Current Events > Why are black people stereotyped as bad at swimming/afraid of water?

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's weird because generally the stereotype is they are athletic...

I think it has to do with traditionally many pools not letting black people in. but anyway, anyone can learn to swim. the human body is suited for swimming naturally. most people can easily learn they just have to get past the mental block that "they can't".

Many black people live in urban environments with limited access to places to swim.

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these are my best guesses as to the origin of the trope:
-the people who jumped overboard and drowned rather than becoming slaves in the New World
-segregated swimming pools

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Also, black women refuse to get their hair wet, not sure if it's related (although it seems to be because they're wearing an expensive wig or they have some weave that took 4 hours to do).

Its wet and cold

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__aCEr__ posted...

Many black people live in urban environments with limited access to places to swim.

This.
Really its institutionalized racism.

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Doesn't hold true here in Florida, everyone can swim

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Many black youths are raised in large urban areas where swimming is not a readily accessible activity.

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In boot camp before we did our swim qualification one of our Drill Instructors told the platoon Were gonna lose at least half of our dark green Marines tomorrow.

I think we dropped 8-9 recruits that next day, all except 1 where black. Its a pretty funny stereotype in the Marine Corps.

But its not genetic or anything, if youre from a landlocked state with no public pools around where are you going to learn how to swim?

Because access to a pool is a priviledge.

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Because:

• Slaves being transported would throw themselves overboard to escape the terrible conditions on the boats
• During slavery/post slavery black people would be tied up and thrown into rivers/lakes to be killed
• Segregated pools
• Poor neighborhoods generally dont have recreational swimming

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OffTempo posted...

Because:
* Slaves being transported would throw themselves overboard to escape the terrible conditions on the boats
* During slavery/post slavery black people would be tied up and thrown into rivers/lakes to be killed
* Segregated pools
* Poor neighborhoods generally dont have recreational swimming

I think your first two points are a bit of a stretch. The bottom 2 are more likely reasons

GodIsImaginary posted...

Also, black women refuse to get their hair wet, not sure if it's related (although it seems to be because they're wearing an expensive wig or they have some weave that took 4 hours to do).

This is women in general.

And black women typically have to do much more maintenance on their hair to actually style it. They cannot just wake up, brush it, and go out. This includes natural hair.

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OffTempo posted...

Because:
* Slaves being transported would throw themselves overboard to escape the terrible conditions on the boats
* During slavery/post slavery black people would be tied up and thrown into rivers/lakes to be killed
* Segregated pools
* Poor neighborhoods generally dont have recreational swimming

This basically summed it up.

Poorer neighborhoods also mean stuff like no swimming PE classes or access to anything like that.

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As everyone else has pointed out, it's largely the results of centuries of oppression trickling down.

if they make a white men cant jump spin off and in the movie the black guy is beating everyone in swimming. would it be racist?

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GodIsImaginary posted...

It's weird because generally the stereotype is they are athletic...

Why are you asking? Will you use the knowledge obtained in an attempt to help dismantle the stereotype?

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My brother (who is black) jokes that you never hear of black people getting attacked by sharks because sharks don't come to your door.

Anyway, I didn't know this was a stereotype. I always used to see black people at the pool. Probably just another one of those random things that may have had some basis in reality a long-ass time ago.

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My black friends are all terrible at swimming btw lol

I think its cuz inner city youth don't have access to pools iirc. That's where it comes from >____>

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NeonOctopus posted...

My black friends are all terrible at swimming btw lol

I think its cuz inner city youth don't have access to pools iirc. That's where it comes from >____>

Public pools have been available for ages now. The issue is that they don't get formal swimming lessons from instructors, probably due to cost. Though I think you can still get them at the Y.

Annihilated posted...

Public pools have been available for ages now. The issue is that they don't get formal swimming lessons from instructors, probably due to cost. Though I think you can still get them at the Y.

I thought maybe it was just me so I didn't mention it before but the inner city tends to be the only place where swimming pools are free. >_>

Last time I checked YMCA, they were asking $70/mo for a membership. It's the reason I haven't swam in years at this point.

In fairness, they might have a "just the pool" membership that's cheaper but if so it wasn't in the brochure.

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Annihilated posted...

Public pools have been available for ages now. The issue is that they don't get formal swimming lessons from instructors, probably due to cost. Though I think you can still get them at the Y.

Are public pools generally available in every neighborhood? What are the odds that a parent, who probably also doesn't know how to swim, will feel comfortable taking their kids to a pool?

It's a systemic issue that will require more than public pools (which cost money to enter) and a few Y locations (also pretty pricey in my experience) to fix.

I didn't really know the stereotype as I am originally from up north.

But I lived in east point Atlanta and the apartment complexes had pools, but they were all only 3 ft deep.

I asked a black dude (before someone makes a smart comment, pretty much all my neighbors were black there) that was at the pool why that was and he kinda laughed at me and said "y'all know most of us can't swim, right?".

That was my first exposure to it.

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DevsBro posted...

Probably just another one of those random things that may have had some basis in reality a long-ass time ago.

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I'm black and can barely swim. My mom can't swim. My cousin can't swim.

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CrimsonRage posted...

but because they were denied decent swimming areas for so long, swimming never became a part of black culture.

As recently as the 60s, black people were barred from public pools. That's only two, two and a half generations back. That would be your grandparents were not allowed to swim in public. If they didn't know how to swim, they almost certainly didn't teach to swim or take their kids (your parents) to the pool. Maybe if generational poverty and systemic oppression hasn't hit your family too hard, your parents could have signed you up for swim lessons. It's unlikely though.

I'm white and can move around in the water alright.

I can clumsily move to one side to the other.

If I stop I'll sink like a rock.

But I've never really tried since I've only been in water above my head like three times in my life.

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DevsBro posted...

I thought maybe it was just me so I didn't mention it before but the inner city tends to be the only place where swimming pools are free. >_>

Last time I checked YMCA, they were asking $70/mo for a membership. It's the reason I haven't swam in years at this point.

In fairness, they might have a "just the pool" membership that's cheaper but if so it wasn't in the brochure.

I don't know much about YMCA membership, I didn't think one was even required. Everything I've heard was that it was a low cost place for kids' fitness and youth activities. That's a steep price though, more than many gym memberships charge, and LA Fitness has pools too.

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They weren't allowed in white pools. I believe segregation law required them to have their own facilities.

You don't tend to see public pools much anymore because apartment pools are so common now, and there are always gyms too of course. Honestly this stereotype doesn't seem to hold up that much anymore from what I've noticed. I'm sure people of all races who live in inland cities don't do as much swimming.

Then why isnt it also a latino sterotype when they generally grow up in similar neighborhoods?

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eston posted...

Doesn't hold true here in Florida, everyone can swim

Thats what I thought but mad dudes dont know how to swim. My best friend is from Jamaica and cant swim and only his brother out of the rest of his siblings can swim IIRC.

Im from NY and didnt learn how to swim until I moved to FL.

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I dont know about you guys, but swimming is required in high school in my state.

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My dad never learned how to swim because he wasn't allowed in the public pools as a kid, and a few of his friends that tried swimming in the Mississippi River ended up drowning because they were still beginners. Despite my mom being Asian and from a small island, she doesn't know how to swim particularly well either.

If your immediate family doesn't know how to swim, you're probably not gonna have many instances to learn yourself. I learned how to swim (well, not drown) because my extended family members had a pool, and because we live close enough to beaches.

cuttin_in_farm posted...

This is women in general.

And black women typically have to do much more maintenance on their hair to actually style it. They cannot just wake up, brush it, and go out. This includes natural hair.

I'll admit that dealing with my hair after swimming sucks. If I swim at the gym, I rewash and moisturize my hair again after dealing with the chemicals. Then I have to pick it and style it. Too time consuming.

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because many older black parents didn't know how to swim and didn't teach their kids. its a pretty big issue in my area since its coastal and people go to the beach, so schools and YMCA's and rec centers in many poorer neighborhoods have been pushing free swimming classes for the last few decades.

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The majority of Black Americans can't swim.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-11172054
A recent study sponsored by USA Swimming uncovered equally stark statistics.
Just under 70% of African-American children surveyed said they had no or low ability to swim. Low ability merely meant they were able to splash around in the shallow end. A further 12% said they could swim but had "taught themselves".

I live near the coast, around 25 minutes away anyway (NY) and quite a number of my black friends still couldn't swim, I couldn't believe that when I heard it at fast.

I can swim. If I didn't learn how to swim while in college with 3 Olympic sized pools being available around the clock, I probably wouldn't know how to swim now because I'm not gonna hop in a river, lake, or ocean.

My old apartment building had a pool but you could also stand up anywhere in it so that doesn't really count, and not counting that I haven't gone swimming in 5 years now. So yeah, access is a huge problem.

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Access and sociological factors definitely come into play here. However, there are physiological reasons as well. Black people tend to have a lower body fat percentage, higher bone density, and a lower center of gravity than white people. All of this contributes to less buoyancy and swimming ability on average than white people. It also contributes to the better sprinting ability.

Before anyone thinks I'm making this up:

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/71/6/1392/4729362

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Scientifically, African Americans have more dense bone and muscle structure on average and it takes them a lot more effort to stay above the water. If you want to get into stereotypes, I don't do that nonsense.

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Never heard of that stereotype.

Sounds similar to whites can't dance or have no rhythm,

I feel kinda good for, when I was a swim instructor at the YMCA, helping a few dozen black adults learn how to swim. I mostly taught children but I also did some adult classes.

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r4X0r posted...

Scientifically, African Americans have more dense bone and muscle structure on average and it takes them a lot more effort to stay above the water. If you want to get into stereotypes, I don't do that nonsense.

Heh, I was wondering when someone was gonna bring up the racial pseudoscience of black people supposedly having denser bones.

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Growing up where Im from, public schools offered swimming lessons as early as 1st grade and outside of school, swimming at public pools is a relatively cheap summer activity. Most people I know, black or white, know how to swim in some capacity... This is obviously an issue of having easy access to learn.

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r4X0r posted...

Scientifically

You have a source/citation, then?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZKo_enssAQ

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tbqh, i'm not so sure about this reasoning. You never really see black swimmers in the Olympics that are super competitive vs something that is black dominated like any running competition.

If it was a sociological thing it would be tied to more of a by country basis, not worldwide.

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