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Los europeos se creen los estereotipos de sí mismos
Los ingleses son malos pagadores y sus matrimonios son infelices, los belgas son unos
quejicas, los italianos se dedican a fabricar coches y los españoles son pobres. Éstas son
algunas de las opiniones que los nacionales de siete países europeos tienen sobre la
manera de ser y el estilo de vida de sus vecinos, según una encuesta realizada por la
empresa Mintel.Frank Fletcher, director de la muestra realizada a 8.000 europeos, ha
explicado al ver los resultados que los estereotipos raciales que hemos encontrado en
nuestro estudio tienden a confirmar las creencias generales".
La encuesta, que se ha realizado tomando como base las preguntas sobre los
comportamientos, revela que los franceses son los más chovinistas y las alemanas las
esposas más dominantes. Las familias más numerosas se encuentran en Italia, mientras
España es el único país de los siete estudiados que tiene exceso de juventud masculina.
Los adultos franceses son los que menos se casan: casi la mitad son solteros, mientras
que los británicos se casan en mayor número, aunque luego son los que más se
divorcian. Francia y Holanda poseen un elevado porcentaje de personas que viven solas;
casi una de cada cuatro, frente al Reino Unido, donde el porcentaje se reduce a una entre
seis.
La comida italiana es apreciada universalmente, mientras que los belgas odian su propia
cocina y los británicos son los más dispuestos a saborear las delicias extranjeras. Los
británicos son los que más dinero destinan a tabaco, pero Francia es el único país donde
el gasto en tabaco ha crecido en la misma proporción que el incremento del presupuesto
familiar en la última década.
Los italianos adultos adoran a sus coches. Un 84% de ellos son dueños de uno,
comparado con el porcentaje -dos de cada tres- de los británicos, que también son los
que menos lavadoras poseen. Pero los británicos, los más caseros de todos, ganan a los
continentales por el número de vídeos, ordenadores personales, secadoras y microondas
que tienen instalados en sus casas.
El estudio revela que la población es cada vez más vieja y que en la última década los
siete países han registrado un considerable aumento de sus ingresos. Encabezan la lista
Alemania occidental (un 36%) y el Reino Unido (un 22%). La media del crecimiento de
la capacidad adquisitiva de los alemanes es 50% superior a la de los españoles.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/EUROPA_OCCIDENTAL/europeos/creen/est
ereotipos/mismos/elpepisoc/19890512elpepisoc_8/Tes
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VER ESTOS MAPAS
http://www.pisitoenmadrid.com/blog/2010/10/los-estereotipos-de-europa-en-mapas/
3
What Europeans think of each other
This is a basic backgrounder for Americans, primarily, who might think Europeans do
nothing all day but bitch about Americans. Don’t get me wrong—they do love bitching
about Americans. But they also like bitching about each other, as well. Bordering
countries, especially, have complex caricatures of each other, even when an outsider
might think they’re more or less the same. The following is based on my numerous
interactions with Europeans, having lived there for 4 years. Here’s a run down:
The French — Disliked by some Spanish (particularly the Catalonians), for being
arrogant. One woman from Barcelona told me, ―Come on¦who really likes the French?
Nobody!‖ The Swiss don’t like the fact that they have contempt for authority and are
lazy. The Brits, of course, have the most mixed feelings about the French, though. One
half the country hates them, the other half loves them. Those that hate the French tend
to like the Americans, and vice versa. In the UK, they’re considered stinky, rude (they
never line/queue up like decent people), and a bit yellow, based on their tendency to not
fend off invaders like the Nazis.The French, in turn, dislike the British, look down on
Belgians for being stupid, and don’t have much to say, in my experience, about
Spaniards or Germans (oddly).
The Italians — Most of the stereotypes are positive, but mostly because of the food.
Northern Europeans consider them lazy and flaky, and maybe incapable of managing
anything right (mostly because of the 50+ governments they’ve had since WW2). One
Dutch professor I had dismissed another Italian one, saying, ―All the Italians care about
are pasta and mamma.‖Italians, in turn, don’t have strong feelings about other
Europeans, but within Italy, the north-south divide is pretty strong. Northern Italians
continuously complain that Southerners are lazy and unproductive, while Southerners
complain that Northerners are devoid of culture or joie de vivre.
The Germans — Germans are considered industrious but uptight and humorless, by
just about all the other Europeans. They know WW2 is a sore spot for them, so other
Europeans will often mercilessly tease them about it. As much as Germany is
considered an economic powerhouse, the vast majority of Europeans don’t really want
to learn German or study there (or send their kids there to study). The food is considered
uninspired, too, and only Berlin has some cachet among younger Europeans for its
vibrant underground club scene. The most anti-German sentiments are among the Dutch
and Danish, who just hate them from invading their countries too often. When German
ask for directions in Holland, they’re usually given directions to the shortest way out of
the country, or told ―Give us back our bikes!‖, a reference to the fact that Germans
confiscated Dutch bicycles during WW2.Danes hate it when you pronounce their capital
as ―ko-pen-HAH-gen‖, because this is the German pronunciation. Either pronounce it
the English way (with ―HAY‖ instead), or the Danish way, which is literally impossible
to put down here.Germans tend to like their Western neighbors far more than they are
liked by them, but they look down on their Eastern neighbors, particularly Poles. They,
oddly, have some mixed respect for the Czechs, who have resisted German aggression.
The Scandinavians — Widely respected by most other Europeans, because of their
high standard of living …and blond hair and blue eyes. However, within Scandinavia
there are some persistent stereotypes. The Norwegians, Danes and Finns all think the
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Swedes are stupid and uptight. Norwegians are considered racist. Danes are considered
more blunt than the others, maybe a bit more cranky, and the Finns are oddly
introverted, even by Scandinavian standards. Except for the Danes really disliking
Germans, and Finns really disliking Russians, they don’t really have anything against
other Europeans.
The Belgians — Considered idiots by both the Dutch and the French. Belgians, in turn,
consider the Dutch to be a bunch of cranky assholes, and French stuck-up.
The Dutch — The Dutch, like the Scandinavians, have an enviable economy and social
order that’s admired by southern European countries. However, they do have a
reputation of being self-righteous ―know-it-alls‖ and very similar to their German
cousins in terms of their rigidity. But they do not like any comparisons to Germans, and
if you remind them that the Dutch national anthem makes a reference to the Dutch being
―van Duitse bloed‖ (from German blood), you might quickly get the silent treatment.
The Dutch are also disliked for being the biggest misers in Europe, and because of this
they incur the wrath of the tourist industry wherever they travel. The Dutch have been
known to stock up on water before they take their campers down to the south of
France.The Dutch, in turn, kind of look down on just about everyone. Yes, there’s a bit
of a reason for the ―know-it-all‖ smart-ass reputation they have.
The Swiss — Considered extremely rigid, even by the Germans. Blunt to the point of
being rude, the Swiss probably have the least likely reputation for being characterized as
―friendly‖ or ―warm‖. Note that there is a big cultural divide between French-speaking
Swiss, and the German-speaking Swiss. The former are almost exactly like the French,
except having a blander cuisine and more respect for authority, the latter being more
like the Germans except even more stiff, rigid and cranky. However, everyone knows
Switzerland ―works‖ so the fact that foreigners comprise 20% of the population (mostly
from EU member states) should make this clear.Note that the German-speaking Swiss
also speak their own variant of German, which sounds very strange if you’ve only been
exposed to standard ―hoch-Deutsch‖.
The Spaniards — Honestly, very little antagonism against the Spanish or by the
Spanish. No one really seems to dislike them, and they don’t seem to really dislike
anyone else. (Yes, some Spaniards near the border to France don’t like the French very
much) Not entirely sure why. However, God forbid you speak Spanish with a Latin
American accent — there is still a lot of snobbery among Spaniards towards Latin
Americans. Spaniards consider themselves white and European, and would be deeply
insulted if you suggested they were Latin American of any kind.
The Greeks — Only nominally considered European by other Europeans, but the
Greeks fiercely identify as European. Naturally, this is a huge irritant to Greeks.
The Poles — Not much seems to register about Poland and the Poles except that they’re
quiet. They are a relatively big country (40 million people) so the supposed scare of
being overrun by Eastern Europeans when a bunch of Eastern European countries joined
the EU in 2005 focused in on the Poles. The Germans really don’t like Poles, and
among Germany’s 9 neighbors, are disliked the most. Poland is considered a country of
car thieves by the Germans. Really, the relationship between Germany and Poland is
similar to that of the United States and Mexico, and often for many of the same reasons
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(differences in income, history of war, different languages, etc.).Poles really shore up
their hatred for their eastern & southern neighbors, primarily Russia and Ukraine,
although they don’t like Czechs, Slovaks or Lithuanians either. Oddly, they don’t really
mind the Germans, and probably still fear them a bit — you never, ever hear jokes
about Germans in Poland.
The Czechs — Considered a relatively bright spot of Eastern Europe by Western
Europeans, but I think primarily because Prague is such a gorgeous city and a popular
tourist destination. Czechs are a bit like Germans, though — a bit rude, blunt, and cold.
Poles don’t have much good to say about them.
The Austrians — Considered a mix of the best & worst aspects of Germany and the
Balkans, Austrians are considered laid-back but very nationalistic and racist. They’re
said to be the birthplace of Hitler, but never came around to being fully apologetic about
the Holocaust (unlike Germany). Neutral feelings from most ofWestern Europe,
negative feelings from Germans (who consider them backwards, and not always the
representing the best image of German-speaking people) and admired by Eastern
Europeans (a throwback to the Hapsburgs).
The British – About half of the British would be really angry at being called European,
so that should provide an apt starting point. The main beef with the Brits is that they’re
considered the lapdog of the U.S., and are anti-European because the U.S. tells them to
be so. They are considered polite, but maybe a bit two-faced (hence ―Janus Britain‖)
and snobby. The Scots and Welsh are tolerated and liked, inasmuch as that no one really
knows too much about them outside the UK, but the English are those that bear the
brunt of negative sentiments among other Europeans. After all, London is in England.
The English also have a poor reputation in tourist traps, such as Amsterdam and Ibiza,
for being loud-mouthed, obnoxious drunks.
The English, in turn, really seem to hate everyone. This is because it’s pretty hard to
find an Englishman that has even, at best, neutral opinions about other Europeans (or
Americans, or other nationalities). Europe is full of English expats, and the longer they
live abroad, the more they seem to hate their host country. And yet they never seem to
want to move home.
The Irish — A very small country, despite its exaggerated importance in Americans’
minds (just over 3 million) but considered polite and humble. They nominally dislike
the English, but I have yet to meet an Irishman who really loathes the English. The
sentiments towards the Irish and by the Irish seem to be positive, overall.
I personally don’t know much about how the Portuguese, Hungarians, Romanians,
Bulgarians, and others are perceived, or how they perceive others, but if you have
something to add, please do so in the comments below.
I’ll leave you with this poster I saw in an Italian office years ago, that helps sum it up in
some ways:
In Heaven…
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the mechanics are German
the chefs are French
the police are British
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the lovers are Italian
and everything is organized by the Swiss.
In Hell…
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the mechanics are French
the police are German
the chefs are British
the lovers are Swiss
and everything is organized by the Italians
http://dailycandor.com/what-europeans-think-of-each-other/
Thomas Kielinger suggests it is time for a radical rethink of some familiar
stereotypes.
How can Germany be a nation of efficient hard workers, he argues, when
the country has the youngest old-age pensioners, the oldest students, the
shortest working hours and the longest holidays?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4263755.stm
7
What Americans think of Europeans
I wrote a hugely popular post on what Europeans think of each other, and we all know
what Europeans think of Americans (that we’re fat and stupid – well, it’s a bit more
complicated than that; I’ll delve into that in another post). In this post, I’ll write my
experiences with my fellow Americans think about Europeans. Keep in mind, though,
that the diversity of knowledge and opinion in the US is far greater than just about
anywhere else in the world, so I’m not going to capture everyone’s sentiment.
At the outset, it’s important to understand this about Americans:
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a lot of Americans live by the ―if you can’t say anything nice about (something),
then don’t say anything at all‖ adage. So most Americans, who generally have a
vague positive feeling about Europe, will only say vaguely positive things about
Europe, if anything at all. (―I hear it’s nice over there.‖)
Most Americans are profoundly ignorant of geography and don’t give much
thought beyond their immediate frame of reference. Before you think that means
Americans are chauvinist, keep in mind they don’t give a shit about the next
state over, or even next city, much less another country. Americans may be
brilliant when it comes to technology, innovation and business, but they fail
when it comes to geography. They are simply not interested. (This is why, I
think, America assimilates foreigners better than Europe. They don’t know
where other people come from, and soon forget; their foreignness ceases to be a
liability, unlike Europeans who always remember that China had the Tiananmen
Square massacre, a Serb killed Archduke Ferdinand and Serbia gave the world
Slobodan Milosevic, etc.)
the last few years have seen politically-active Americans attuned to world affairs
much more than they have traditionally been, because of the wars, antagonism
towards US foreign policy, propaganda by the Bush administration, etc.
Growing up, I can tell you that no one ever cared what was going on outside our
borders, other than to think the Soviet Union was a miserable shithole, and
everywhere else was OK (but not as great as the USA).
That said, let me get down to the specifics, country by country. Remember that I’ll only
include those that the average American has heard of and actually knows is in Europe
(you ask the average American where Albania is, and you might be surprised at the
variety of answers; I expect fully a third would say ―Antarctica‖). I’m being a little
harsh on my fellow Americans, but, as an American, this is something we tend to do:
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UK – This is the only European country (and, like the Brits, Americans don’t
always consider it part of Europe, even though it clearly is) that Americans tend
to have largely uncritical views of, regardless of whether they’re at the political
right or left (actually, let me add the neighboring Irish to that list). Brits are
considered ―polite‖, ―dignified‖ and ―cultured‖ by virtue of their speech, which
Americans, through decades of inculcation through movies and television, have
come to ascribe values to. The only negative is of those with posh, elite accents
to be thought of as devious or cunning; many Hollywood thrillers aimed at a
middle-class audience have some greedy British villain who’s just too smart for
his own good (stupidity is equated with a lack of guile, which middle-class
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Americans admire). I don’t think most Americans, until recently, have known
that there is a substantial, vociferously anti-American contingent in the UK;
many on the far left think it’s all directed at Bush and his policies (it is, only
partially), so they tend to think of the Brits as being ―on our side‖.
There is a perception, poked fun of in popular media, that Brits have bad teeth,
but it’s one of those stereotypes that is not really taken all that seriously, like
that Poles are stupid or that Italians don’t bathe.
Among younger people, the UK is synonymous with London, where it’s
imagined everything is cool, edgy, rock. For many young women, having a
English rocker boyfriend has substantial cachet.
Other than that, I think most Americans are completely oblivious to the
stereotypes that the English and Scots endure by Europeans (that they’re cheap,
two-faced, etc.)
France - Mixed feelings, mixed feelings. Most Americans have known that the
French enjoy criticizing the US and Americans; they know that Parisians are
rude the minute you say something in English. But they still go there. Except for
the minority of hard-core right-wing Americans who choose travel destinations
on principle alone (they usually stay home), most Americans want to visit Paris.
But, the average American is going to use the following word when describing
the French: ―snob.‖ And by most accounts it’s probably the most offensive word
you can use in America, where ―he’s a regular guy‖ is one of the highest
compliments you can pay to someone.
On the positive side, ―cultured‖, ―sophisticated‖ and ―thin‖ betray a certain
jealousy that even the most hardened anti-French have towards this country, our
oldest ally in the world.
Italy – American perceptions of Italians are shaped by Italian-Americans (who
are mostly from Sicily, and are quite different from most contemporary Italians),
the food, and, of course, Hollywood. Italians are considered laid-back, stylish,
loud (in a good way; remember, we Americans are loud), and know good food.
Think about it – if there ever were a universally-liked cuisine, it would be
Italian. Italian women are considered very sexy – think Sophia Loren and
Monica Bellucci. The men, too, are loved by American women (and gay men).
The only negative stereotypes are that they’re mafiosos, and don’t bathe – very
old stereotypes that made them the butt of jokes about 100 years ago. No one
takes these sorts of jokes seriously anymore.
Germany – Unlike the Brits and other Europeans, Americans don’t have
anything against the Germans. This is probably due to the fact that a plurality of
white Americans have Deutsch blood coursing through their veins, and because
Americans have fantastically short memories. Of course, if an American hates
any particular German, he’s going to call him a Nazi, but Americans don’t think
of them as the humorless, stiff, nazionalsocialistischer automatons that your
average Brit, French or Czech does. Beyond that, the only perception of
Germany is beer, sausage, sauerkraut and Oktoberfest. And maybe lederhosen.
Spain – I’m sorry to say this, considering Spaniards’ enormous sensitivity
around it, but most Americans are going to conflate the Spanish with Mexicans.
They’re going to assume Spain is poor, the people eat tacos and burritos, and
they pay with worthless pesos. They’re going to assume Madrid is a suburb of
Mexico City, and Barcelona is an island near Cancun. If they have fantastic
memory, they might remember the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, those
famous Mexican ships sailed by that Mexican explorer, Hernan Cortes.
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Scandinavia – I’m throwing the Netherlands in here, too, because for whatever
reason, most Americans think ―Dutch‖ applies to Denmark, and that they speak
Danish in Holland. (I tell people although they’re all tall blondes that speak
Germanic languages, Dutch bikes are routinely stolen while Danish ones aren’t.)
Scandinavia is considered advanced technologically and blonde, blonde, blonde,
but beyond that, there’s no reason to ever visit any of those countries. And most
Americans might think Scandinavia is a country, and they speak a language
called Slavic.
Ireland – Considering a happy, beautiful, green country full of shamrockcovered meadows and cheery little leprechauns. Maybe not too far from the
truth, actually. The negative stereotype is that they’re drunks, but in America,
that’s not really an insult anymore. Most Americans would be floored if they
knew the per capita GDP of Ireland was higher than that of the US, and that
Ireland has only 3.3 million people. Most Americans think it’s a huge, poor
country.
Portugal – Part of Puerto Rico.
Greece – Based on the popularity of the 2002 film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding,
Greece is probably considered a quaint, colorful country full of charmingly
nationalistic bumpkins. But the reality is that the country doesn’t cross the minds
of most Americans whatsoever.
Countries completely ignored except by some ethnic descendants – Poland,
Czechoslovakia (that’s right – it’s still one country), Yugoslavia (v.s.), Hungary
(most Americans will think you’re joking if you tell them this is the name of a
country; they might even believe you if you tell them it’s near Thirstary), and
anything eastward, until you hit Russia.
Russia – Large, poor, cold, angry, gray. Again, not too far from the truth. Russia
includes places like Moscow, Ukraine, all the -stans (sometimes even Paki- and
Afghani-) and just about any other country with a majority white people that
speak a language that’s not English that they’ve never heard of (Moldova,
Georgia, Armenia, etc). Like the other former Iron Curtain countries, considered
cold, depressing, nothing to see. They wouldn’t believe that St Petersburg is as
beautiful as it is, as are Prague, Budapest, Krakow, etc.
These have been my perception of what the average insular white American knows and
thinks. Here are some variants for different subgroups based on my conversations:
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African-Americans (black) – Love France. Neutral on the rest of western
Europe. Have absolutely no interest in, knowledge of, or desire to visit Eastern
or Northern Europe.
Latinos – Love Spain. Positive on France and Italy. Have absolutely no interest
in, knowledge of or desire to visit any other European country.
Asians – Indians adore Britain. The Vietnamese adore France. Filipinos adore
Spain. (Are we beginning to see a pattern here?) Other Asians are not
particularly interested in Europe (unless they’re very ―Americanized‖).
Gays – Europe is London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Ibiza. The
Mediterranean is hot. So is Eastern Europe, paradoxically (so much Eastern
European gay porn comes Stateside). Very, very confused on which city goes
where; a widespread perception that London, Paris, and Prague are an hour-long
train ride from each other.
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Lesbians – The only lesbians I know have gone to Amsterdam and loved it. Too
small a sample size for me to form an impression.
Hipsters – Love London, Paris, and slightly more ―edgy‖ capitals like
Copenhagen, Prague, Helsinki and Barcelona. They tend to be relatively well-off
and educated, so they might buck a lot of the stereotypes I’ve laid out here.
This will, no doubt, make more than a few Europeans fume in indignation, or nod
smugly that Americans really are as ignorant as they’ve thought. Remember that there is
a small but not insignificant (maybe 5-10%?) number of Americans who are widely
travelled and know a ton about Europe and its geography, national temperaments and
culture. They tend to live in the ―urban archipelago‖, esp in coastal cities like New York
or San Francisco.
Update: If you want to see it quantified, here are Americans’ sentiments towards other
countries (not just European). Unsurprisingly, the current bugaboos harped on about in
the media are at the bottom of the list.
http://dailycandor.com/what-americans-think-of-europeans/