Expat_Wannabe

In your experience, do you find that Americans are much more centered on physical appearance than (the cliched) sense of humour? Bearing in mind that I'm moving to Southern California and have had limited exposure to other areas, I wondered whether it was just certain states that seemed to be focused on this, like it is England. (There was a thread in The Lounge talking about Hull having a large amount of larger-than-life people, whilst London and the South has the highest proportion of skinny bints!)
As an outsider, I would reckon on California, NY, Florida and Texas being the most shallow, but think that may be a sterotyped view from watching too much TV!

Patrick

Yes without a shadow of a doubt americans are shallow for the most part, you just have to watch there advertising.

I'm fat, bald and ugly and I'm proud!

Patrick

Expat_Wannabe

Thought 'The key to happiness is self delusion' - now describe yourself!

Ben

No, I don't think they are shallow. Yes, they are able to keep fit better in NYstate because there is more money available for gyms and you can pay for healthier food. the majority of people I know do care about their appearance but they are more concerned with being healthy. Maybe in the city it is different. Don't go in very often.

rogerpenycate

I've found that a lot of the ones I've met are shallow in so far as there is a lot of bullshit, and unkept promises.
I've also been plaguarized 3/4 times whereby I've given ideas and they've been "knicked" I guess this happens in the UK as well.
Re: physical appearance certainly in the 2 places I've lived, Fredericksburg VA and Southern Maryland they are a lot more laid back in "dress code" everyone seem to wear shorts in the summer and jeans in the winter. But not too much feminity in the ladies, very few skirts/dresses.
I dont think I've met one "poser" since I've been here. In the Uk they were everywhere

PrincessofWales

I don't think they are shallow, I do think the "balls out" attitude, particularly in the male workplace, can seem shallow to us Brits...I never experienced this in the UK.

I really noticed this through interviewing experience, you almost have to adopt that "balls-out" trait to push yourself above the competition, personally I think is is disingenuous and BS, but it seems to work.

whatever

Just picking up on this bit....
There does seem to be 2 very different type's of American women and maybe it's linked to location - maybe not. There's the very slim (next to anorexic), sometimes attractive, sometimes with boobs, but not always - that seem more frequent on the Western coast and cities. Then there is the very large lady who seems to be dotted around everywhere else. Is this just TV 'stereotype's' or are there states that seems to have more/less attractive locals than others?

rogerpenycate

I guess it's just where I live, Redneck country !

Poshpaws

Don't find them anymore shallow than Brit's. They just they have a less meaner slant on things than us Brits. Live here long enough, you'll see what I mean.

lairdside

The slim ladies are on the ABC Diet (Anorexia, Bulimia and Cocaine).

The larger ladies are carbohydrate addicts

lairdside

Yup, apparently Americans are happier in general and more satisfied with their lives than their European counterparts.

ukemigrant

In my experience, shallowness, like most human traits, follows the Bell curve. I've known as many shallow people in the UK as I do here. Mayhap you generalize too much?

dunroving

This is a more complex question than you might think. Being more fcoused on appearance doesn't necessarily equate to shallowness. That being said, here's what I think:

Brits are far more "fashion-conscious" than Americans, in terms of what the typical person wears I think that is especially true of people over 30-40 - most American guys in particular have been walking around in button-down shirts and pleated chinos for the last 50 years. Brits and Europeans are far more cutting-edge fashion-wise (again, I'm talking about "real people" fashion, not high fashion, which is really more of an art form than reflecting what real people wear).

As for bodily appearance, body image disorders (unhealthy obession with how you look) is a greater problem in the States I think (or maybe it's just recognized more). Anyone know figures on cosmetic surgery? I'd bet that there's more per capita in the States than UK.

Having said that, from dealing with college students in the States and the UK, I don't think average young Americans are any more shallow than average young Brits. Now, if you take the top 10-20% of the population, socially/economically, I might agree that Americans are more self-obsessed, or self-centered. For example, a colleague's kids go to the local Catholic School, which happens to serve the most affluent members of town, and those parents are the most self-important group of people I've ever heard of..... if that's what you mean by "shallow"(?)

Steff

I thought that British girls about my age seemed more concerned about getting dressed up & stuff than here, but maybe thats just me!

One of my friends who went to California said they are more concerned with appearance there, but I've never been there.

I wouldn't include Texas on that list though!! I think that Houston is one of the fattest cities.

dunroving

Yes, Houston was the "fattest city" last year, I believe, but they lost the title this year...