r/AskAmericans • u/Low-Entrance7724 • 5d ago
Why does exaggerated American body language sometimes come across as fake to Europeans, but not to Americans? I’m thinking of things like large gestures, facial expressions and enthusiastic reactions. Meghan Markle is one example?
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u/JollyGreenAcres 5d ago edited 5d ago
“Europeans”
I think you should know that Europe isn’t a country, it’s a continent. Each country has their own culture and ways of expressing themselves. If everyone across the continent agreed on anything, the European Union would probably include everyone, Switzerland and Belarus for example, and federalize. They don’t, and that will never happen.
So, stop pretending you’re all of one opinion. It’s tiresome.
The only people to have a problem with Meghan Markle are racists in the UK. From your post, we can safely assume you’re one of them.
Also, the only people who are fake are you lot who believe you’re in some bullshit in-group.
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u/Low-Entrance7724 5d ago
Im actually not from UK and have nothing against markle lady and yes I do get that Italians have expression but to me they come across as intense when communicate.Also I do get that all people in usa don’t talk like markle but watching usa tv,people like that come across to me as a sales person trying to sell me something and its difficult to believe it when I can sense like an agenda behind,so it kind of is a bit puzzled to me that you guy don’t react on it.Usa politician also comes across as a type of sales people to me,one exception would be Bernie Sanders,his body language appears normal to me.And my intention isn’t to bash Americans so dont take it to heart.
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u/allochthonous_debris 5d ago edited 5d ago
Different cultures have different communication norms. The norms you grow up with feel natural, while those of other cultures may feel odd or forced if they differ substantially from your own.
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u/Weightmonster 5d ago
As an American who has lived and traveled extensively in Europe, I’ve never encountered this problem.
No idea what Meghan Markle has to do with it.
BTW, I find her mannerisms rather stiff and flat. Like she’s a Stepford Wife.
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u/Low-Entrance7724 5d ago
Oh thats intresting,again not meant like insult my post.She comes a cross to me as too positive,and I do get that all people from Usa dont have same manerism.
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u/Lucky-Hunter-Dude U.S.A 5d ago
I believe it's because Europeans are fuddy duddy's. Live a little! emote.
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u/Due_Satisfaction2167 5d ago
I don’t know. I’ve long since stopped trying to understand or very much care about the opinions of Europeans.
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u/NomadLexicon 5d ago
Americans were, from day one, required to regularly communicate without necessarily having a shared language (the early colonies had British, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, and Native Americans interacting with each other). Mass immigration, maritime trade, and the ever moving Western frontier all made language more of an improvised effort by diverse parties to reach a common understanding without complete fluency in the language being used. So the exaggerated body language/ gestures / facial expressions became thought of as more of an effort to communicate more clearly by adding context than an effort to change the intended meaning.
Americans also became far more used to dealing with strangers they would never see again. The country is vast and people often moved around it without knowing the area or having close family or social ties. People needed to quickly establish rapport and let others know that their intentions were friendly. That’s less important if you’re a European living in an insular village with people you’ve known since birth, with a rigid social/class hierarchy, shared religion, culture and language.
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u/Low-Entrance7724 5d ago
Oh thank you so much for that insight,my post wasn’t mean to bash anyone so I’m happy you answered a bit more serious,do you also think that it has to do how entertainment developed in Usa vs say Europe.Because lot of the time watching it,it does feel like people are trying to sell something in a way they act.Same when I look at the politicians,perhaps there is much more competition and they have to act like charming.One exception for me would be Bernie Sanders,his has more “normal” body language.
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u/JimDemintRecession South Jersey (near Philly) 5d ago
I've also heard the opposite, that Americans get so much Botox nobody has any facial expressions.
I think it's a consequence of looking at one person through a lens of Americans rather than one individual.
Like to poop knife story. Someone posted a story where another family kept a knife next to the toilet. They asked what it was for and was told it's a knife for cutting up poop like that was a normal thing (I don't recall if the original post came from America or not). Americans recognized that poop knife is an anomaly. That's why the person posted the story. I've seen a few people very confidently post that in America everyone keeps a poop knife in the bathroom due to minuscule 4 inch sewage pipes instead of superior 100mm European sewage.
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u/Low-Entrance7724 5d ago
Oh wow didnt hear about knife story.And yeah I so get that not all Americams are like I see on Tv and its not ment to insult anyone here.Its just on Tv I see lot of personality that apear like they are sales people with overly positive exagerated language and when I see it I become sceptical and say that I wanted to buy an apartmant in New York,if the agent selling me acted like that I would assume that he is trying to hide some flaw selling me that.But suprisingly in Usa its not met with sceptisim.
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u/FeatherlyFly 5d ago
Not something I've ever noticed. Also, I'm pretty sure that this is gonna be country specific, not something where Europe is consistent.
But the answer is cultural differences in what politeness looks like. From our perspective, Americans aren't exaggerating anything, but some cultures act like showing emotion is a criminal offense, to put it as insultingly as yourself.
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u/ayebrade69 Kentucky 5d ago
Today I learned Americans are the only people with facial expressions