Stereotypes of England

What do you think when you hear the word "England"?

"Clock, punctuality. Tea time at the afternoon... Fancy clothes and the Beatles" -My mom, 6 minutes ago.

These are the most common answers that people give when they talk about England in a superficial way; tea, music, a Jurassic queen, etc. Maybe we say these things without the intention of classifying, and many people (including my mom) don't know it, but these are STEREOTYPES.

A stereotype, according to the great Cambridge Dictionary, is "a fixed idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong", and there are many stereotypes about England that are surprisingly incorrect. So, in my try to show the world the truth about England, here I have some facts about the "bad known English".

1: They have bad teeth -FALSE

C'mon, of course the English brush their teeth. It is true that England produces high amounts of sugar, but English people really get mad when somebody says that they have caries so, don't do that!

 

2: They drink tea all day -FALSE

This is the most common stereotype, and actually I thought it was true, but English people usually drink tea only for breakfast. The "tea at the afternoon" has been replaced by coffee.

 

 3: They all have pale skin -FALSE

With high rates of immigration, especially from India, Pakistan and recently from Spain and Italy because of the economic crisis, it is just an illusion to believe that all the English people have white skin. I know that the country is specially rainy and cloudy and maybe people think that England doesn't see the sun too much, but the truth is that this is a community of mixed skins.

What about you? Did you knew about this stereotypes? 

By Catalina Soto

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