Typical Californian

Typical Californian

More then three thousand miles from home, I am walking down the streets of a small town in up state New York. As I look around I notice several kids about my age, whom appear to be watching me from the corner. Suddenly as I turn to walk away I hear one of them speak... "Dude, are you from California? Do you surf?" This is one of the typical responses I have received throughout my travels. I have met several people from several different areas around the United States, most of which seem to have the same stereotype. Most believe that people from California are "gnarly" surfer dudes. For some strange reason the rest of the world seems to have come to the conclusion: that in California everyone is a surfer or beach bum, it is always sunny and hot, and the water is always warm and crystal clear. This stereotype has been around for years.

It may have started from TV shows such as Bay Watch, or even Saved By The Bell. They stereotype everyone as a blond attractive surfer, or a beautiful half naked beach babe. Even now, new shows are appearing such as Malibu, CA, which cast the typical Californian stereotype. Most of the show is filmed on the beach with everyone in board shorts or bikinis.

For the most part all people from California are stereotyped this way. My own experience has revealed that the California stereotype refers to men as well as women, as being unintelligent, lazy, stoners (people who smoke marijuana or do drugs). Although some people from California may be this way, it does not mean that all people in California are this way. This statement was a generalization turned into a stereotype. Another generalization turned into a stereotype is that all of California is: hot and sunny, with clear skies, warm beaches, and clear, clean water. This couldn't be further from the truth.

First off, not all of California is a beach. There is the Sierra Nevada mountain range, as well the Mojave Desert, which contains Death Valley (one of the hottest places around). Most people in central and northern California rarely visit the beach because it is cold and far away. Secondly, most of the beaches in California are not hot, sandy, clean beaches. In a study done by surfer magazine, it was found that very few beaches in California have what is considered warm water. In fact, in about 90% of the beaches in California, the water rarely surpasses seventy degrees. Not only is the water in California considered cold by most, but also it is very polluted in many places. In Redondo Beach, where I grew up, the water barely passed safety regulations. Often when it would rain, beaches would be closed due to sewage runoff. To top things off, many beaches in California are not even sandy beaches. In San Onofre (one of the best surf spots in southern California) it is mainly a rocky beach. The shore is made up of mostly small round rocks about the size of a baseball.

In California, not everyone is a surfer, and not everyone walks around in board shorts, or bikinis all day. A lot of times the weather is cold and overcast. Only during summer time heat waves does the air temperature reach above and beyond eighty degrees on the beach. In the valley it is an extreme, uncomfortable heat, while in the mountains it snows