, it simply never really appealed to me.

Stereotype 3. The reason I've never got anywhere with a girl is that I have unrealistic expectations. I expect every girl who approaches me to be a super model. Again, this is a stupid stereotype. I realise I'm not good looking. I definitely don't expect stunning girls to fancy me - indeed I would automatically be suspicious if one started flirting with me in a club. I have realistic expectations in a girl - and, corny as it sounds, I actually do put quite a lot of stock by peoples' personality, likes etc.

Stereotype 4. I'm like the dude in the 40 year old virgin. My only hobbies are exclusively male activities like fan conventions, and collecting figurines. No, not at all. I dislike sci-fi. I do have a lot of very male interests (football, tennis, golf, martial arts) but also activities women do as well (theatre, marathons etc). I am not a star trek fan at all, don't collect anything in particular.

Stereotype 5. I'm embittered towards women because they don't fancy me. I'm sexist and misogynistic. Why would I feel that way? You don't get angry at someone if they don't fancy you! If women don't fancy me, that's fine. I don't get angry with them, and I won't trot out the 'nice guys finish last' line either. I'll never have a Ferrari, but that doesn't mean I'm bitter and mean because I will never own one!

Stereotype 6. Maybe I'm gay, that would explain it. No, it wouldn't, as I'm not gay. I have never fancied men. I have fancied several women. Again, nothing wrong with being gay, but I'm not anyway.

Stereotype 7. I'm a mummy's boy, never properly grown up. I probably live at home with my parents, I'm just not 'man' enough. Hmm. I served in the army, am a PMC now. I run marathons, go to the gym regularly. I'm used to being away from England for long periods of time in foreign countries. I've been shot before, have had 11 stitches to my face without any anesthetic. My mum is dead, and I havn't seen my father since I was 16. I live on my own in central london. Does that make me man enough yet? Sorry for that mini-rant, but it really annoys me when I see in films/hear people suggesting that's why guys are still virgins, that they still live at home. Although even then, nothing wrong with living at home.

Stereotype 8. I have psycho-sexual issues - maybe I had a bad experience as a child with girls? Not really, no! I wasn't abused or anything. When I asked a girl out aged 16, and when at 18 I asked another girl to go to prom with me, and both refused, I don't think that profoundly depressed me. I havn't been abused or have sexual trust issues.

Stereotype 9. I've got it! You're one of those religious freaks! You believe all sex out of marriage is sinful, you're saving yourself! Nothing wrong with saving yourself I guess, but again, as I don't hold those views, that's not the answer, so don't apply this stereotype to all virgins.

So, there are the main stereotypes about being a virgin. If I hear more bandied about, I'll add them.

*********Edit*******

I've just got a message from someone who read this post. That was quick! He asked me a number of questions. I will answer them here, but if you have more, just put them in the comments box below.

1). Are you at all depressed about being a virgin, never having been kissed etc?
It depends when you mean. Between about 16-21, yes I was very depressed. At parties I could see everyone else getting off with girls, and I was the odd one out, left all on my own. I was depressed, took to drinking more and more. At the lowest point in my life,aged 21, I could drink a whole litre bottle of vodka over one evening when I was moping. So I suppose the depressed stereotype did, in fairness, belong to me at that point. But that all changed when I was 22ish, got my life in order. Now, I've just learned to accept it. Like taxes and the dangers of my job, it's regrettable, but you've just got to put up with it, no point moping about it. Obviusly, occasionally I do feel bad again. Especially around Valentines' Day, because you've got to put up with all the adverts and films etc. I do also watch no rom-coms, and when going to the cinema, will not go to films couples will go to (stuff like the notebook). Again, I don't feel depressed, just a brief down feeling, but I'd still rather avoid that.

2). You tried going to a hooker? No, and I don't intend to. Partially I don't feel comfortable doing it in terms of the lack of any emotional attachment, also I suspect I'd feel worse about it afterwards, and see myself as pathetic.

3) You awkward around girls? To a degree, I do conform to this stereotype. I am very social once I am friends with someone, but before then am very shy, especially around girls. But I am more confident around girls, can have conversations easily, but can't go further. Yes, I've tried so many books and courses to increase my being at ease around girls - none of them worked for me

4). What do you think about the whole 'Be patient, there is someone out there for everyone'?. Please don't trot out this cliche, please! I've heard it so many times from so many people - not directed at me, but I've seen it on yahoo answers, forums etc. Even if there was someone for everyone, I might very possibly never meet my someone. The world is pretty big, and it's got kinda a lot of people in it, most of whom I'll never meet. And even if I did meet my someone, I would be too scared to further anyway.

5). Do many people know about your still being a virgin? Well, if I don't include any readers of this answer, as you guys don't know me in real life, All of three people know about my still being a virgin - my two best friends and a doctor. Of the three: One friend I told when we were 17 and he asked why I was looking so depressed, the second friend when at uni aged 21 he realised how much I was drinking each night, and the doctor he took me to to check if I had alcohol poisoning (as mentioned above, I could down a bottle of vodka over maybe 5 hours on a friday evening and only appear slightly tipsy.

I'm a Private Security/Military Contractor

This is certainly much less of a stereotype than most of the other answers - perception of blacks, gays, republicans, germans Page on etc.it's less of a stereotype than the virgin one I just talked about. But it still really hurts me when I hear it.

1. You're stupid. Sadly, a lot of people who will highly praise members of the military will automatically asusme that PMCs were too stupid to get any other job.
2. You're disloyal to your country. Most PMCs are ex military. Many people who I have met have either supposed that I only quit the army because I was thrown out for some reason, or that I abandoned helping my country simply because PMCs are paid a lot more. Well, the majority of ex-military PMCs have honourable discharges from the army (means you never committed an offence during your time in the army, you were one of the good guys). They deffo weren't thrown out of the army. Regarding my monetary motives - quite honestly, I left the army because I wanted something new to do. It is true that the money does play a large part for most PMCs. But as I discussed in another of my answers, that is because we don't necessarily have pensions, sick leave, the newest equipment etc. If we get killed, often our widows won't get money from the company, whereas soldiers' wives would from the government.
3. You're a mercenary. A mercenary is someone who fights for any side, whoever pays them. That is not what almost any PMCs do. Guarding a base/embassy etc is different. You're not going out with an automatic command to kill (let's say, any Taliban members you see). Mercenary is, to my mind, somewhat derogatory when describing PMCs.
4. You're a heartless bastard who likes murdering innocent civilians. Unfortunately, some PMCs HAVE done this kind of thing. But incredibly few of them. Most don't. I have never done anything at all like that. For that matter, no one in my company has ever done anything like that either. I don't assume that as you are black, you are going to steal my wallet, or as a muslim, you are going to blow yourself up, or as a Catholic, you believe all gays should burn in hell, or as a Republican you own a cowboy hat and pickup truck, spit out tobacco juice, own 11 guns and lynch blacks, or as a gay, you obviously can't like football and beer and have to love fashion. Because these are all stereotypes. A few people will fit every stereotype. But the vast majority of people don't come into this category.
   

So, I dislike all of these stereotypes. Whilst there is a grain of truth in them in that a few PMCs are like this, the vast majority are law abiding and decent, doing a difficult and dangerous job to the best of their abilities. Don't forget - everyone you guys get a tax break, cuts in the ministry of defence, the only reason these cuts are possible is because of PMCs who carry out these jobs.

Just because I’m pretty, popular, have a sweet voice and was raised like a princess, people think that I

• Spend most of my time looking after myself, putting on makeup, or going for manicure & pedicure almost every day.
• Love seeing myself in mirror all the time and feel smug when anybody praises me for my looks
• Am a dumb & stupid girl.
• Do not like doing household chores, and instead of cleaning & dusting my house I prefer doing the above mentioned things
• Hate even setting a foot inside my kitchen and don’t know how to cook.
• Being a teacher, can’t teach my kids properly because my voice is too polite and soft, and I can’t handle the kids as they look older than me.

But in reality

• I hate going to salons and spending time there.
• Although I love dressing up for any occasion, I squirm with embarrassment if anybody compliments me on how I’m looking.
• I have done masters in two separate fields altogether and love reading and learning new things every day.
• I am a cleanliness & organizational freak and love looking after my house. Decorating it, cleaning it and apart from that doing all the stuff which is considered to be dirty, I do it with élan.
• I am a fabulous cook, which to my dismay, after marriage my husband said – “It’s like a bonus for me, I never thought you could cook so well!!! “, He had known me for 4 years, but never realized I could cook as well.
• I handle my kids (my students) pretty well. I can throw a temper tantrum. I can raise my voice anytime I want if I’m not being paid attention to. And yes, my students love me :)

The worst part is, that this has happened to me at every stage of life. Whether I was in school, or my college. My post grad or my job after that. I've faced the same questions & same glances all the time, and the only way I deal with it is a smile. Either I politely say, Yes I can cook, or simply smile sheepishly if somebody says I'm looking nice.

And I simply ignore the looks of those people who imply that I get my work done by just looking pretty or naive. They can just go to hell !!!

That South Indians in general must have moustaches.

To be clear, I'm from Chennai (a city in South India) and have always been clean shaven, and the only times I get a moustache is when I'm too lazy to shave for days on end. This is a very common stereotype that can be found in India and almost always creeps up during a first conversation with a stranger. Almost every second person I meet, as soon as they realize I'm from Chennai invariably goes:

"Oh, how come you don't have a moustache? All your South Indian actors love sporting large, bushy ones don't they?"

This is true, however. Your typical South Indian actor looks like this:

Or like this:

Okay, I'm kidding. These aren't exactly typical but Google any South Indian actor's name and 9 out of 10 photos of him would be with a nice and bushy moustache. South Indian actors have a way of taking vintage fashion trends and making them cool and dandy in today's world (at least that's what they think they're doing) and you have the general populace following in their footsteps - so don't be surprised if you see men of all age groups, little soon-to-be-adults to grown-ass men flaunting some very creatively shaped cookie-dusters when you make your way to South India.

But, as is with all trends, it doesn't apply to all which is why the question irks quite a bit.

How I deal with it? Well, most of the time, I just shrug it off and mumble something about how I think they're ridiculous and annoying to maintain, but there was this one time I actually said, "Well, I did have one until your mum asked me to take it off, because it was tickling her too much".

Luckily, I got off with just a punch in the face that day.

I often get this said to me.

"So YOU are Anna, the woman everyone has been talking about. "

Then most often, I get stared at from head to toe and from toe to head and I know exactly what is going on. The image they have of me in their mind is not the image that they see in front of them.

This always suprises me.

I have been published in my field.

For some reason, there is always a disconnect with their mental image of me and me.

I have been told things like.

"I thought you were a man."

" You don't look ... that smart."

Even though the urge is still there, I no longer strive to convince whoever has pegged me as a dumb blue eyed blond with long legs wondering who I must have slept with and who I plagiarized in order to get where I am.

I figure the problem belongs to them and I simply turn my back on them. Honestly, it gets old. (Oddly, men and women have had the same type of reaction.)

But... I must say that on a personal level it was sometimes fun to dumb down the approach in order to be a serial monogamist for a night. Needless to say, I get bored very easily...

Anecdote

One time, I got chosen for a particular project and I was actually surprised to have been chosen and I had not realized that everyone on that project was at least 10 years older than me and all men. I am a 29 year old pup and the only female with men in their late thirties and early fourties. At first, I was a bit confused but having been raised with boys in the middle of nowhere was a good training ground for me in that situation.

Anyway, in a burst of anger a middle aged man storms in my office and says in a very angry voice which reminded me of one of my hunting dogs challenging me by growling. Anyway, he says: "Who the f**k did you blow to get this job! ?"

Out of pure reflex, I got up, (I was taller than him), told him that I could chose to remember this conversation or ignore it when I have to do his yearly performance review. Then I put my lips together and he slowly backed out of my office. Sheesh... so much for the welcoming committee.

Because I am from India, I cannot speak English
Not true. We learn English from the age of two. They teach us to spell and encourage us to read before we can walk. In fact most elementary school kids in India read and spell better than most American kids at that age. And most kids speak at least 2 languages. Some of my friends are fluent in six - making their multilingual cranium a power to reckon with in the future. I come from a society where schooling is a competitive privilege and unfortunately not a basic human right. And nobody feels sorry for you if you cannot make it. You have to strive for what you want and claim what you think is yours. Learning English is not an option if you want a career. Plus, in a country that speaks hundreds of different tongues, English is sometimes a necessary unifying standard and a binding force.

I tell people to visit India some day. The people who drive your buses and fold your laundry might surprise you with their vocabulary. Speaking English is our adaptation for survival. Not a foreign language. Far from the truth.

For a more light-hearted reply:

I half wish I came out tanned with dark eyes like my brother, everyone assumes I'm Russian/some other Eastern European ethnicity..."so where are you from?" "Israel." "Oh...really? And your parents are from..? "(Really asking, you don't look like you're really from there) "Russia/Poland, European jews..."

--

"Oh! You must speak good Russian"

I can, but not as good as everyone assumes, and Russians get really disappointed. (wtf?)

At work, a year after working there, they still ask me to read the documents in Russian, no matter how many times I say I actually have no reading and writing ability.

I dunno, I deal with it by busting out my Hebrew I guess. Israelis also don't assume I'm Israeli so I get to listen in on conversations and surprise them.

:-)

That I've nothing better to do simply because I live alone

People presume that I've all the time in the world just because I don't have a husband or kids. They wonder what I do after going home from work, they wonder what I do on weekends and other holidays. They expect me to travel across the city to visit them because they're so tired and tied up with the 5 day job, the household chores, the kids, the spouses. Yeah, like since I'm single and alone, I don't have any laundry to do.

I don't do much about it. Often I don't respond to them because it's beneath my intellect to state the obvious. Sometimes I just tell them that I can't visit them 'coz I need to catch my beauty sleep, try a new restaurant and finish a book or a movie.