Erasing INFP stereotypes

I loved the blog post about the ISTJ stereotypes. My sister is ISTJ and she’s anything but unemotional! So I’d like to tell you about the INFP stereotypes I find annoying.

All INFPs are sweet, innocent, harmless people

You know about Elliot Rodger, the kid who killed six innocent people and was proud of it?

He was a looping INFP. Just read his manifesto: “I’m the supreme gentlemen and I suffered so much…” That’s unhealthy Fi and Si all over the place.

I’m not saying that all INFPs are mindless killer, not at all. Most INFJs are nothing like Adolf Hitler after all, and most INFPs don’t act like Elliot Rodger. Healthy INFPs can be very likeable but an unhealthy INFP can be downright nasty. I remember a homophobic INFP girl who would send hundreds of insults on a gay activist blog. Whenever people told her to stop trolling, she would say that only her personal values mattered (unhealthy Fi) and being gay was sooo wrong and she was soooo misunderstood and special and people were sooo wrong to “bully” her… Poor girl.

INFPs are depressive and suicidal

An INFP in a loop can be depressive, yeah. But all people can be depressive.

An INFP who uses his/her auxiliary function can be very happy. Some time ago, an INTJ told me “hey, you INFPs are so annoying, you cannot be happy if you keep thinking the world is unfair”. I tried to tell him that making the world a (slightly) better place actually makes me happy. Even small things can make me happy. Why not?

INFPs don’t care about the real world, they live in their own little world, with fairies and unicorns

I’m an author. I enjoy writing fairy tales. And you know what? I know they’re fairy tales. I can write a story that begin with the words: “there was a ghost in the wardrobe” but if I hear something in my wardrobe at night, I just think “oh no, my cat is inside!”

INFPs have Te. They reject things they don’t believe they need. Is there serious proof for astrology? No? then I won’t believe in astrology.

INFPs never make decisions

Same thing. I enjoy movies and books yet I know I cannot live with only movies and books. Saying INFP cannot make decisions is like saying ISXJs have no imagination or EXFJs cannot think logically. Everyone uses all of their functions.

INFPs are selfish, INFJs are selfless

All types can be selfish or selfless. The problem is, when you read type descriptions, INFJ always sound better than INFP so a lot of INFPs mistype themselves as INFJ. Hey, when a healthy, altruistic, likeable INFP appears on fiction, he/she is always mistyped as INFJ: look at Trudy Monk and Sally Sparrow.

This is not an attack against INFJs. One of my best friends at school was INFJ and she was awesome! But Fi people can be altruistic. I know Fi users who donate their blood or are anti-racism activists. How you USE your functions matters.