Stuff White People Like (sometimes known by the initialism SWPL) was a blog that took a satirical aim at the interests of North American "left-leaning, city-dwelling, white people".[2][3] The blog was created in January 2008 by a white Canadian, Christian Lander, a Los Angeles copywriter who grew up in Toronto[4] and graduated from McGill University in Montreal. Lander co-authored the site with his Filipino Canadian friend Myles Valentin,[5][6][7][8] after Valentin teased Lander for watching the HBO television series The Wire.[9] Lander's blog became popular very quickly, registering over 300,000 daily hits and over 40 million total hits by the end of September 2008.[7] It has not been updated since 2010.[citation needed]
Christian Lander | |
|---|---|
 Author Christian Lander eating an everything bagel in Mar Vista, Los Angeles, California in 2008. | |
| Born | September 12, 1978[1] Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse | Jess Lander |
Summary
editAlthough the blog "spurred an outpouring from those who view it as offensive and racist", it was not about the interests of all white people, but rather a stereotype of affluent, environmentally and socially conscious, anti-corporate white North Americans, who typically hold a degree in the liberal arts.[9] Lander claimed to be lampooning contemporary versions of bohemian/hipster culture, and jokingly referred to other classes and subcultures of white people as "the wrong kind of white people". Despite the site's satirical edge, Lander regarded the people he described with affection and numbered himself among them, describing himself as "a self-aware, left-wing person who's not afraid to recognize the selfishness and contradictions that come on the left".[9] The initialism "SWPL" has been adopted in some circles as a (usually pejorative) shorthand term for the type of people depicted on the blog.
Publication
editA book (Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions) was released on July 1, 2008.[10] Lander is listed as the sole author of the book,[11] although some of its content comes from the blog posts written by Valentin.[6][12] The book remained on The New York Times bestseller list for months.[13] Lander was reportedly given a $300,000 advance by Random House, the book's publisher.[14] He released a sequel (Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews) on November 23, 2010.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Christian Lander". IMDb. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ Sternbergh, Adam (2008-03-17). "Why White People Like 'Stuff White People Like'". The New Republic. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ Stuff White People Like : NPR
- ^ "Special Canada Day Report: How Canada stole the American Dream". Maclean's Magazine.
- ^ "10 things white people like". The Boston Globe. 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ a b Valentin, Myles. "mylosh". Stuff White People Like. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ a b Rodriguez, Gregory (2008-02-25). "White like us". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ "'Sounds Like Canada". CBC Radio. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c Lisa Respers France (2009-01-29). "Finding humor in 'Stuff White People Like'". CNN.
- ^ Lander, Christian (2008-05-06). "Stuff White People Like Book Cover Released". Stuff White People Like. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ^ Lander, Christian (2008). Stuff White People Like. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-8129-7991-6.
- ^ Garrett, Diane (2008-06-11). "Book Review: Stuff White People Like'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Paperback Nonfiction". The New York Times. 2008-08-24. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- ^ Salkin, Allen (2008-03-30). "Why Blog? Reason No. 92: Book Deal". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ Lander, Christian (2010-09-20). "Whiter Shades of Pale: The Stuff White People Like, Coast to Coast from Seattle's Sweaters to Maine's Microbrews available November 23, 2010". Stuff White People Like. Retrieved 2010-12-22.