Many countries have a traditional foodstuff that is a national delicacy, but which outsiders find hard to stomach. So much so, that it can be used as a test as to whether you are a real local or not. In Taiwan it is “stinking tofu,” in Iceland it is rotten shark meat called “hakarl,” and in Japan it is smelly fermented soybeans called “natto.”
In Japan in the 1980s, I once asked a waitress for a natto maki. “No,” she replied, “you will have a ham sandwich because foreigners prefer ham.” “But I am a foreigner and I like natto,” I said. “No,” she said again, “you will have ham because foreigners prefer it.”
The point of the story is that once I had been categorized as a foreigner, a number of other things followed, regardless of the situation or the context. Categorization is a useful summarizing tool, but since it leaves context behind it can also be dangerous.