Where do these 2 stereotypes come from?

During segregation, black people weren't allowed to use public swimming pools. So black kids grew up not knowing how to swim.

Freed slaves often sold watermelon.

Gay men were often feminized in media. Even today that's pretty common.

I don't think either of those stereotypes hold up to scrutiny.

Also, watermelon is loved by many people all over the world.

Also, there is this sort of a summer beach activity in Japan called "Suikawari," (スイカ割 translated as watermelon splitting) which is where a watermelon is laid on a a tarp and people have to try and break the watermelon with a stick while blindfolded, but before they hit it, they have to spin around in place a few times.

Considering the number of black people who live on Caribbean islands, I’m surprised the stereotype about swimming persists, yet it does.

I remember the last time I went camping with my family before I left home. We went to Lake Camanche, and a white kid was interested in my younger sister. She told him we weren’t staying long, as she had a new summer job waiting. He asked her if she wanted to go swimming, but didn’t realize she had just had lunch, and she declined.

I heard him say, "You folks really don’t swim, do you ?"
I tried not to laugh. My sister just looked at him, and he continued, "so what will your new job be ?"

She didn’t blink. "The neighborhood pool where we live. I’m a lifeguard."

Because it’s true in some cases fried chicken too

But it’s also true of everyone but also some of them don't like their hair to get wet

i always cracked up at this steoreotype, because i love watermelon and i cant swim. Im biracial 😅

girl is gender neutral these days, like dude or bro. idk the origin

pretty sure white people didn't often allow enslaved poc learn to swim bc then they would have more means to escape. being brought to america, black people chose to drown in the ocean than suffer in slavery. i would guess as they were freed, and poor, and segregated, they didn't have much access to public swimming pools or time to go

then for watermelon, as black people were freed, they grew watermelon to sell and become self sustaining. but white people didn't like that and made a lot of negative propoganda about it

Africans brought watermelon from Africa to the US.

I have heard that the swimming thing comes from several things. One being the fact that during segregation, black people were not permitted to use public swimming pools (and likely never learned to swim as a result, creating generations of black people avoiding swimming altogether).

there are also other extremely old stereotyps that persist - that Germans are rigid and obsessed with order for example. that 1 can be dated to at least pre WW2 and still rpesent