The American Stereotype

While living in the land of tomorrow I commonly encounter a bias and a stereotype of Americans. Don't get me wrong Aussies love Americans but our hordes of Hawaiian shirt, socks with sandals wearing tourists at times have given us a less than favorable stereotype. That goes for most if not all cultures and tourists. Regardless I have learned to laugh at myself and or culture, even more than I used to. Don't worry I stand up for the good 'ol USA. On days when I am feeling particularly bratty I will look at James and just chant, "USA, USA!" Then if there is a sporting event that we compete in, I tell him how we are far superior in every way. He really enjoys that, but hey someone has to be honest with him.

Let me get to my point, one stereotype is that we don't know much about geography. And well, while there are people in the States that do know geography quite well, we need to admit that it is just not soaking in with the younger generation as well as it used to. Must I really remind anyone of the Miss South Carolina incident...

Well, we were talking about this stereotype in one of my classes (Cross Cultural Communication) and someone found this hilarious map about how American see the world. While, I know it is not entirely true, it is definitely a good laugh and I would say many of my stereotypes of the world are expressed in the map, not all. Well have a good look, a laugh and enjoy.

If you can't see the image clearly you can access it from this link: http://interactive.usc.edu/members/nsharkasi/americanworld.jpg

This one is quite good as well: http://www.dinglebum.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/the-world-according-to-americans.jpg