Perception Activity:Single Story

Perception Activity:Single Story

English Men (meaning from England, not just English speaking men)

We tend to assume that British men love tea

We tend to assume british men live in manors and have amazing manners

We tend to believe british men do not show much emotions-> they have a stiff upper lip

 

A lot of what the average American knows about the average British man comes from history, Jane Austin novels or movies, and the medias portrayal of the royalty. The above artifacts are the best I could find to simplify the complex message we get about British men. These artifacts when viewed together present all British men as austere,  aloof, proper, but with horrible dental hygiene. Movies like “Pride and Prejudice”, of which I posted a picture of the Pemberly Estate, cause most American females to idealize these British men.  The movies main male character, Darcy, is not open with his emotions but conveys strength and politeness. After reading or watching “Pride and Prejudice” many women begin to believe that if they were to go to England it would be filled with open fields and huge manors with fancy men.  Although they probably realize this is only a movie, their stereotypes are confirmed by the figureheads of the England who are often in the media, such as Prince Harry. Prince Harry in the media is shown as polite, aloof (we do not see many scandals about him like we do with American celebrities), and proper. Thus through these two means we have created a singular version of the “British man”. This “British Man” is additionally created through what we have learned in our history textbooks. The first image I posted is of the Tea Party in Boston during 1773 when early settler, angered by the Tea act throw a bunch of tea into the harbor. Many times over, American students have heard this story and this combined with the Tea time we often see British men having in tv shows or movies has made us assume that British men love tea. Thus the history, media, and old novels have formed in our minds the perception of British men as heads of Manors with amazing manners often having tea.

Although this single story that has been formed in most minds of the British is somewhat favorable it is stifling. It causes many people to idealize the British and to falsely assume that their experience in England will replicate the experiences they’ve seen or read about. It also imposes a set of standards on British men that are unfair and unnecessary. These men, because people believe they do not show emotion, can feel that when they do they are somewhat less of a man. Also because many people believe they have tea often it causes a notion that they should have tea. Thus some of these perceptions cause British men to feel that they must act in this way that is very limiting to their lifestyle and wants. It also means that those who have this assumption of British men can react negatively to a British man who does not fulfill their archetype.

Overall, any single story is a negative thing because it imposes a notion of who someone should be based on one aspect they have rather than allowing others to accept who that person is. In the case of British men, it makes people believe they are all a bunch of Mr. Darcys when in actuality their variability in personality and socioeconomic status is large.