Stuff White People Like

stuffwhitepeoplelike.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2008

Stuff White People Like is a satirical blog cataloguing tastes and habits of liberal, upper-middle-class white Americans.

What HN saysHN commenters use it as shorthand for a bland, politically correct liberal culture, and argue over what it says about racial identity.
38HN people shared it
36linked it in comments
3stories submitted
6story points
3 years agolast shared
2008people per year2026

Most-shared posts

  1. 1
    Homepage
    9 people · first shared 2008
  2. 2
    28 not having a tv
    5 people · first shared 2009
  3. 3
    122 moleskine notebooks
    4 people · first shared 2009
  4. 4
    The TED Conference
    2 people · 3 points · first shared 2011 · 1 comments on HN
  5. 5
    Stuff White People Like: Being Offended
    2 people · 3 points · first shared 2010 · discussion on HN
  6. 6
    17 gifted children
    2 people · first shared 2009
  7. 7
    18 awareness
    2 people · first shared 2009
  8. 8
    106 facebook
    2 people · first shared 2009
  9. 9
    75 threatening to move to canada
    1 people · first shared 2008
  10. 10
    104 unpaid internships
    1 people · first shared 2009
  11. 11
    88 dinner parties
    1 people · first shared 2017
  12. 12
    9 making you feel bad about not going outside
    1 people · first shared 2016
  13. 13
    120 taking a year off
    1 people · first shared 2012
  14. 14
    85 the wire
    1 people · first shared 2010
  15. 15
    128 camping
    1 people · first shared 2010

What HN people wrote when they linked it

nandemo · 2010-02-15
Please don't take it literally. I meant SWPL as in this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ and thought it would be understood. What I mean is stuff that is too "liberal", too bland, too politically correct for my taste. A bit hypocritical at times. It's just my opinion; perhaps I should have phrased it differently. This is only tangentially related to race, by the way. People all over the world (including me) love classical music etc, but by using a derogatory term I'm implying only the stuff I dislike. ;-)
frankus · 2009-12-11
It's hard for me to pin down just what it is about this article that sticks in my caw, because a lot of his points are spot on, either with regard to me or with regard to people I've worked with in the past. If this guy were a programmer, talking about what sort of management structure works for him, it would probably seem thought-provoking, if flawed. We've all met pseudo-intellectual types in our business, or those that are always following the latest fad, or those who have decided that they're too old to learn anything new. In fact most of us (I know I am) are guilty of these sorts of things ourselves. But because he's an outsider we're put on the defensive, and the whole thing comes across as condescending and insulting. It's especially biting because there's an element of truth to it. We're being judged not as individuals, but as part of the biased sample of bad apples from dysfunctional organizations that this guy has dealt with. This must be what being a victim of prejudice feels like. EDIT: Now that I think about it, this is how I felt the first time I stumbled upon http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/, until I realized that a) it's a joke and b) the author is very, very white.
throwanem · 2016-07-14
> https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ which embraces and celebrates "white" culture Seriously? Have you read it at all?
balls187 · 2016-07-13
I think you've missed the point about racial identity. White people do get to embrace their identity, but how it's how they do it that matters. "White pride", for better or worse, is closely linked to "white supremacy." That is different than, https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ which embraces and celebrates "white" culture, without demonizing other cultures.
mechanical_fish · 2010-08-11
Presumably it's a reference to this site: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/ And, yes, that is what it means. I guess http://stufftheuppermiddleclasslikes.com didn't test as well.
maukdaddy · 2010-04-15
Oddly enough that list seems to correlate with: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
callmeed · 2009-06-25
Reminds me of Stuff White People Like http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/22/17-gifted-children/ "Because an astounding 100% of their kids are gifted! Isn’t that amazing?"
bokonist · 2008-11-09
The suburbs are isolated because of the decline of the school system. Parents are unwilling to put their kids in schools will they will get harassed and bullied by lower class kids. "Public schooling" results in private communities. It used to be that the richest people in a city would live blocks away from the poor and the working class. That rarely happens anymore because of the association of location with schools. As for universities - the top universities have a rainbow of skin colors, but the culture is overwhelmingly "Whiter Person" - http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
agentgt · 2016-09-08
I can't properly describe the cultural phenomenon but there is a sort of intelligent/privileged/rich get-out-there demographic that has been on a steady incline for some time causing gentrification of many rural areas. Sort of a cross between totally-stoked-Mountain-Dew-guys + farm-to-table-vegan-tatooed-hipster + do-not-really-have-to-worry-about-money + love-ridiculously-over-hoppy-ipas + own-four-bikes + sustainable-forever + into-outdoor-shaming-others [1]. I'm not that knowledgeable on demographic groupings but I think you know the type. Yes stereotypes are dangerous and I hope I don't offend anyone. EDIT: btw to be clear I don't have any problem with above mentioned traits (as I'm not far from it myself). IMO I prefer it to the rural stereotypes I grew up with which is toting guns and killing animals for sport (which again sadly I don't actually have strong feeling against either). However I do hate IPA beers. The over hoppy beers have to stop (I'm stout, porter guy). Also if you are looking for a similar city to Billings I just recently visited Flagstaff Arizona. Flagstaff is pretty darn cool. [1]: https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/20/9-making-you-feel-bad-abou…
andirk · 2023-02-18
You're not supposed to speak unkind of Apple products [0] or its peripherals North Face, Patagonia. How is any operating system supposed to log everything an application does and then remove it? If it's allowed to add data beyond its birth directory, would not an "uninstaller" only remove whatever the devs chose to and not 100% of its effect on the OS? [0] https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/30/39-apple-products/ Sent from my MacBook Pro
aedron · 2017-11-13
That is how you should always interpret the "how are you?" question. Don't just say "I'm fine" - talk about what you did today, what you're going to do tonight, or tomorrow, or in the weekend. That's usually a good jumping off point to talk about some other topics. Also: https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/03/18/88-dinner-parties/
somberi · 2016-04-11
Obligatory Pun on the Chinese restaurant names: https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/31/45-asian-fusion-food/
mhartl · 2012-10-09
I do have a point, but I think you'll be more inclined to consider it if you first make a guess yourself. So, what might my point be? Hint: Read some more of the entries at http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/ and ask the question, "In what way might these posts be more than just jokes?"
burgerbrain · 2010-11-21
I think it probably has something more to do with this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/02/24/122-moleskine-notebooks/
pdelgallego · 2010-09-06
"If you find yourself trapped in the middle of the woods without electricity, running water, or a car you would likely describe that situation as a “nightmare” or “a worse case scenario like after plane crash or something.” White people refer to it as “camping.” " -- Stuff White People Like http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/08/14/128-camping/
p3ll0n · 2010-07-14
For a more humorous take on this issue check out http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/07/31/106-facebook/
fgf · 2010-06-05
I find the glimpse into such a surreally horrible society fascinating (and cool) too. You should read this: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/05/28/101-being-offended/ Those who enjoyed this should google "viceland north korea" for a very cool documentary.
roedog · 2010-02-10
Talking about not having TV is a way to feel superior. http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/26/28-not-having-a-tv/
cturner · 2009-08-02
Yet I can't help but laugh at stuff like this. "As with many white people activities, being vegan/vegetarian enables them to feel as though they are helping the environment AND it gives them a sweet way to feel superior to others. For further evidence, note how the vegetarian world has increasing levels of extemism (no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fish, nothing that has been cooked, etc)." http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/27/32-veganvegetarianism/
yan · 2009-07-21
I’m part of the 2% of Americans that doesn’t own a TV. I haven’t had one for 7 months now and I don’t miss it. I just can't help but think of: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/26/28-not-having-a-tv/ every time I read that. I gotta admit, I'm 100% guilty of the same, but doesn't mean I can't smile every time I come across it.

Keyboard shortcuts

/Search
j kNext / previous blog
EnterOpen selected blog
vVisit the blog site
fFollow / unfollow
lSwitch grid / list view
dSwitch dark mode
g hHome
g pTop posts
g tTopics
g fFollowing
g lLiked
g yHistory
g qFAQ
EscBack / close