How to deal with general assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans

I am finally better and I did not get mono so I am having a fantastic week! On an a note unrelated to the title, this week is reading week for most students...well students of certain majors. At Warwick Business School, there are not many teachers who give this kind of break. I actually only have one class in which I am off for the week. This led to worries about whether the students who have reading week would be loud and obnoxious while I am trying to work. Thankfully, this is so far unfound as most have either gone home or are actually being very productive. Moving on to today's topic......

How to Deal with assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans/American culture you may run into while at Warwick.

First let it be known to anyone reading this that I have not faced any discrimination by local citizens/students/professors or any Europeans while I have been here at Warwick University. 98% of the time it has even come up, it has been either a joking way by my friends or some of my curious fellow students have asked me about them.

I have only felt alienated on two separate occasions. The first was in a class where I am the only American and students there were trying to talk about it as if they knew about it. For example, when a student was asked whether it would be easier to innovate in Europe/the UK or in the States; he stated that it would be easier in the States because the culture and the language is the same everywhere. Evidently he did not realize how exactly diverse and spread out the United States is. Anyway the second occasion occurred just because one of my dorm mates has this tendency to only believe his opinions are correct, not just with me but with everyone, and decided to make a comment about the States that had true origins but was largely untrue. This led to a rather heated argument and now I think we finally gotten to the point where he just keeps quiet.

The truth is though that people are going to make stereotypes, assumptions, and believe certain falsehoods about the States. Why? Because very few have actually ever experienced anything in the United States for themselves and even if they have it is very limited in scope. For example, quite a few have been to New York city which is an American city but anyone who has been to NYC and practically anywhere else in the States knows it has a culture all its own and you can not base your entire opinion of the country on that one place; that is just the beauty of America. For those who have never been there, all these different beliefs come generally from the media, especially American movies, and word of mouth. Makes a lot of sense when you think about how many stereotypes there are about the British, particularly our/there movies, which to my experience are almost completely untrue.

So how should they be dealt with?
Well I believe there are three generally good ways (I am sure there are more, but I am just choosing to focus on the three)

Laugh
-I do not mean like laugh at them for being stupid or something, but laugh at the actual stereotypes. This gives the impression right away that evidently it is wrong but this approach is better when talking to people who actually know you so you can stop laughing and calming explain the stereotype without them thinking you are rude. Examples of this technique: I could not help laughing when somebody said to me....
"Isn't America like what’s on that show...um Jersey Shore?" (The laughing was followed by a rather quick no)

"Isn't it true that it is expected when you go to prom in America that you will sleep with your prom date?"
(After laughing, that was followed by a no and a where in the world did you get that idea)

"Aren't American High Schools like they are depicted in the movies...for example Mean Girls?" (This was laughed at just because in a way yes in many cases certain situations are similar to how they are in real life but as with most movies, the actual happenings of daily life are too boring and therefore amplified to make things more interesting)

Although laughing is great, you should still make sure to explain how you feel it actually is and also explain that it may be true in some places or situations but it is still a stereotype, which is something based on truth but has been blown out of proportion.

Explain it
-This approach works better in an academic setting or with those you do not know very well. I have generally used this when I heard someone make a comment and felt it was far off enough that it needed explaining or when people have politely inquired about American culture and it was in an Academic or non-familiar way. Basically you just calmly reiterate what they are saying so you are sure about what assumption is being made, ask why they have that assumption, and explain your experience with it the best you can. I have had one situation where they named one individual in which it fit, which I could not argue with but I could argue the point that just because it is true with that one person, does not mean it fits all Americans. I mean to be honest the only thing you can definitely say about all Americans is that we are all American.

Ignore it and just walk away
-This approach works best if used in a situation where you are talking to one of the few people here or are absolutely stuck in their way of thinking about the world and therefore will argue with you relentlessly if you try to diffuse what they believe. Thankfully I have only run into this I believe once. Really you just need to decide if whether explaining the truth of the assumption is really worth your time and trouble and if it is not, ignore the person and just walk away. An exception to that would be if you live in the same hall as them. In that case it needs to be explained to them that you do not like those kinds of comments and they need to stop. If they do not stop and they are making you uncomfortable or alienated, then there are plenty of people whom you can talk to on campus and it can get resolved.


I hope this is helpful and as a final bit of advice, DO NOT BE A HYPOCRIT. If you do not want someone to judge you by a stupid American stereotype then do not judge them by one you have of their country or culture. The whole purpose of this exchange is to expose those involved to different viewpoints and cultures. This includes being open about any preexisting beliefs and being willing to get rid of such beliefs if they are not true. Just come to England or any other country you travel to with an open mind and you will have a great time. Cheers!