Hi everyone, I'm Susie and I'm from the UK.
Today we will be looking at some answers that
people have responded to in the YouTube community.
My question to you is:
What are your negative stereotypes about the UK?
So let's take a look.
My partner is British.
Not in a negative way,
just that British people are very proud of their 'British humour'.
So, we're kind of proud of our humour.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
There is a bit of a pride about the humour.
I think it's probably in relation to the US a lot of the time.
Because a lot of the TV that we watch in the UK
comes from the US,
and there's a certain style of humour
that you just don't see in US comedy.
People like to think of it as really unique
and so yeah, that's where that comes from.
Whether it's actually better or not or funnier,
I'm not so sure
but sometimes it can just be drier
and more kind of subtle,
like you have to really pay attention to know
that someone's saying a joke.
A lot of sarcasm,
sort of humorous,
but also with a sense of 暗中插刀.
Oh, that's really interesting.
The joke might seem like secretly, they're holding a knife in the dark.
I know what you mean,
there's a kind of a biting sort of feeling that actually,
the jokes can be quite mean.
I would say that that's definitely true
that often banter can be about
taking the piss out of other people
and being kind of harsh,
and the other person's ability to take that joke
and to just go along with it and find the humour in it
just shows like how strong the bond is between two people.
It's like the more mean and the more horrible you are to your friend
and the more they don't care,
the more it shows just how close you are.
There is something like that
that kind of goes on with British humour
which I think is kind of interesting.
So, but I can imagine
that if you're coming from somewhere
that doesn't use that style of humour
you might be like
'Hey! That's actually really mean!'
like 'Why are you being horrible to me?'
The people are welcoming.
Ah, someone said that
why are we talking about negative stereotypes,
because in London,
over 90% of people are like not from the UK,
and it's all like quite harmonious.
And then if you leave London,
then people tend to be really friendly and kind,
so that's really sweet.
Yeah, I like that one.
I think that's true.
Once we lived, studied and worked in the UK for three years.
I found UK people, in general,
very polite (= dull?).
Some with good humour and many were very kind.
Love it!
'Some had good humour', only some,
'and many were kind', I love it!
Polite = dull?
Interesting.
I know what you mean.
Sometimes if people are too nice,
it can be like
'Seriously though, like, who are you?',
like: 'Tell me more about who you are and what you want.'
because it's just like
Oh, yeah. Everything's fine.
Being very polite.
then that can come across as a little bit dull.
And then the next person said that:
Often, British people might not see other people as important.
This is what the next person said.
This seems to mean the opposite.
So, the next person thinks that actually
some British people,
especially like white women,
might not see other people or not think of them as important.
So I guess that's pretty much the opposite
to what the previous person said.
Yeah, that's pretty troubling.
I guess I'm trying to think from the other perspective of like
how I come across
and now I'm feeling very self-conscious, like:
'Oh my god! Have I been doing these things myself?'
My British guy friend told me
that the idea of white supremacy spans across different ages.
Whether they realised it or not,
they do have racism.
Okay,
she's saying like whether or not people realise it,
there is a kind of racism going on.
Yeah,
I mean that's pretty sad,
definitely not gonna deny that that might be the case,
but I guess the more and more we get to know each other
on a personal level,
like one-to-one,
then these things become more and more irrelevant
because it's like: 'I know you, you know me.', like
doesn't matter what gender or race or whatever we are,
like we like each other, we get along, we're friends.
So, hopefully, people can have more of those types of experiences,
like deep, proper friendships
and sort of forget about what strangers say.
I mean, half the time
if I bump into a stranger and they're rude to me,
you know, I could think
'Oh my god!,
I don't know, like receptionists. They're always like this.
but it's just that sort of distance
that can create like negative perceptions, I think.
And then the more you get to know people,
then those things become kind of less relevant.
It's shocking to find that
British people love to attack people with a smile.
So, I think that's kind of like what I was saying before about
the humour being very mean
and so that might shock someone who's not used to it.
So, that does take some getting used to, I think,
it's like finding the boundaries
and knowing what people can and can't accept.
So if someone's made a mean joke to you
and you haven't reacted well to it,
then hopefully they'll pick up on that
and not make those kinds of jokes to you.
What they're hoping, probably, is that
you will laugh and laugh it off
and then make a mean joke back,
and sort of throw on back at them
and then it's like a bit of teasing and banter like that,
but obviously, that person missed the mark
and they didn't make the joking quite the right way.
Speak ill of others without fear of being overheard.
Speak ill of others.
I'm thinking about whether this person means like on the bus,
people just gossiping and like talking shit about each other,
or like, you know, saying bad things about someone
and not really caring that everyone around can hear.
Yeah,
I think people tend to be quite open in public a little bit more
than in some other places that I have been,
and yeah, I have to say that I don't quite get that
cause I'm very shy in public.
Like if I have to take a phone call on the bus, I'll be like:
'Oh my god! No!',
like I'll call them back later.
I don't want people to hear my conversation,
even if it's about the most boring thing.
So,
yeah, I haven't quite been able to guge
why people do that, either.
Most of them don't like to take bath.
Lots of people don't shower?
Okay, interesting.
I don't know anyone that doesn't shower,
but probably it could be a thing of like people just sweat more here,
or the sweat is smellier,
because like I talked about before,
I discovered that lots of Asian people don't use deodorant,
like never used it in their life,
and that's just baffling because like
you have to use deodorant as a British person.
So, if someone forgot to wear deodorant one day,
you're probably gonna think they didn't shower
because they'll smell pretty bad.
So,
I'm sorry. We stink.
I can't help that.
Yeah, apologies on behalf of anyone who stinks
and hopefully that person is not me.
Drinking Red Bull all day.
Everyone's drinking Red Bull all day.
I have no idea who this person is associating with,
that is not me
or anyone that I know.
Why is that a problem?
Oh, maybe you just mean like they're too energised,
like always bouncing off the walls, being really excited.
Yeah, I don't know what to say about that.
No matter how tired they are when commuting,
they won't sleep on the train.
Oh,
not sleeping on the trains when commuting.
That's interesting.
Yeah, there's definitely a different culture around sleeping.
Like when I was living in Asia,
there's a culture of taking a nap,
like you feel tired, just take a nap,
that's totally fine,
which I love,
that's so relaxed
and I need to sleep a lot,
so that's, personally, I love that.
But, yeah, so you find it's a bit too like rigid,
you know, we're commuting to work
and yet you're still expected to not sleep.
I totally agree with you.
People should sleep on the train to work.
What else are you gonna do?
Like, people must be absolutely shattered.
Bring back sleep!
Yes! I agree with you!
More persistent than Asians in giving up seats for someone.
Okay,
so maybe this one isn't a negative stereotype,
but just people are really good at giving up their seats for someone.
Yep, I guess that's kind of a good culture.
They don't use umbrella.
We don't carry an umbrella.
Yeah, surprisingly, you'll find that in the UK,
not that many people actually carry umbrellas.
I think it's probably just a fashion thing.
Younger people tend to, these days, wear like a hood,
a coat with a hood.
It's more convenient that way.
At university,
it feels like British students don't really like to
hang out with students from other countries.
Yeah, that is a really tricky one.
Local students don't like to hang out
with students from other countries.
That's a really good point,
and I think that's an accurate observation in some cases,
not all of the time, of course.
Why is it that students just stick to their group,
the people that they know?
I'm not saying that all students do that,
but I've also noticed it from other, some other countries,
that countries tend to stick to their groups.
As a former student myself who lived abroad,
I can kind of give you a bit of an idea, perhaps.
So, when I was living in Shanghai,
at first,
I was like,
I am gonna learn Chinese.
I'm gonna be 100% Chinese by the end of this year,
and therefore I'm gonna live with a Chinese family.
I'm only gonna make friends with Chinese people.
I'm not speaking to my English friends anymore.
Goodbye English friends, I don't need you.
And after about a month or two,
I felt really lonely, really homesick,
and quite just like not okay in myself,
and so I slowly came back to my English friends,
you know, the ones I'd made at university previously in England,
and I was just like, you know, can't we hang out?
I just want to feel normal.
I want to feel safe.
I want to feel part of a group
and I just felt, you know, really lonely.
So, I think that's probably why
people tend to stick to their own kind, don't they?
They just want to feel safe
and everything's fine and like that,
so, yeah, that's my take on that issue.
I think the stereotype of British people
may be caused by the class system of British society unconsciously.
Yeah, the class system.
I definitely think the class system thing is phasing out big time,
like in a couple of generations,
barely gonna feel much of the remnants of that.
It obviously,
like, was more of an issue in the past
and there's probably remnants of a bit of resentment from both sides,
like you know whether you're really rich or really poor or whatever.
But thankfully,
I think that kind of period is coming to an end,
and so we have to wait and see what's next,
but it will probably look quite different
than the old class system did look.
These days, there are so many more opportunities for people to make money
for people to make money
and make something of themselves
aside from what their family gave them.
I'm always afraid that after speaking,
the British people will say 'Interesting'.
Did I say something wrong?
Don't be afraid of the word 'interesting'.
It doesn't always mean that what you said is really boring.
Sometimes, people are genuinely interested in what you have to say,
so it's like: 'Oh. Interesting!'
Yeah, that's not necessarily a negative word.
It's more about the tone than the word,
so it's like: 'Hmm.',
it's more like a 'Ha. I see. I'm listening.
Understand,
so, that's what 'interesting' means.
Why are there no public bathrooms on the streets in the UK?
I'm completely baffled by this.
There definitely are public bathrooms in the street.
Yeah, like where I live in Brighton,
there's one at pretty much every interval where you need one,
like on the beach, in the park, like they are around.
They tend to not be like that nice,
maybe not so clean.
Failing that, if you can't find a public bathroom,
you can just go into a cafe or a restaurant or a pub, sometimes,
and they'll be quite happy to let you use their bathroom
if you ask nicely.
Why are the floors in many places in the UK sticky?
It feels uncomfortable.
The floor is sticky?
Yeah, that's horrible.
Why is the floor sticky?
Yeah, you're probably finding that
you might have walked into like a Wetherspoons,
and at night they turn it into like a club,
and then people spill their drinks on the floor
and then they haven't changed the carpet,
and, you know, it's difficult to clean.
So, it can get sticky
but I don't want people who haven't been here
to think that all the floors are sticky
because that's gross and definitely not true.
But, yeah, I'm sorry you had that experience.
They should clean it.
British people loves beating around the bush.
Okay, yeah. We don't speak directly enough.
Yep, that's difficult for non-native speakers
to really get the meaning of what's being said.
Avid football fan.
Crazy sports fans?
Yeah,
what is with the crazy sports fans?
Can they just like shut up for a second?
Jesus.
Like, they are so annoying.
No, yeah seriously,
football, I mean,
I can't empathise because I don't like football.
But if I speak to someone who loves football,
it's just like it's a passion in their heart
and it makes them feel alive
and part of something great,
so
I think we just have to understand
that there's some reason why they like it.
I don't understand
it but they tell me there is a reason,
so I'm just going to have to assume that it's a good one,
because
yeah, they're really loud and annoying.
They don't express true emotions easily.
Yeah,
not sharing openly.
Not expressing their feelings openly.
I have to say that
living in Taiwan actually made me realise this a bit more
because I'm not sure whether it just happened to be
the people that I met,
but people were just so genuine and open
in a way that was like I could tell
they're not trying to impress me or trick me,
they don't want anything from me.
They're just, like interested in, like, getting to know me
and sharing about themselves and being open about themselves,
and I thought that's just quite touching,
like just being like innocent and honest.
And I realised that my culture just isn't quite,
it just wasn't like that growing up,
it wasn't so open and honest.
Now, maybe that's just my personal experience,
but the fact that someone's written here
that British people are not so open with their feelings,
it does make me think, why is that?
What happened?
Part of me feels like there's probably been a bit of like,
I don't know, a trauma in the past,
you know, the war and all that kind of stuff,
class system, whatever,
people have a bit of baggage that gets passed down
through the generations.
I always remember the study about a rat
which it's really interesting.
Basically, they have a mouse and then they give it like a shock,
like some trauma,
and then they still find remnants of that memory of the trauma,
like two or three generations down
that the babies are remembering that experience.
So, maybe this causes people to be a little bit more closed
and a bit more wary,
you know, not quite as open with people
before we get to know them.
And for me, that's definitely true.
I'm not gonna be sharing my thoughts and feelings
with the first person I meet.
Kind of, you know, it's unusual that I'm on YouTube,
don't know how that happened,
but usually, it would take me quite a few meetings
and long periods of time spent with someone
before I'd maybe trust them enough
to share proper things about myself and my life.
So, yeah. That's just the way I am.
I'm probably a little bit more on that spectrum towards,
you know, not sharing than even the average British person.
So living in Taiwan,
I think it was really lovely for me
to just see that way of being and to be a bit more okay with sharing.
So, yeah. That's why I'm here today.
I've met a lot of British people who can't eat spicy food.
British people can't eat spicy food?
You're right!
That is unacceptable!
I'm just joking.
So, the British people eating at the same table,
sort of medium spicy food,
had to run and get a drink of water.
I'm gonna say this is just a 水土不服的問題,
like just not used to it.
British politeness are used to show who they are,
and not out of respect or like the other person.
It creates distance between people.
Hmm. Interesting.
British people are polite
because they want to increase their status
or give a good impression,
and not because they actually respect or like the other person,
and it creates distance between people.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
I'm gonna think about that one.
Okay. There are so many more answers that I didn't discuss,
we'll leave it for next time.
Thank you all for sharing your answers.
I'm happy to learn more about what people think about the UK.
Thanks for watching. I'm Susie
and I'll see you next time.