All last week, the H was off shooting in Reims (shooting a movie, not wildlife).
He returned home on Wednesday and last night I brought up that NYT article that I had linked to in a previous post.
Me: I read an article in the NYT that says that French people named Kevin or Jennifer have a hard time getting a job because their names are Kevin or Jennifer. Is that for real?
H and SIL: (simultaneously) Well, duh!
H: Everyone knows that Kevin is from a poor white trash family.
SIL: Yeah, and Kevin's parents watch too much daytime TV.
H: Yeah, the same goes for Jennifer's parents. She gets her clothes from Leclerc.
SIL: Oh, and Kevin has a mullet.
Me: Why does Kevin have a mullet?
SIL: Because. He just does. Because Kevin's parents watch too much TV.
Me: So? I don't get why Kevin has a mullet because his parents watch too much TV.
H: Because Kevin's parents live in the ghetto, or they live in the trailer park. Of course Kevin is going to have a hard time getting a job! You don't call your kid Kevin.
Me: Why not? Kevin happens to be a nice name. Kevin doesn't always have a mullet. Look at Kevin Spacey. He doesn't have one.
SIL: That's different. Kevin Spacey is American.
H: You don't get it because Kevin is an anglophone name, so it's very common.
Me: Yeah, so what's your point?
H: Kevin doesn't exist in France. It's like if named your kid Brandon because you are a big fan of 90210. Or if you name your kid Phoebe because you are a fan of Friends.
Me: Well, Brandon and Phoebe are perfectly good names.
H: Ah, to you they are normal names, but to the French it just means you watch too much TV because you are from a poor family.
Me: Well, this is all just very bizarre. What if Kevin wants to work in finance, and he can't because his name is Kevin?
H: Oh, Kevin doesn't want to work in finance.
Me: Well how do you know? Maybe Kevin has a passion for numbers. Maybe he likes math and he likes money. Let's say Kevin gets rid of the mullet and goes to HEC and graduates at the top of his class, cause he's really good at business but then he can't get a job because his name is Kevin, so his parents are from a poor family. Isn't that kind of unfair?
H: Kevin doesn't want to go to HEC.
Me: How do you know?
H: Because Kevin knows he has no chance of getting into HEC. Kevin's dad doesn't work in finance, so Kevin will not be working in finance.
SIL: Yeah. Kevin's going to keep his mullet and he'll probably be on welfare like his parents. No one is going to hire Kevin.
H: Yeah, Kevin wouldn't dream of working in finance. He doesn't aspire to things like that because he knows it's not going to happen.
Me: Maybe Kevin doesn't like living in the trailer park. I don't get why he wouldn't want to leave and work in finance if he likes numbers.
H: No. Kevin doesn't dream about stuff like that. He's never going to have a cool job where he makes tons of money. It's just impossible. That's just the way life is here. Kevin is from a poor family, and he is going to stay that way.
SIL: Yeah, 'cause his name is Kevin, so Kevin is going to be just like his parents. And even if he was good at numbers and stuff, he still doesn't have a chance.
Me: What about Jean-Pierre?
H: Oh, Jean-Pierre totally goes to HEC and is going to be like, the president of Crédit Lyonnais. Or Airbus.
SIL: Yeah, Jean-Pierre's dad is in finance already. So Jean-Pierre can work in finance too.
Me: Doesn't all this bother you?
H: No, it doesn't bother us because this is how it is in France. See, you're American, so you are considered naive, because you firmly believe that Kevin with the poor parents can become rich if he works really hard. But the truth is, that is almost impossible for Kevin. His dad doesn't work in finance. So Kevin doesn't know the right people. This is just the way life is.
Me: Ugh, how depressing. You are all just mean, MEAN people.
H: Um, you realize that "Kevin" doesn't actually exist? As in, you don't actually know any French Kevins?
Me: (all huffy) It's the PRINCIPLE that counts.
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13 comments:
Totally hilarious! But yet so true. Do you mind if I link to this to?
(Ha! Look at me stealing all your posts lately - I'm such an unoriginal blogger. But this stuff is just too classic not to share!!)
Hey Sam
Glad you thought it was funny!
You can go ahead and share it if you want.
I read about this principle too...hmmm, I live in a village full where plenty of kids have American-sounding names. And I thought it was a sign of open-mindedness!
There are a few Dylans here. What can we say about Dylans in France?
Hi Betty,
Hmm, well, according to SIL, Brenda, Brandon, and Dylan, being popular characters on 90210, area pretty much in the same category as Kevin.
I don't know that Brenda has a mullet, though. I guess maybe she uses a scrunchy...
"I guess maybe she uses a scrunchy..."
lol
This was funny, but pretty depressing, too. :ol It reminds me of the debates I had in my SE Asia philosophy classes and how the caste systems really, really got under my skin. I can't imagine a life without upward mobility, simply because of my name. Skin is already enought to have to deal with...now we have to worry about names, too? Ridiculous.
BTW, is this indicative of names that are only consistent with popular US tv show characters?
And if so, on a sidenote, wouldn't that require them, the business executive, HR rep, interviewer, or whatever to be familiar with (and to remember) the tv show and its characters to actually be able to recognize the names immediately when they see it? Meaning, don't they have to actually watch the show, too? :ol
Or do they just keep a list tracking all American tv show character names, so that they don't have to watch the show and...maybe I'm thinking too much.
Hilarious. (Sam sent me.)
And it's totally true, too! I used to teach in France, and can corroborate this.
Eclat- I think this is indicative of any name that is not French. H and SIL also pointed out that not only is it not cool to be named Kevin, but it is even worse if your name is Mohammed.
The Anglophone first names (which become popular through TV shows) are mostly indicative of poor white people. Not sure if HR/execs etc necessarily would recognize a Dylan as being named from 90210 but s/he would definitely recognize it as an Anglophone name. Then again, when something becomes popular in France, it is pretty hard to avoid hearing about it. So even if you don't watch Heroes, for example, chances are you already know that Claire is the regenerating cheerleader because that's all anyone ever talks about.
SAm sent me too.
I in fact know a Kevin who is a successful architect here in Lille. He has of course suffered because of his name, but he seems to live a normal life. Has a wife named Marie and a boy named Raphael. Now Tony or Jennifer or Brandon, that's different because I don't know any.
I came over from Sam's blog,too. Great conversation, quite funny. It's frustrating though that we're cast off as completely naive since we believe someone could change their social class by education and hard work. I encounter this attitude quite often.
I am still stunned that, as a Jennifer, I am white trash in this country. WTF?
Although that does explain my aversion to Jenifer (that Star Ac chick)...
Well, maybe every single time you introduce yourself to a French person, you should say, "Hi, my name is Jennifer and I'm American." Then all the French people will be like "Ahhhhh....you're American...." whilst secretly thinking, "Well, that explains the first name..." Then if anyone is snooty to you, you could just kick their scrawny asses.
I myself have perfected a look that says, "I Am Exasperated And You Are Rude And Politically Incorrect; Nevertheless I Shall Be Nice To You, You Ignoramus, But Keep Up Like This And I Will Bitch Slap You Hard"
So true. I was going to name my daughter Kelly, but one day out shoe shopping at Chaussland I think, I heard a large french white trash lady holler out the name Kelly and it ruined the name for me. My daughter ended up with a more european passe partout kind of name.
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