American stereotypes are well-defined all around the world, let's not fool ourselves. Who doesn't like to laugh at morbidly obese idiots chomping hamburgers in Walmart, mishandling firearms and hating people of colour for no particular reason? It's funny and it helps with maintaining our own self-esteem. Americans might be twenty times richer than we - poor Slavs still reeling from the post-communist trauma, or any other European nation having their struggles and carrying different chips on their shoulders - are, but at least we're pretty slim and smart... Or so we think.
This post is not about why American stereotypes are so contagious and digestible, though. We leave American stereotypes in the last post for good since it's time to focus on our beloved tea-gulping, dentist-fretting islanders.
And British stereotypes are... quite different in nature. Not as clean-cut as the American ones, but they still have their fair share of qualities many people have heard of at some point.
If you ask a passer-by about Americans, they will recite a series of properties in one breath (they're fat and stupid, most likely). If you ask them about Brits... they will take time to come up with things. But, in the end, they will come up with some for sure!
And the things mentioned below are probably what they will tell you about after a moment of deliberation.
1) They have bad teeth.
This one is quite funny. When you google "British people ugly teeth", all you get is BBC articles trying to convince us it's just an offensive myth, and how dare you even imply that, and maybe some Quora results (a forum where you can ask a question and other users try to provide you with an answer) where British users try to persuade the original poster that, haha, it's just a cliched stereotype! My teeth are fine! And all my neighbours go for regular checkups, so really I dunno why people think we have ugly teeth :-)
Apparently, British negligence towards dental hygiene is a running gag in America. Do you remember Austin Powers?
This post is not about why American stereotypes are so contagious and digestible, though. We leave American stereotypes in the last post for good since it's time to focus on our beloved tea-gulping, dentist-fretting islanders.
And British stereotypes are... quite different in nature. Not as clean-cut as the American ones, but they still have their fair share of qualities many people have heard of at some point.
If you ask a passer-by about Americans, they will recite a series of properties in one breath (they're fat and stupid, most likely). If you ask them about Brits... they will take time to come up with things. But, in the end, they will come up with some for sure!
And the things mentioned below are probably what they will tell you about after a moment of deliberation.
1) They have bad teeth.
This one is quite funny. When you google "British people ugly teeth", all you get is BBC articles trying to convince us it's just an offensive myth, and how dare you even imply that, and maybe some Quora results (a forum where you can ask a question and other users try to provide you with an answer) where British users try to persuade the original poster that, haha, it's just a cliched stereotype! My teeth are fine! And all my neighbours go for regular checkups, so really I dunno why people think we have ugly teeth :-)
Visual representation of my reaction to that.
Apparently, British negligence towards dental hygiene is a running gag in America. Do you remember Austin Powers?
YEAH BABY YEAH.
The Simpsons also took a jab at Brits in a very Simpsons-like fashion:
Where does it stem from, though? Why would such a mighty cultured nation be known for their blatant disregard of dental hygiene?
According to one of the theories, when US soldiers arrived in the UK during the Second World War, many of the Brits suffered from insufficient nutrition linked to rationing and food shortages which more often than not leads to poor dental health. Understandably so. Who gives a bloody damn about teeth when you're starving and scared for your life?
As we know, it takes little for a stereotype to spring to life... And that was enough.
As we know, it takes little for a stereotype to spring to life... And that was enough.
According to many studies, British dental hygiene awareness seems to be fine enough for Brits to have little to be ashamed of in this area.
Sadly enough, however, stereotypes do linger. Americans don't need much to assume you don't take care of your teeth well enough, considering their unhealthy obsession with veneers and teeth whitening.
As much as I personally dislike Brits, I am with them on this one. Hollywood and their unhealthy standards! I blame Julia Roberts.
As much as I personally dislike Brits, I am with them on this one. Hollywood and their unhealthy standards! I blame Julia Roberts.
2) They bloody love tea.
Apparently, Brits drink 60 billion cups of tea every year, so once you realize they basically drink oceans worth of this inconspicuous, brown brew, it'll also dawn on you this one is not even a stereotype; it's a bloody fact.
Apparently, Brits drink 60 billion cups of tea every year, so once you realize they basically drink oceans worth of this inconspicuous, brown brew, it'll also dawn on you this one is not even a stereotype; it's a bloody fact.
As a tea-lover myself, I can't really blame them for this. Tea is awesome.
They drink more than 900 cups of tea per person.
Teariffic, isn't it? But, in a way, also brewtiful. Do you think British people believe it's their du-tea to drink so much tea? How to make a Brit nervous? Just take away his tea. He will become swea-tea instantly and he will call you out on your criminali-tea. But if you give him his tea back, he will resiprocate your kindness. Not effusively, of course. Brits are known for keeping a stiff upper Lipton.
Okay, okay, I'm done. We can move on.
Time to leaf all the tea puns behind.
3) Their sense of humour heavily relies on irony. And it's kinda awesome.
Okay, this one is hardly a stereotype as well. Have you ever talked to a Brit? Have you ever watched a Monty Python sketch? Their humour bloody oozes with self-deprecation and deadly sarcasm, all of it sprinkled with a big portion of deadpan delivery.
*sips majestically*
Teariffic, isn't it? But, in a way, also brewtiful. Do you think British people believe it's their du-tea to drink so much tea? How to make a Brit nervous? Just take away his tea. He will become swea-tea instantly and he will call you out on your criminali-tea. But if you give him his tea back, he will resiprocate your kindness. Not effusively, of course. Brits are known for keeping a stiff upper Lipton.
Okay, okay, I'm done. We can move on.
Time to leaf all the tea puns behind.
3) Their sense of humour heavily relies on irony. And it's kinda awesome.
Okay, this one is hardly a stereotype as well. Have you ever talked to a Brit? Have you ever watched a Monty Python sketch? Their humour bloody oozes with self-deprecation and deadly sarcasm, all of it sprinkled with a big portion of deadpan delivery.
The Goodnight ding ding ding ding dong part always gets me.
I remember my dad watching Keeping Up Appearances when I was a kid.
I would always try to watch it with him and I would instantly get bored. I would ask him: "dad, that's not funny. Why do you think it's funny?" And he would always brush me off by saying I'd get it when I grow up. And then he would return to chuckling at Hyacinth's stupid antics while I would just sulk and keep insisting it was not funny at all and Hyacinth was just an annoying old lady.
Guess what.
My dad was right.
I was a stupid uncultured brat.
This is bloody golden.
"This is a private slimline pearl-white telephone with NO oriental associations what-so-EVER!"
4) They think they are superior.
Aaaaand this is why I have a bone to pick with many Brits.
I've talked to many of them in my life (more than 5 of them, okay?) and, as a Pole, I happen to be extremely sensitive to other people sending the subtlest signals they think they are in any way better than me. And Brits tend to send many such signals, often more subconsciously than not.
Where does it stem from, you may ask?
Well, they had an empire once, didn't they? They conquered half of the world on their own.
*rolls eyes*
They have one of the oldest democracies in the world, with long, fruitful history.
A fairly functioning multi-cultural society... *glares at America*
Their literary culture is... well, enviable to say the least. Shakespeare was British. Damn, if Shakespeare on his own isn't enough to be proud of. Dickens? Hardy? Tolkien? Lewis?! The list goes on.
The extent of their influence over the world is indescribable. Their history makes A Song of Ice and Fire (the source material of the TV show you may have heard of: Game of Thrones) seem like a sweet bedtime story.
They gave us Joanne K. Rowling and Tom Hiddleston.
This man makes me feel... things.
As much as I hate to admit it, they have all the reasons to be proud of.
I just hate it when my boyfriend's best friend (who happens to be British) corrects my grammar with a lenient chuckle.
Okay, okay.
He's done it once.
But I will never forgive him.
...
*mumbles incoherently about how she hates those bloody Brits*
At least they are usually quite polite while they give off the air of superiority, I'll give them that. I'd probably be even more insufferable than I already am if I had so many reasons to be proud.
Heck, after writing this post I kind of started to like them...
But that's okay, I will return to my Brit-hating ways next Wednesday.
Stay tuned for more!
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