13 Annoyingly Common Australian Stereotypes, Ranked By Accuracy

    Turns out some stereotypes are true.

    Caitlin Jinks
    by Caitlin Jinks

    BuzzFeed Staff, Australia

    13. The murderous psychopath who lives in the outback.

    Roadshow Entertainment

    Thanks to old mate Mick Taylor, a lot of people seem to think every middle-aged man from outback Australia is going to kill them. You definitely should be careful in the outback, but that doesn't mean every bloke in a flannel is out to get you. So for obvious reasons, this is the worst stereotype.

    As seen in: Wolf Creek.

    12. The dumb, backwards Aussie.

    Fox

    TV and movies seem to represent Australians as a little backwards and incoherent. Not sure why it's always Australia that's singled out, but this isn't a stereotype we really want to celebrate.

    As seen in: The Simpsons.

    11. The surfer.

    Seven Productions

    WE. CAN'T. ALL. SURF. Yes, we proudly have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world but there are a lot of places in Australia that aren't even close to a beach.

    As seen in: Home and Away.

    10. The Drover.

    20th Century Fox

    I'm pretty sure a drover is someone who moves livestock over long distances in the outback, but they do a lot of this with trucks now too, so we're not all riding horseback.

    As seen in: Australia.

    9. The tough-talking crocodile hunter.

    Hoyts Distribution

    Look, I'm not going to lie, we do eat crocodile in Australia. It's not ridiculously common, but yeah, it's a thing in some areas (it's also usually very fucking overpriced). But that doesn't mean we just have crocodile hunters floating around. It's not like you can log onto Seek.com.au and find an opening for one. And if you can, well then shit, I guess I wasn't looking hard enough.

    As seen in: Crocodile Dundee.

    8. The hot blonde.

    Columbia Pictures

    Partly thanks to Margot Robbie and Chris Hemsworth, everyone seems to think we're a country full of hot, tanned blondes. Nah mate, I'm pale as fuck. This stereotype is trash because it means every non-blonde Aussie is usually told "you don't look Australian" by someone.

    As seen in: Ghostbusters.

    7. The wildlife expert.

    Animal Planet

    Most Australians don't know every snake breed and probably can't name every different type of spider. We can point out a brown snake and a redback spider but that's only because they're colour-coordinated.

    As seen in: The Crocodile Hunter.

    6. The funny yet, over-the-top Aussie.

    Universal Pictures

    For some reason, a lot of Australian characters are depicted as funny. I guess that's a compliment for our country??? While most Aussies have met plenty of un-funny bastards, this stereotype is kinda true. We do have a really unique sense of humour which is usually inappropriate. For starters, we love the word cunt, so that tells you everything you need to know.

    As seen in: Pitch Perfect.

    5. The bogan.

    ABC

    This stereotype is pretty prevalent on television (see Bogan Pride, Upper Middle Bogan, and Housos). Turns out there's some truth to this because every Aussie has encountered a bogan at some point. But you're probably a bogan too, and hey, there's no shame in it.

    As seen in: Kath & Kim.

    4. The drunk Australian.

    20th Century Fox

    Yeah, I can't really debate this. Australians are laid-back and some of us do like a drink every now and then, especially on public holidays. Whether you like it or not Australia, this is a stereotype that's pretty true.

    As seen in: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.

    3. The smooth-talking, sexy bad boy.

    Buena Vista Pictures

    I've literally never met anyone like Heath Ledger's character in 10 Things I Hate About You. Honestly, NEVER, and I've been living on this island for almost 25 years. That perfect, sweet man doesn't exist in real life because, from memory, most Aussie boys in high school were either really awkward or covered in ten cans' worth of Lynx spray. But at least this stereotype is ~sexy~, so we'll take it.

    As seen in:10 Things I Hate About You.

    2. The sports lover.

    Columbia Pictures

    People Down Under really do care about sport. I personally don't, but when you live in such a sun-drenched country, it totally makes sense that people would want to be outdoors a lot.

    As seen in: Funny People.

    1. The Aussie who fucking loves to swear.

    ABC

    True. All true. We love swearing. You can argue about it all day long but you'd just be wasting valuable swearing time.

    As seen in: Summer Heights High.