Americans: The French Are Hairy Communists Who Don’t Bathe

According to the website of TF1, a FR TV channel, that’s what Americans think of the French.

And as they say on late night (American) TV infomercials: But wait! There’s more!

As posted on the Connexion website, here are the top 10 ‘prejudices’ or stereotypes that TF1 says (we) Americans have of the FR:

1. The French strike all the time, are lazy and are Communists.

My take: They may not strike all the time, but when they do, it’s at the most inconvenient time. For example, ground crews for Air France are expected to go on strike this Friday, the last day before the two-week ‘Toussaint vacance’ starts.

2. All French people smoke.

My take: Not all do, but TF1 says about 30% do.

3. French women don’t shave; especially their armpits (but the French think this applies to Germans, said TF1).

My take: The Connexion didn’t say that the English think this as well.

4. They love wine and cheese, often eat snails and frogs’ legs and always walk about with a baguette under their arms. “Americans think of the baguette in the same way as they think of the Eiffel Tower: a French person without a baguette isn’t French.”

My take: If you were lived here, you’d love wine and cheese and bread, too. Duh. I have yet to be drunk enough to try snails, but my mom – a lifelong American – loves frogs’ legs. On the other hand, when it comes to meat, the FR will eat the entirety of animal. See my post on the ‘Foire au Porc’ for proof. As for the baguettes, name any Hollywood-produced rom-com movie that doesn’t feature someone walking around with a baguette sticking out of their grocery bag.

5. They are chic and sophisticated. For example, dinners among friends are often more refined than American ones.

My take: When our neighborhood has its annual block party, I’m amazed at what the folks whip up to share as appetizers. Bon ap indeed.

6. They are sex mad – “a well-brought-up Frenchwoman never says ‘no’, particularly if she thinks she’s loved” according to American journalist and francophile Ted Stranger. The DSK affair reinforced the image of French men as sex-obsessed.

My take: I don’t know about sex-obsessed. I’d say Americans are more fixated on the subject. But DSK is something else. And I’d prefer not so say what.

7. French men are effeminate – they tend to be painters and fashion designers, while the American ideal is the rough-and-ready cowboy type. Their language is “delicate and charming”, not down-to-earth.

My take: Most Americans couldn’t think of a FR painter – or probably any other painter – in last 75 years. But they would think the FR are fashion designers. Them and the Italians. As for the American ideal of a cowboy, most boys gave up that idea in elementary school. This sounds more like a FR stereotype of Americans.

8. They are arrogant and rude. However this might be because too many Americans only go to Paris, said TF1. Perhaps though it is also because the French are so proudly attached to their culture and stand up for it a bit too much.

My take: The FR are proud of their country and especially of their language and culture. Each week, the ‘olivier’ at our market gives the lovely missus and me FR language lessons. We’re impressed because he cares enough to want us to speak better. As for being rude, I agree with the comment that maybe that’s because when most Americans do visit FR, they go only to Paris. It would be like basing your entire view of the US based on a visit to New York City. All I can say is that here in the southwest of FR, we have been treated great, both by our neighbors and by strangers. Speaking French, even badly, really opens people up to us. Finally, what American – or any other nationality for that matter – doesn’t think ‘our country is the greatest’?

9. They smell bad and don’t wash. The image may date back to Sun King Louis XIV and his courtiers who doused themselves in scent rather than bathing.

My take: A couple of weeks ago, I was in Super U, a chain grocery store with a branch in LegoLand. I was looking for a bar of soap. I looked and looked and couldn’t find any. I spotted a friend of mine and asked her if she knew where they were hiding the soap. She led me to an aisle and there, on the bottom shelf, were maybe three or four different brands. C’est tout. My friend – a Brit – told me that the FR shower every day, they just don’t like soap. She added, “They use shower gel, maybe, and then they just plop on some deodorant or cologne.” Note: A recent survey said that 1/5 of FR people don’t shower daily and that 1 in 29 shower but once a week. On the other (clean) hand, 12% take at least two showers a day.

10. They can’t finish a war – the Americans can’t forget about 1940 or Iraq.

My take: Remember what happened when you typed in “French Military Victories” on Google? Here’s what came up instead. I don’t get the Iraq thing. The FR were right not to go. But when it comes to FR and fighting, most Americans would agree with Groundskeeper Willie.

PS: Here’s a link to a not so great Google Translate version of the website post.