[2][3] The blog was created in January 2008 by a white Canadian, Christian Lander, a Los Angeles copywriter who grew up in Toronto[4] and graduated from McGill University in Montreal.

[citation needed] Although the blog "spurred an outpouring from those who view it as offensive and racist", it was not about the interests of all white people, but rather a stereotype of affluent, environmentally and socially conscious, anti-corporate white North Americans, who typically hold a degree in the liberal arts.

[9] The initialism "SWPL" has been adopted in some circles as a (usually pejorative) shorthand term for the type of people depicted on the blog.

A book (Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions) was released on July 1, 2008.

[10] Lander is listed as the sole author of the book,[11] although some of its content comes from the blog posts written by Valentin.