Which British stereotype do you wish would disappear? – 17 clichés about the UK that can get in the sea
When you think of Britain, what comes to mind? Big Ben? The Royal family? Cockney chimney sweeps?
Like any other country, Britain can be reduced to these stereotypes. And while some are harmless enough, others are getting on people’s nerves. u/fmh40 invited r/AskUK users to share the stereotypes they wish would disappear, and even kicked things off with their own suggestion:
‘For me, it’s the stereotype that we have rubbish food in the UK. We have a pretty original range of dishes across all four countries.
‘Everything from Haggis, fish and chips, roasts, Cornish pasties, rarebit, sticky toffee pudding (just to name a few).
‘Is there anything else you would eliminate if you could?’
These top answers prove that Britain is more nuanced than people think…
1.
‘Yeah the “The British conquered the world for spices and refuse to use them” thing is the worst.
‘Firstly, we do use spices in our food. Black pepper, mustard, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, etc. Quite a lot of our desserts use spices as well as savoury food. Just because we don’t specifically use a lot of paprika, chilli powder, etc doesn’t mean we use no spices.
‘Also, why does food need lots of spices to be good? More subtly seasoned food is also delicious, and I don’t see the same criticism directed at French food despite the similar spice level in their food.’
-djwillis1121
2.
‘The bad teeth thing annoys me. Americans seem to think good teeth means fake and bleached.’
-Bjork_scratchings
3.
‘That London is some sort of crime capital. Was in Japan recently and a Japanese man was talking about wanting to visit but being nervous about being stabbed.’
-Sutty100
4.
‘No-go areas. It’s just areas with people who maybe look a little different. You can still go.’
-ryanmurphy2611
5.
‘I suppose the one thing I wish would go is “BOTTOL O WAOAAH”, because there’s always one non brit who hyperfixes on that joke and says it about 13 times in an evening’
-majorpickle01
6.
‘That we stab people. I was gaming the other week and a Norwegian fella was asking me whether the stabbing in the UK is really as bad as he’s heard.’
-WaferAccording6058
7.
‘That we all think the Royal Family is amazing.’
-surfinbear1990
8.
‘”British food and British women, made England a nation of sailors”. British food has plenty of merit and British women are a mix of good and bad looking like the women in every country. The saying is inaccurate and too many countries take it as a gospel truth.’
-Ill_Heart3396
9.
‘That we’re all cheerleaders for empire and colonialism. Maybe so in 1926 or 1826 but not now ffs’
-FloydEGag