cultural stereotypes about America and Americans



I moved to America after high school so it’s been over 10 years. I think I was naive in a way that I didn’t really understand what I was getting myself into. Well I was 19 years old and not many high school graduates know what they are getting themselves into. Just like millions of other people who moved to America, I wanted to experience the “freedom” and craziness American was supposed to offer. I decided to reveal the stereotypes of America shared among Japanese people. After living in California for over 10 years, I know that some of those stereotypes are plain nonsense.

stereotypes about americans

stereotypes

1. American people are frank and direct.

I used to think that American people are very frank and direct. Japanese people tend to be very polite and reserved in general, and unless you are really good friends with that person, you don’t give them frank opinions. Because of American TV shows, many Japanese people still think that American people are so direct, so they don’t talk behind others (yeah,,right) instead they would confront you if he or she has any issues with you. Well, I guess people in America tend to be more straightforward enough that you would know when they don’t like you. Oh yes..you would know when someone doesn’t like you in America. It is extremely important for Japanese people to maintain harmony within the group they belong to (work, school, community) so they are much more reluctant to let you know when they don’t like you. I would notice right away because I grew up in Japan so I am very familiar with subtle expressions and gestures they use when they don’t like me.

Another thing is that people in America are very sensitive about political correctness. People from completely different cultural backgrounds and religions live in America so we have to be extremely careful with our senseless remarks especially in work settings. Certain words may mean nothing to you and you don’t even remember saying that. But your co-worker doesn’t think so and take your word very seriously. It is not good…because he can then file a lawsuit. Unfortunately lawsuits are extremely common in America and this shows how sensitive sometimes oversensitive people are when it comes to certain things. Of course it is a reflection of capitalism but American people are far from direct and frank people that I had imagined before I moved to California as a student.

Also, I notice that American people rarely criticize their friends or siblings. In Japan, we have this fundamental belief that honesty is important because everybody has a room for improvement. So even if you are criticizing the other person in Japan, it is because you are genuinely trying to help her. In America, it doesn’t work like that in general and it can backfire you in the worst case. Again you have to watch your mouth in work settings. I joined this public speech club and even then I have a hard time getting our fellow members to give frank evaluations for the speakers, but many of them don’t feel comfortable hurting their feelings so they usually start with compliments and positive feedback. People are usually very sensitive with criticism in America because ideal parenting in America is to help raise your child with positive reinforcement. So that may be one of the reasons why Americans are not so straightforward.

 

2. America is a free country

Well I was a kid when I started becoming fascinated with American TV shows, movies..students didn’t need to wear unions that I had to wear in Japanese schools. I began to fantasize about moving to America because of perceived “freedom” “liberty”..well, I guess it is a free country in a way that you can do whatever you want, say what you want to say..as long as you are not imposing harming others, you are ok. But certain things are bizarre. For instance, I get carded every time I order alcoholic drinks at restaurants. I am pretty sure I look over 21..my friend who is in 40s and does look old (!!) also get carded. I asked the waiter once and he told me that he was instructed to check everyone’s IDs except for those who look 50 and over. You can get a driver’s license at the age of 16 so I think this custom is a little strange. In Japan, it is much easier for minors to order drinks. Nobody checks ID in most places.

This is related to the previous point but America is not so free country because you have to be overly sensitive with others. You never know whom you are offending by saying certain things. Another thing that I was surprised when I was a foreign student in college was that there are lots of conservative religious people in America and homosexuality is still a very controversial issue. It is slowly getting better and now in California, same sex couples can officially be married and get a marriage license!  But it is not at the federal level, which means that if one of the couples is foreigner and needs to be naturalized, it may not be so easy for same sex couples because same sex marriage is not approved at the federal level.

3. Young American couples show lots of PDAs..(public display of affections)

Japanese people get this impression because of stupid TV show such as 90210 and other modern TV dramas. These are not real..just dramas. I find that Europeans and Australians are more affectionate with each other in public. In America, it’s considered rude to show excessive public affections. So American couples do show affections but not to the extent of which Japanese people believe in. Couples hold hand and walk but that’s pretty much it. We don’t see young couples making out on the street or movie theaters. Maybe those high school kids who are immature may do excessive PDAs but I haven’t run into such people yet.

4. American college students party all the time..

Well this is a little tricky because it depends on which university we are talking about here. I used to think people in America party all the time and life is all about having fun and party..on the other hand, Japanese people are so serious and study all the time..Even in my first English textbook that I used in middle school, they taught the word “party”! LOL For good universities in America, students are expected to attend most of the classes and they do study quite hard..they don’t party every weekend even. But of course if you go to a party school, students can be having fun and partying every weekend. It all depends on the type of schools but in general American university students bust their butt in order to succeed in school. This was tough for me because it is the total opposite in Japan. Japanese high school students work extremely hard to get into prestigious universities and once they are in, they hardly attend classes (stereotypes) and they can get away with not working as hard and focus on finding boyfriends/girlfriends and have fun. So in my case, I had to study very hard in high school..and no party time in college as I was going to a well known state university in Los Angeles.

5. Different races and people from different backgrounds get along with each other in America

This one is also a bit tricky because it depends on the cities. In Los Angeles, people seem to be more tolerant of difference races and religions. There are so many Japanese people, Asian people living there and lots of people are from middle east, africa, europe..all over the world. I’ve met people from all over the world. And because of this core principle of political correctness, people normally try hard not to offend other races in work. But hate crimes occur frequently and America is a very segregated country. It’s almost like they still practice “equal but separate”. Certain ethnic groups tend to live in certain areas and white and black neighborhoods are still separate in most cities. When I visited Philadelphia and New York state, it was a good example. black and white people live in different districts maybe because of the economic reasons but it appeared to be more than that. and I was stunned when one person blatantly said to me, “I will move out of here once black starts to move to this area…” Everybody is racist to an extent and American people are just like Japanese..people are not so tolerant but tolerant enough to be able to co-exist in work settings, school etc etc. Again there are lots of people in America who can’t accept homosexuality and they may have an easier time in Japan. There are many transgender (not gay) or gay TV talents and it’s becoming more common in Japan. But in America, it is so taboo that famous people often hide their homosexuality. Many of them are brave enough to come out to raise awareness but it is still controversial.

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