We've talked in class about ethnocentric Americans, who believe their country is the best, the American way the right way, perhaps even the only way.
Some years ago a term emerged to describe an extremely ethnocentric American: the "Ugly American." Ugly Americans are "loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless and ethnocentric Americans abroad," tourists or businesspeople, traveling or living abroad, who remain ignorant of local culture and judge everything by American standards
Are Ugly Americans only middle-aged or older people-- your parents' generation-- who had limited exposure to other parts of the world? Are Ugly Americans a disappearing species, replaced by a new generation who has grown up in a global environment, has friends of other races and cultures, and has experienced international travel at a much younger age? Or are there culturally-insensitive Americans abroad from all generations?
I did a little research about the prevalence of the Ugly American today and found some different opinions in recent publications. Take a look:
The Ugly American is Looking Better This writer believes the Ugly American is dead, because we're more diverse and because our country isn't as powerful as it used to be.
Is the Ugly Chinese Replacing the Ugly American? This Management Issues columnist says we still deserve the title, but as they become more powerful, the Chinese are coming on strong.
Rick Steves on The Ugly American America's most enthusiastic European traveler discusses the difference between Ugly Americans and Thoughtful Americans and how to enjoy becoming a temporary European.
The Prettier Uglier Americans You'll want to read this. This op-ed piece from the Washington Times was startling to me. The author talks about the behavior of American college students studying abroad, and it's not a pretty picture. (As a parent of a daughter who studied Italian in Florence this past summer, this article made me very nervous.) Here's a similar story about "study-abroad students gone wild" from NPR. And perhaps the ultimate Ugly Americans were the cast members of "Jersey Shore," who received a extremely "cold shoulder" when they arrived in Florence for filming this summer. (See this article from the Wall Street Journal.)
What do you think? Does the "Ugly American" still exist today? Have you met any in your travels? Is this type of ignorant and arrogant behavior primarily found among older Americans... or have you seen cultural insensitivity in younger Americans too? If you encounter people like this in your work group or on your study abroad program, what should you do?
18 comments:
I think that there are so called "ugly Americans" among every culture and nationality. If you travel abroad, for the most part, you will find that people would tell you their culture and practices are the right ones. Does that mean that all other cultures are wrong? No, It just means that most people are accustomed to their own country and way of living, its called patriotism. America is a very young country which i believe results in a higher level of patriotism than most others. I do not think their is anything wrong with rooting for the home team, or having pride in your home nation. Is this an excuse to be ignorant or rude toward other cultures, absolutely not, but the United States does have the second highest immigration rate in the world, so maybe "Ugly Americans" have a point.
When I studied abroad in Tokyo, I remember an incident in which I was and was with a group of "ugly Americans." About 15 of us were riding the train somewhere, and we were being horribly noisy and obnoxious. We were laughing and talking loudly, and Japanese people absolutely do not do that on trains. They read or listen to music or gaze at nothing. My friend pointed out how we were acting, and I felt embarrassed of us and quieted down. I encouraged others to do the same. It was an unusual occurrence for my group, and it didn't really happen again. That incident was certainly evidence of the existence of "ugly Americans," but in our defense, it was only one incident in six weeks, and we learned from it.
Rick Mula
When I was preparing to go Italy and study abroad, we had several meetings and they constantly warned us not to be the "ugly American." Where I studied in Urbino the bar most frequented was in the middle of town and there apartments were everywhere all the way back to the dorm. Students would leave the bar, would be very loud and completely forget that they were disrespectful since we were guests in someone else's home. I do not think the the ugly American stereotype is as bad as it was once but I do believe that all Americans need to be aware of the image they portray.
I do not believe that the "Ugly American" is a generational thing. I believe that there are "Ugly Americans" in every generation and social group. I say this because of my experience in Italy with students and seeing other tourists there. I would say being an "Ugly American" comes from being close-minded and ignorant. When I studied abroad in Italy, I'm sure at some point I was "that American tourist", but I would not say that I was an "ugly America." Some of the classmates I traveled with, however were. I became very embarrassed at times when I knew my friends were being judgmental and close-minded. I think portraying this type of behavior is so embarrassing for Americans and wish people could just understand that not everyone is alike.
I think that the problem is slowly subsiding, but will never be fully eliminated due to many reasons. For a start, I believe racism is still very prevalent in the South Eastern United States, which causes Americans to be incredibly rude, demeaning, thoughtless and ethnocentric when travelling abroad. Another factor, as Alyse mentioned is the drinking age in this country. Students will act irresponsibly and wild when exposed to alcohol( which is likely to be in their senior year of high school when most of them take trips abroad). I encountered such a group during my last year in the United Kingdom, when I was with a few friends in London. This group got thrown out of the pub we were eating at for being too loud and smashing the fixtures and equipment. I believe that lowering the drinking age would go a long way in solving this problem as American youth will then learn to act responsibly after being exposed to alcohol, and therefore not uphold the image they portray to foreigners.
I believe that there are definitely still "Ugly Americans" in our culture, as well as other cultures. While I travelled abroad in Australia, some of the people I was with even displayed some of these characteristics. Multiple times we might walk into an establishment, and we were immediately be the loudest people in the building. We quickly gained the attention of many people. This obviously caused us some discomfort as well as embarrassment.
At the same time I believe (like William said) there are "ugly americans" among every culture. Im sure many of us have met someone in the United States that may be from another culture, and didn't quite respect the norms of whatever culture we may be used to.
I've not traveled abroad much but where I have gone there really hasn't been any sightings of the "Ugly American". However, I won't say that they don't exist anymore because I know many people that would be put in that category. The age thing isn't really a factor with this. Moving from one section of the country to another you see that the "Ugly American" is alive and well here in their own country. It's less the people that travel abroad and more the people that are here when we have people visiting.
There will always be people like this. That idiot we've all met on the bus in Knoxville doesn't suddenly become polite when they change continents. I think the main reason that people think this is changing is because more Americans are going abroad. I think the more interactions that foreigners have with Americans, the more this perception will start to fade.
David Mouron
I do believe that the "ugly American" does still exist today because I have encountered some while abroad, however, I do think that this group of people is shrinking. People are becoming more educated and I feel that we are more diverse in some instances than ever so that also helps to shrink this group of people. I would say you typically think of older people being the more ignorant intolerant ones, however, I believe it is just the way someone is raised and I have met college kids even now who have this "ugly American" belief. Hopefully, in time this phrase will no longer be used to describe any group of people and everyone can learn to be more sensitive to cultural differences.
Courtney Moradipour
I believe the "Ugly American" definitely still exists today. I have personally met these people as well in my travels, first while in Costa Rica and later in Germany. After my experience in Costa Rica in March of 2010 I was under the impression that the older generation more commonly fell into the "Ugly American" category because my travels there gave me the impression that there are two types of American travelers. All of the tourists I met that were my own age were using the public transportation, living out of hostels, interacting with the locals, and like myself attempting to learn as much Spanish as possible to eliminate miscommunications and also out of a guilty feeling by making someone use my language in their country. On the other hand there were the much older tourists who stayed in expensive hotels and condos, who would rent vehicles and expect traffic laws to be similar to those in America, and who knew zero Spanish and made no effort to change that. While in Germany however there was one other student from UT at the university I was attending and he definitely fit the image of the "Ugly American". He refused to use German even though he spoke it unless absolutely necessary and had no desire to adopt a German outlook on life. My reaction to this was to attempt to get him out of his shell and open his eyes to the possibilities available to him if he would just try. It did not work particularly well and it was a shame because he lived in the same city as me for a half year longer but I left with much closer friendships and a much fuller experience in general.
All of these articles about "The Ugly American" are great!
Unfortunately, the Ugly American still exists today. In a perfect world where all people were more globally educated and open-minded, this would not be the case. But such is life.
I unfortunately know some people from my study abroad group this summer who I would classify as Ugly Americans.
Contrary to the question posed, I think that this steotype exists primarily in the younger generations, although the older generations can certainly have their share of Ugly Americans as well.
In order to remedy the problem of cultural insensitivity and eliminate this sstereotype, I think the only thing we as more globally educated Americans can do to help those who feel superior or uncomfortable in other cultures is to find ways to help them be more culturally sensitive.
I would have to agree with the saying that the "Ugly American is Getting Prettier". I believe this is so because the average American between the ages of 18-30 have probably been out of the country at least twice within a few years. Though I feel like there are still very extreme ethnocentric individuals abroad causing some kind of disturbance (for instace, the Jersey Shore cast)in the midst of the millions that are becoming more and more sensitive to cultural differences.
Kierra Warren
I think the most dangerous "Ugly American" is the one you don't see traveling the world. It's the one you see right here at home that refuses to open their mind to what else is out there: other views, languages, products, or ways of life. I meet so many people, especially in the south, who refuse any talk about other countries being better at something than America. All Americans should be proud of who they are but should not belittle what other nations contribute to the world. There are things that we can learn from other countries to strengthen ourselves if we just take the time to listen and learn.
The "Ugly American" does exist, and unfortunately, I saw an example of this within my own family when they came to visit me in France. My aunt would constantly complain about the lack of air conditioning in old buildings and the absence of ice in the drinks, among other things. However, I have to say that I think the "Ugly American" is more prevalent among older generations. My sisters had never traveled outside the country before, but were far more open minded when they encountered differences in Europe. I hope that the increasing interconnectedness of the world is signaling the end of ethnocentrism.
I believe the "ugly American" does still exist today. I have met some in my travels abroad and here in the states. I believe the view of an ugly american also exists here in the states. For example, alot of southern people might believe that northern people are ignorant and arrogant. I believe that cultural insensitivity exists in all generations not just a single generation. While studying abroad in France I did encounter some people that were the typical ugly Americans, they were ignorant and disrespectful. Some people just dont understand and dont care about other people's values and cultures and its a shame that certain people act the way they do when abroad because it gives a negative image not only about them but America as a whole.
Yes, they do and I think it cut across, old and young alike but the young are the worse because older generations have some sort of maturity and can approach diplomatically. The bottom line, in my opinion is exposure and once ability to embrace other cultures. The less exposed you are, the uglier you become.
Should I came across one today, my approach is to ignore him/her if I think it will become a problem if I try to educate.
I think that the ugly American stereotype still exists and I think that everyone has a little of ugly in them, even everyone in this class. I don't think some people act that way on purpose but rather it just comes naturally. I don't think this stereotype will ever die all together because there will always be people who don't want to open their eyes to other cultures or who are just too ignorant to realize the bigger picture. As far as students traveling and living abroad, it is only natural for college kids to go to these different countries and in a sense 'let loose' especially students that can not legally drink in the US. I don't think students would act out of control when traveling abroad if rules and laws in the US were in more accordance with other nations. At the same time, students should be responsible when overseas not to represent the US in a good light per se but to keep themselves safe.
I loved all the articles and agree with most. Alot of us a fortunate enough to have traveled the world, America states included an we all know plp for other countries. I come from corryton TN which is only 15 from downtown Knoxville. Most the the people I have grown up with have never been in a plane, or gone anywhere farther then the closest beach. True country folks. If we put them in a foreign country they would most def be the ugly Americans we all know and love. I just tell u this because these people are our age.
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