What is a typical American view of the British?

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catfish

I'm British, living in America. Some of the perceptions the Americans have about us are staggering, and often downright funny.

For example they remain convinced we all eat eel pie or kidney stew on a regular basis. And they are sure that we all greet eachother with either " 'Ello luv" or "Eh Guvna". They think we are cold and uptight and unemotional too. I once tried to adopt a cat and was informed that "the British are seen as bad cat parents, therefore my application was refused"!

But they love the British accent, and they think we are smart, and very European.

Led*Zep*Babe

I've met a few men from England. They were all very nice...very talkative. That sort of surprised me because I've always imagined the English to be sort of reserved.

I think your nation is like any other nation....some good and some bad. Mostly good though. Overall I don't think Americans have a bad stereotypical view of the British. At least, I never hear anything bad about you from the average American...

Edit: About the bad teeth thing....I don't think anybody really believes you all have terrible teeth. It's just a stupid stereotype that somebody would use to piss you off. Ignore it.

William E

Whoa, there's lots of things we think and I don't expect that all 300,000,000 million of us think the same thing either. Americans are far from monolithic in their thinking about anything. So all I can say in response is what I think:

1) I think of them as much like Americans, sharing much in the way of culture and society, law, customs, language and history.

2) I think of them as our best ally in the world, because we tend to think and reason in similar fashions (no doubt because we have much in common).

3) I truly like the current Queen (you should not get rid of the Monarchy if you ask me, but find a way to prevent Charles from taking over, passing it to William).

4) I think of how England created a marvelous empire which was by and large becasue it knew how to create self-sufficient colonies and colonies engaged in trade (which unfortunately is why its empire finally crumbled, but which is why almost all former British colonies have some forms and traditions of democratic government).

5) I think of England as the mother of all English-Speaking countries, the first child of which is The United States. We owe England much. (yes I am very much an Anglophile).

Kathy K, below....I think you need a map, Amsterdam is not British!

jenn79

your accents are sexy and your men are hot :-)

Buster

I'm American - I think once the wounds of the American Revolutionary War healed things have been really good between us. The Brits have lent helping hands to America on several occasions, as have the Americans to the British. I toured England once and wasn't treated unfairly by anyone. My general view on British people is they are very well mannered and seem pretty down to earth in their beliefs.

silentnonrev

well....I think about Kate Winslet a lot

having spent my formative years in UK, I noticed a change in last few (increasingly temporally spaced) visits; very multicultural and multiracial now. I do like that social atmosphere seems to be a lot more relaxed there, than when I was growing up...but I am disturbed that crime seems to be going up, random stranger-on-stranger violence, etc.

Was proud of the reaction after 7/7 that "we are not going to let a couple of tin-pot terrorists affect the way we live"--reminiscent of attitude during blitz, and later IRA bombings.

but wait...you asked about British....love the Scots and Welsh as well as the English....

I would go back if there was nicer weather, decent Mexican food, and it wasn't so humongously expensive!

Rule Britannia!

Cassandra S.

We think that your accents make you sexy. haha. Or atlease I do. =p

And their British Invasion of music was amazing!! definitely like the best rock music out there..

steve_dorings

We like you.

GrnEyedBrunette

Hot accented, tea drinking, football obsessed, cool allies of our country. Oh, and strawberries and cream seems to be the breakfast of champions (Wimbledon). =OP

Savalatte

There is no typical American opinion and I feel wrong in giving mine since you didn't ask but I'll try to give a general rundown on different people/places and speak in very broad terms.

It's hard to average it out except to say that it varies somewhere between not caring much to outright admiration. I wouldn't say too many dislike Britain but I would say the ones who don't care much about it are quieter so that most of the British are much more likely to read about the ones who get on here and express great affection for them and then assume almost every American is like that. Don't be fooled by that. I'd say there are far more "quiet ones" that don't have any interest in Britain whatsoever.

If you consider the ancestry of most Americans this makes sense too as MOST Americans have little to no British ancestry and I don't mean just the ethnic minorities which currently make up around a third of the population but most of the white people in the mainstream U.S. aren't mostly British either. People keep thinking the British are our cousins but Americans are nothing like the Canadians and Australians.

The biggest place where you have a lot of people of almost pure British ancestry is the (white people) in the American South however I'm from there and most people are descended from British people very long ago anyway. Not only that but many view the Celts and Anglo-Saxons very differently and prefer the Celts. All this takes WAY too long to explain but let's just say the guy that wrote Braveheart is a Southerner and I understand the whole mentality behind it completely. It's true some think English= Yankees but there's no validity to it. It's not just an underground media thing in the South with books and websites though, almost everyone I've met that expressed an opinion has pretty much gone along with this preference although I'm not saying they are anti-English. Just very pro-Celtic or esp. pro-Scottish. The other parts of the U.S. where you are supposed to have a high percentage of almost pure British ancestry is Utah (like the Mormons) and some small parts of New England but you'd have to ask them what they think as I don't know. They too are mostly descended from the British of the past unlike Australia or whatever where many have recent British ancestors.

I'd say overall many Americans view mostly positive depictions of British in the media and like it (esp. white people) because it's similar enough to the U.S. to understand (unlike say, Saudi Arabia) but different enough to be interesting. I also think the bad teeth thing is a joke very much like the one about French people not bathing. As long as Brits get wound up about it the more people will keep at it. All this is a general rundown of the people and places and beyond which you're getting into individual differences.

Ganny

I am an American but live in Germany, not England I know, but through the times that I have been there I have this sense of what I feel Brit's are like.

Brittish people in The USA are known for:
Bad teeth, bad cooking, no foam when you draft a beer, intelligent accent, special sense of humor, generally open minded and accepting. Crazy about REAL football, we like your Queen and enjoyed how she made fun of our President when she visited us, allies. I have never met a British person whom I have thought of as snobby, but just eager to learn about you and talk. The main thing we probably know you for though is tea time and krumpets. I personally enjoy British commentator's like Richard Quest on CNN and John Oliver on The Daily Show with John Stewart. Also the Brit's are known for history, art, literature, and a self dependency attitude that blossomed later in The USA and also led the Brit's with their powerful Navy to the saying, "The sun never sets on the British Empire".

Wynnie

I think "typical American" is on oxymoron these days, because Americans are so diverse, politically, socially, etc. I can tell you that I have enjoyed my visits to England, and the British folks I've met have been very likeable. I can also say a British accent is usually associated with being intelligent - maybe becasue of Jeeves?

Sarah

Why do you think we have bad teeth? Just curious! My teeth are fine, thank you very much. I'm British, live in America, would like to know why Americans have only ever heard of London yet always ask 'where in England are you from' . You have the option of either saying 'London' (in which case they ask whether you know such and such a person who is also from London) or 'not London' in which case they look confused, so you relent and tell them where you're really from and they then ask 'is that near London?' Duh.

Ken B

This teeth thing confuses me, I wonder if the people who believe we have bad teeth have visited UK

lbertram78

I too am confused by the teeth thing.
Yes, we are not as obsessed with glow in the dark, ram rod straight teeth as many Americans appear to be but maybe that's a bit too much vanity on the part of Americans.
I'm 28 and don't have a single filling and my teeth are as straight as I'd like them to be.

nomadic

As an American, my personal British stereotypes include your horrible teeth, the men aren't very good looking, the accent is annoying at times but always cute in children (and your children are better behaved than ours).

jerseycowboy3

There's no set answer to this, and believe me, my response will be generalizing a bit. Many Americans think the British are pretentious, stuck-up, and stiff. This probably stems from the fact that your spoken English differs from ours. Some find the accent very sexy. It's assumed most British people have bad teeth. Many Americans view the British as weak. I'm sorry this is such a negative answer, but like I said, it's generalized from my experiences with other Americans. Don't forget, many Americans also look upon the British as highly intelligent, culturally advanced, and artistically superior.

cb__sides

i dont think about you at all i spend my time with the people in america srry

Tom S

I thought good thoughts until I saw that group of Royal Navy sailors on television. Overweight woman, surrendering, smiling and laughing with horrible people, giving up any informaion that was demanded of them... it wasn't pretty.

Kimmi

Some of us think they are snooty and the majority of the British have very bad teeth.

kat k

Honestly most people talk of uptight Brits..never any fun and very stoic, Always in formal wear with an umbrella..(mental image upon hearing "he is British")
What we forget is the cool spots close, Stonehenge, Amsterdam..the history in bath..Sherwood forest...shopping in Chester..

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