Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 15:38:43 -0400

From: Jason Wilke wilke[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NJ2.N-JCENTER.COM

Subject: Re: Gum-chewing



On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Bethany K. Dumas wrote:

Now I am fascinated:



girl? All Amis do that to some extent. It's what made me stand out

among my friends back home. That can, to some extent, be associated with

the effect of chewing gum -- and also with the type of person that

stereotypically chews gum.



Most of the people I know who chew gum do so immediately after a meal at

which lots of garlic was served.

WHO "stereotypically chews gum" these days?



I suppose that changes according to the times, actually. My grandmother

chews gum, and I used to on rare occasion. A lot of people chew to prevent

smoking, too. I was not trying to slight regular gum chewers (my, isn't

this the truly PC list?).



Nowadays, gum may be linked to garlic eaters and ex-smokers, but the

stereotype that I was referring to was the waitress in the diner at the

counter or the school kids that hang out behind the gym. Valley girls

are known for chewing gum (hence my previous reference) as well as

baseball players (although they also chew other nasty sh-- that I

wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole). Generally, these "gum-chewers" are

only slightly educated, somewhat ambitious, and fit into the image of

"classic" America. These "classic" images are a large part of the

perception of Americans around the world.



Jason Wilke

wilke[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]n-jcenter.com