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Browsing Tags Stereotypes

That’s So American

October 11, 2011 · by Nikki

Here it is, the moment all of you (Americans) have been waiting for: the follow up to my Fact & Fiction about the French post! Or in other words, a giant list of sometimes funny, sometimes surprising stereotypes that the French have about Americans.

  1. Americans are friendly
  2. Americans are fat
  3. Americans always have a coffee or tea in their hand (and only drink Starbucks)
  4. Americans eat the same foods over and over
  5. Americans are loud
  6. American girls are easy (putting it lightly)
  7. Americans are good in business (see what I said about surprising? Clearly no one is paying attention to the economy in the US)
  8. Americans eat all the time (some of them have developed this stereotype by being around me…)
  9. Americans alone are great company, but in a group they are obnoxious
  10. Americans eat a lot of hamburgers/cheeseburgers
  11. Americans are ignorant (i.e. they don’t know what’s going on in the rest of the world)
  12. Americans only drive big cars/SUVs
  13. Americans cannot drive manual transmission vehicles
  14. Americans are generally unhealthy, and take a pill for everything
  15. American men always wear t-shirts under a button-up (very atypical of European style)
  16. A lot of Americans have guns

Try to take these with a grain of salt, if you can. The thing I find interesting is not what the French think of Americans, but why. Maybe it’s from movies, television shows, or the news. Or maybe it’s what they’ve learned from personal encounters with Americans. In any case, not all of these are true, but some of them are – at least some of the time. And there’s a good chance I’ll continue to add to this list as I hear more “Americans are …” statements.

And maybe the next time you hear someone say “All French people all smoke cigarettes,” you can be reminded of the time you heard that the French think Americans always eat the same foods, and you can laugh and know that it’s probably not quite like that… 🙂

Ciao!

48.868711 2.417708

Fact & Fiction about the French

September 15, 2011 · by Nikki

As I was preparing for the big move to Paris earlier this year, I received countless “words of wisdom” (read: warnings) about French people and their culture. Now that I’ve been here a while, I have a pretty good understanding of which French stereotypes hold true, and which have more holes than that piece of Swiss cheese you just ate, which probably came from Ohio. It’s time to set the record straight.

Stereotype: The French Hate Americans

FICTION

First of all: this may have been true in other eras (I’ve had more than one conversation about the opinions of America during GW’s glorious reign), but my personal experience has yielded very positive encounters with anyone who learns of my nationality. Second of all: It’s important to remember that a) just a short time ago, Americans called French fries Freedom fries, French toast Freedom toast, and so on, in an attempt to vocalize distaste over France’s choice not to join us in (a stupid/pointless/unnecessary) war with Iraq, and b) much of the previous negativity directed at Americans comes from us living with a set of our own stereotypes that the rest of the world has created. So I can confidently say that the French have been très tolérant of Americans given the treatment we’ve shown them throughout the course of our co-existence following American independence (which, by the way, America would not have had without French support).

Stereotype: Pretty Much No One In France Is Fat

FACT

The rumors are true: The French consume more wine, cheese, bread, pasta or pastries than most Americans I know, and yet they are all thin. Most that I know personally exercise very little. What’s the secret? PORTIONS. The French have this very impressive way of consuming food and drinks more slowly, appreciating each sip or bite, allowing themselves to really taste what they’re putting into their bodies. When this happens, they don’t eat as much because they feel satisfied. The difference between “full” and “satisfied” could be a few dress sizes.

Plus food here is much more simple. Less chemicals. Little to no hormones. Fresh. It’s wonderful 🙂

Stereotype: The French Are Rude/Arrogant

FICTION

They don’t smile at you if they don’t know you. They are very direct when they do (i.e. “Yes, you look bad in that dress” type of direct). Despite these differences in communication, I find French people to be warm, friendly, inviting, and some of the most helpful I’ve encountered. All I can say is that I can’t imagine getting as much help as I did when I moved here if I were a foreigner moving to the United States.  So does this make the French rude, or are Americans just sensitive?

Stereotype: Everyone in France Smokes Like a Chimney

HALF FACT, HALF FICTION

Not everyone in France smokes. In fact, most people I know do not. However most of the ones that do smoke A LOT.

Stereotype: French Guys Are Feminine

FICTION

They care about how they look. They dress better than I do. Their shoes are more expensive than mine. They wear scarves in the summer. They think flowers are beautiful. And shopping with one of them is the equivalent to shopping with a hoard of fashionable girlfriends. And they do it all while still exuding a serious amount of manliness.

What makes them not feminine is the fact that they don’t care if you think they are manly or not (among other things). Somehow the lack of excessive assertions of masculinity serves as a pretty good indicator of masculinity. Who knew?

Stereotype: French Tempers Flair More Than Hairstyles in the 70s

FACT

It’s happened to me more than once that I’ll be in the middle of a conversation with someone and suddenly voices are raised and faces are red. Most of the time I didn’t even see it coming. And these aren’t just political or religious conversations. I’m talking “what kinds of flowers should you plant in a garden” kinds of conversations. But there are just as many reasons to love the passionate French as there are to fear them, and the storm passes just as quickly as it strikes. Like the old adage about weather in the month of March: their tempers come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.

Stereotype: French Women Don’t Shave

FICTION

Fortunately.

Stereotype: The French Are Very Sexual

FACT

Of course I am from “puritan America” where sex is largely censored in the media, sex education in schools  is still extremely controversial, and nudity on most beaches is illegal, so my views are inherently biased. But I have never heard people talk so openly about their (very active) sex lives before. Sex is on TV, sex is in the movies, sex happens. Here, it’s just part of life and not some taboo topic you can only discuss with girlfriends or after too many glasses of wine.

Stereotype: The French Hate Anyone Who Doesn’t Speak French

FICTION

This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. English is taught in schools starting at a young age, and a lot of people I’ve met are happy to practice their English with a native speaker. What they do hate is when they are approached in their own country and spoken to only in English, with the offender thereby making the assumption that a person can and does speak English. I don’t think this is such a hard concept to grasp, actually… can you recall a time when you’ve been somewhere in America and someone starts trying to talk to you only in Spanish, Chinese or some other foreign language? Your reaction was probably “Come on, we’re in America!”

However, if you make even the smallest attempt to speak French, the effort is typically well-received  and often the conversation turns to English quite easily and with no ill-will.

So there you have it. Maybe I’ll write a future post on some of the stereotypes the French have of Americans and share them. Some might be true, others might only be good for a laugh, but in the end it’s the exploration of each other’s cultures that’s really insightful.

Ciao!

48.868711 2.417708
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