# Who is the American Stereotype? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094 "2004-03-29T15:59:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/21 "2004-03-29T23:06:57Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > I recently participated in some meetings between the vicepresident for marketing of an American corporation and some European clients. Later, over lunch, the European (British) rep for the company asked one of the clients with whom he has a long business relationship what he thought of the American VP who had come to visit. There as a split second of silence and looks converged on the client to see what he would say because everybody knew it was a tough one to answer. After a brief pause, which seemed like an eternity, the client said: “Well, he is very. . . . _American_.” There were smiles all around. The response was perfect. Extremely polite and yet quite clear to all who were there (no Americans left). Everybody understood what it meant. It meant the guy is loud, unsophisticated, rude and obnoxious. It may be an unfair generalization, just as they all are, but there you have it. What? You mean that Americans are all Germans over there? ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/22 "2004-03-29T23:16:42Z")
> [@Francesca](#): > > I think **Lamia** has the male stereotype exactly. As for the female - white with big hair, a brash voice, chewing gum. > > Sorry guys. Ooh! Ooh! But they come in many varieties! There’s the basic Suburbanite WASP: “Well, you just know how these things go, I mean, just TRY to get a good \<\\> over here.” There’s the basic Yenta from Suburban Hell, who sounds JUST like Harvey Feirstein, except a little less feminine. (Substitute cigarette for chewing gum) “Listen, darling, if my daughter paid one TENTH as much attention to getting a hustband as she does to that so-called ‘career’ of hers–well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be wasting my time over here.” And then there’s the Hill Folk Faded Flower: “Well, if they ain’t got just the CUTEST li’l people over here!” ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/23 "2004-03-29T23:25:04Z")
**I don’t know who the SOB is but we need to find him because he is giving us a bad name.** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/24 "2004-03-30T00:32:18Z")
When travelling overseas, the older american couple will wear matching, pastel coloured, two piece jogging suits with their respective names written above the left breast pocket. Their names are most likely to be Randy/John/Billy-Bob and Martha/Mary/Mary-Jo. ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/25 "2004-03-30T02:14:50Z")
I’ve noticed something of a backlash to the stereotype. The Americans I meet are still fatter and somewhat more provincial than other anglophones but the brashness and obnoxiousness has seemed to drop a few levels. Tour guides and guide books often warn Americans in particular to not be so boorish. As a result, Australians, Brits, Canadians and New Zealanders have overtaken the Americans as far as repulsiveness of attitude (if not appearance). I’ve met Americans who’ve taken to sporting a maple leaf on their rucksacks as a kind of pre-emptive measure to counter hostility. Unfortunately, these culturally aware souls are rarely the types that need to take such measures when there are Australians (or Brits, Canucks, Kiwis…) on the same tour bus boasting of the number of bongs they pulled in the hostel on the previous night. Meanwhile, poor Randy is sitting reading his bible, keeping his head down and moderating his, quite charming, Texan drawl. As ever, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/26 "2004-03-30T03:37:28Z")
Well, most 19-22 year-olds are idiots when they’re on holiday. I think the american accent is easily identifiable and so they stand out a little. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/27 "2004-03-30T05:03:37Z")
> [@](#): > > **elmwood** : I think that to find a stereotypical American, you have to go to a place where the folks look, act and dress much differently than the norm, in a way that you wouldn’t really find outside of the US. In my experience, those places are… I grew up in the South in a town of 2,000 people surrounded by farm country. We dressed like everybody else in those middle class suburban high schools. The girls poured over issues of _Seventeen_ and _Glamour_ before updating our wardrobes. The year I went to college, one of _Glamour_ magazine’s ten best dressed college girls was from a neighboring small town. That was in the early1960’s. We’ve been “normal” for a long time now. I feel reasonably certain the same is true for the other areas you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Starguard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Starguard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starguard)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/28 "2004-03-30T08:41:56Z")
I always thought the American Stereotype as being some old white guy with a blond pointy chin beard, tall hat, and a Red, White and Blue suit ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/29 "2004-03-30T08:51:33Z")
When I was in Seville about ten years ago there was a travel agent with a big cartoon globe with little cartoon representations of various peoples from around the world as described in **Photog’s** post. For America there was a serious-looking professional woman complete with power suit, briefcase, and sneakers (clearly she was on her way to work). ---
**Author:** ![wreckage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@wreckage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wreckage)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/30 "2004-03-30T09:27:45Z")
Acsenray wins! I have to agree that the trait that stands out most amongst we Australians, is the ‘lacking humility’ observation (in general, of course - as all stereotypes are). That usually extends to a perception of ‘self-promotion’ and superiority complexes. Get them alone, though, and they’re just the same as most of us - ‘nice’ people. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/31 "2004-03-30T11:25:15Z")
Tom Arnold does a brilliant “stereotypical American”. He’s big and loud… I guess to some degree, Americans are seen as larger than life. ---
**Author:** ![HawksPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@HawksPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HawksPath)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/32 "2004-03-30T16:52:50Z")
It was a few years back now, but I was in Munich the summer after the wall came down. The East Germans were just allowed to spend their money as if it was equal in value to the West German money (the W. Germans took a hit to help the East). At the beer house, I was sitting at the table with a couple of Aussie girls and about 6 E. Germans. When they heard I was from California, one E. German man said, “California? Ahhh. Whiskey!”. He then got his friends to sing in English, “Home on the range.” It was pretty impressive because they only spoke a little English. It was clear their vision of an American and especially a Californian was straight out an old west movie. Of course they had lived all their lives under Soviet East German government. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/33 "2004-03-30T19:39:53Z")
This is more a matter of opinion than fact, so I’ll move this thread to IMHO. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/34 "2004-03-30T19:57:11Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > He’s loud, brash, fat, obnoxious, and yet somehow undeniably endearing… > > Homer Simpson Yep, HOMER SIMPSON has become the symbol of Stereo type American. American Women are always Blondes with wierd and high hairdos and big breasts. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094/35 "2004-03-30T19:57:42Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > How about American women? They smile. Always. So much that you can see all their teeth. Like the haunting images from Wal-Mart ads. To a German a person who smiles that way without a good reason is either on drugs or has something to hide 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-american-stereotype/237094.md?page=1)