Manchester Stereotypes

 Manchester Stereotypes

Manchester aka Rain City. The city is well known for its music scene, iconic stereotypes, rival football teams, and of course, the thick northern accent!  

Manchester is home to a variety of music venues and record labels that changed the British music scene forever; Northern Soul, Factory Records, The Hacienda, and the popular Warehouse Project – just to name a few! It’s safe to say Manchester had a massive impact on British music culture and the subcultures too.

Over the years, some of these subcultures have changed slightly and new ones have been introduced, but overall the original Mancunian essence has remained within the following Manchester stereotypes… 

Disclaimer: This blog was written by a fellow Mancunian, the content may seem offensive, but as a proud Mancunian, the blog is simply a celebration of the cultural diversity within Manchester. 

The Manchester Girl

via GIPHY

Tik Toks latest craze, you may be familiar with the Manchester girl don’t hate me. song. 

The song was introduced as a revenge song in response to the recent documentary about the Grime scene in Blackpool. This has brought a lot of engagement on Tik Tok, with hundreds of British and American teens are posting amusing videos personating the supposed ´Manchester Girl´stereotype. Although this one of the Manchester stereotypes doesn’t apply to every single Manchester girl, were pretty sure that there will be some of them out there… Unfortunately, it’s an offensive stereotype for the females of Manchester and perhaps, is the modern-day version of the classic Chav.

This chavvy stereotype can be applied to the rest of the UK too. 

Key Characteristics: 

  • Fake tan
  • Lots of makeup – particularly concealer and highlighter
  • Constantly applying lipgloss 
  • Sometimes seen with a ´top knot´
  • Love for grime music
  • A bad and defensive attitude
  • Overuse of the word ´Fam´

The Hipster

via GIPHY

The classic Hipster. The funny thing about this Manchester stereotype is that no one really owns up to being a hipster. Over the last few years, the stereotype of ´Hipster´ has become a kind of insult, relating to anyone who is over trendy and who tries their very best to be anti-mainstream. Although the hipster stereotype is more of a fluid one, there are definitely a large community of Hipsters sitting in a coffee shop somewhere in the Northern Quarter or another gentrified part of Manchester right now, either working as a freelancer or adding a photo of their coffee art to their Instagram story. 

Key Characteristics:

  • Iconic moustache or beard
  • Pretentious personality
  • Large Instagram following with photos of house plants and coffee.
  • Rolled up jeans
  • Coffee-fanatic 
  • Either wearing a rolled-up beanie or a cap
  • Minimal clothing style

The Manchester Lad

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

Perhaps this stereotype is the male version of the Manchester Girl stereotype. A particularly rowdy, jack the lad character. Usually found in the student union, watching either Manchester United or Manchester City. This stereotype is a pretty broad one, and can most likely be found all around the UK, the class ´lad culture´, which is how the original Lad Bible came about (which was actually founded in Manchester). This sports lad stereotype is someone who spends most of their spare time at the pub or occasionally at the gym getting ready for the boys trip to Ibiza or Ayia Napa. 

Key Characteristics:

  • Love for drinking
  • Doesn’t take life too seriously
  • Usually part of a large group of lads
  • A wardrobe full of expensive hiking clothing, with no intention of hiking
  • When they aren’t in the pub, they are in the gym
  • Love for house music and The Warehouse Project in particular
  • Particularly strong accent with overuse of the word ‘lad’ 

The Wannabe Wag

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

This Manchester Stereotype hits the town most weekends with the hope of meeting a footballer but ended up with a Deansgate locks party promoter. A much more glam version of the Manchester Girl, with eyebrows, hair, fake tan and makeup described as ‘on fleek’. This stereotype is more likely to spend their nights out at Deansgate locks with a table and bottle of Grey Goose, with numerous mentions of the term ´squad goals´. Although, this stereotype seems to be more prominent in other areas of the UK, particularly in Essex. 

Key Characteristics:

  • Follows the Kardashians every move
  • Always looks good, even to go to the shop
  • Someone who goes on an annual trip to Ibiza or Dubai 
  • A wardrobe full of designer clothing
  • Perfect eyebrows and perfect nails
  • Large Instagram following of younger glam girls
  • Love for RnB or chart music

The Indie Kid

via GIPHY

This is probably the most original of all Manchester stereotypes, emerging from the Madchester culture back in the ’80s. The indie kid has derived from the rock culture which dates back to the successful Mancunian bands such as The Stone Roses. Lucky for this stereotype, there are lots of clubs and bars throughout the City that are still thriving with Indie rock music. This stereotype is hard to miss particularly in indie bars and clubs such as : 42s, fifth nightclub, the venue and of course the famous Factory night club. 

Key Characteristics:

  • Loves the double denim combination
  • Been wearing the same converse or doc martens since high school
  • Spends all of their monthly money on gig tickets to Heaton Park 
  • Most likely works in a record or vintage clothing store 
  • Hair is usually on the longer side
  • Owns at least one pair of skinny jeans
  • Chooses a rainy UK festival over a summer holiday every time

Although these Manchester stereotypes can be seen as somewhat offensive, the Mancunian culture is a diverse one and we couldn’t write about every single Manchester Stereotype out there, (there’s far too many, thanks to the prominent music and art scene). For the ones that we mentioned above, we know that all of you exist somewhere in Manchester. Do these stereotypes remind you of any of your friends or perhaps your University acquaintances? Comment below!  

Manchester is not alone in having many stereotypes… they can be found all over Europe.

Europe Language Café

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