Pagan Stereotypes?

I was just wondering, what kind of stereotypes have you encountered and how has that affected your social life, relationships with friends/family, or even your own personal practices?

The two stereotypes I've seen from people who don't mistake us for Satanists are that we're either all unattractive women over 50 looking for an easy way to get sex, or that we're socially inept gamers who ran one too many D&D campaigns and got too carried away with roleplaying.

As hypocritical as it is, particularly because I've been a furry since 2002, these stereotypes did have power over me for a while and it took me a long time to be able to say "yes, I'm a Pagan" without expecting snickers and snide comments.

But then, that's the power of a stereotype. It doesn't have to be true to humiliate and shame.

Anyone else?

I think people worry too much about them being 'shameful' and not really understanding that they're usually partly true. Personally, I'm a nerd, d&d player, not the most social, overweight, and to like me some Firefly and Doctor Who. I am pretty stereotypical.

I also have a pretty strong beef with the Abrahamics and find fulfillment in my own personal expression of faith. I don't let people mock me for liking the first set of descriptors, so I'm not too worried about the fact I'm Pagan either. Modern Pagan expressions like Wicca, Asatru, and the like are pretty new; if not in existence at least in modern practice. It's easy for people to mock what they don't know and being Pagan does require thick skin sometimes. After all, if I'm a hellbound tool of TEH DEVIL, being called a nerd should be the least of my worries, eh?

Don't let the haters get ya down.

That's interesting that you mention stereotypes, I can't say I've ever encountered any other than "aint that DEVIL worship???" kinda stuff.
But that response is definately the minority...most people who ask me about Wicca and what it means just kinda smile and nod their heads and say "oh yeah, thats cool" when I explain to them that we generally run our lives in harmony with nature and we don't believe in the devil or hell (but that all "evil" is within man and he makes his own choices to act upon it).

I will say that Hollywood does its usual to perpetuate some of the stereotypes of witchcraft. If you ever watch The Craft, it does a pretty good job of making witches look like crazy teenage girls hellbent on having total power over everyone. :/ People can either choose to ignore the fact that Nancy's karma bites her in the ass at the end of the movie (the threefold law) or learn from it and know not to make the mistakes she did.

But then again...Hollywood and the media do wonders for Furries too don't they?