What is the American Stereotype?

So these kids came over from france and visited our french class. They said the typical american stereotype is that Americans are all very very fat.

If you aren't in the U.S, what do you think of when you here 'American?'

okay, i did a little search and i guess i way overshot the number of canadians who had passports at the time: it was more like 40%.  the 25% was the high end of estimates for americans.  both numbers have gone up since, of course.

and peacelove, hon, i'm sticking to my guns on this: you might feel like most everyone disapproves of sex, you might be surrounded by people who do, but i don't believe that a majority of people think premarital sex is bad.  if that was true, fewer people would be doing it.

i know. i was just trying to prove my point that it's still looked down upon.

Not as much as you're making it out to be...

actually we were covering this in my marriage &family class. it IS looked down upon, i'm not concluding that just on people that i'm surrounded by.

cabaret_ i would be happy that i disproved his stereotype of americans. (:

i can agree that it's looked down on in theory, but i don't think that translates into behaviour.  and when people act against their "beliefs" it's usually because they don't really believe in them.

but maybe i'm wrong.  okay...so what?  do you look down on it?  i mean, if you've seen anything hanging around here, it's that you're never going to be in agreement with everyone.  you can only act on your own beliefs.

Yeah, sex is considering debauched by many.. that's why we look down on prostitutes and those that are promiscuous..

i only look down on promiscuity because of the contraction of STDs.

curves, we don't all look down on prostitutes, and some of us know that prostitution isn't really about sex.

STIs (the new teminology is sexually transmitted infections; not all meet disease criteria) are a risk.  they're a risk that you can minimize, but not eliminate.  like most risks.  the chance of getting an STI while practicing safe sex is probably about the same as the chance of getting a noro virus, and much less than something like staph. 

i wear a seatbelt.  i keep to within 20 (30?) kilometers of the speed limit.  i wear a bike helmet.  when i ski, i don't attain mach speed (often).  i don't quit driving, riding, or skiing.

pg, im talking about one night stands. say a girl had 4 guy friends that she were friends w/ benefits with &had them all tested &they showed her their results and they all came back negative, i wouldn't look down on her.

but say she hooked up after meeting the guy after 10 minutes, without knowing his sexual past-yes, i would look down on her.

i wouldn't look down on her for either.  i would worry about her in either situation.

why? if she had them all tested? &actually SAW the results. that would significantly decrease her chances.

because there are bigger risks that STIs.

im sorry, did you mean *than*?

like what?

yes, love, i meant "than."

like long-term emotional consequences.  i think a sober, conscious one-night stand is usually a lot less destructive than a "casual" sexual relationship (let alone four at once). 

Well for me i know when americans walk in because most of they are very very loud. However i might point out that a lot of asian cultures (china and Korea) are also very very loud. I think the problem is that America is so big as a country that is why most americans only know about america, we had in school some american students that came for 3 months to switzerland and a lot of their parents asked the teachers if their kids needed a passport to travel to europe....

Its not that they are stupid its just that most of them have only been in America and already travelling from one side to the other is a big step for some.

French people ahahaha, well we have pelnty of stereotypes lets see, snobby attitude, very self centered, dont try to welcome foreigners, etc etc....

If i compare in all countries i have been to, most americans that i have met were over weight, but hey this problem is comming to europe as well... when i went to america well i went to houston i was shocked to see so many obese people, but then hey you see as well a lot of very healthy people, the problem is portions i mean we went to a restaurant and ordered as we used to in france a starter and a main, oh my god we got a whole bowl of salad and a huge piece of steak... 2 /3 of the food was left on the plates because we couldnt finish it.

All countries have stereotypes.... French, Germans, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Americans... no one is nice to one another french people have a perception of americans and vice versa

i disagree. she could get so many STI's from that one-night-stand.

let's take it to email.

And just because those four guys tested negative at the start doesn't mean they aren't sleeping around either. And chances are if she's having sex with those 4 guys, there are others.

Its not that they are stupid its just that most of them have only been in America and already travelling from one side to the other is a big step for some.

I think part of the reason so many Americans never leave America is because of the cost of traveling. It's very expensive to go to Asia ($1500-2500 for the flight alone). Europe is more affordable in terms of flights. I know from my city you could sometimes find deals for $500 to fly into London or Paris.

And I think Americans are loud. Koreans are really loud too., haha

Original Post by alibuch:

And just because those four guys tested negative at the start doesn't mean they aren't sleeping around either. And chances are if she's having sex with those 4 guys, there are others.

 i realize that. but atleast her chances of contracting the STI would decrease.no?

 

okay, i need to stop jacking this thread, haha, sorry.

Doubtful.

totally off subject but i couldn't resist. i think the reason why so many ppl think of sex as a 'bad' thing is because so many of them cannot enjoy anything unless it's 'bad'. it's a testament to the human spirit that so many of us were conceived from an act considered 'bad'.

if you doubt what i say then why is it we all fear getting caught masturbating?

this isn't to say i subscribe to the idea that sex is inherently bad, but it's fun sometimes to think you're getting away with something, aint it?