Are British stereotypes offensive?

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Yes I did not include the "British Victorians" in that list

There is no intergenerational memory of Caesar, Hengist, Vortigen or Harold or William. The occupations you refer to are at the dawn of British history and not relevant to i) current stereotypes or ii) Britain being occupied.

The closest I can think off is the irish who have valid memories of being occupied and those who remember their grandparent's stories of the bombing of Britain by the Nazis.

Actually, I shouldn't have written Britain, or the British Nation, but modern England - since the Scottish are quite unhappy with their English overlords. I'm not sure about how the Welsh are feeling, really.

The stereotypes can be offensive if used in certain ways.

Life on Mars fans know you exist.

People from Yorkshire are supposed to be hard-working farmer types or sheep-shearers.

The English have had it pretty quiet for 1100 years since William's helmeted Normans occupied them in 1066

The Blitz wasn’t exactly “quiet.”

I'm not aware of any "British Victorians", so wouldn't know their thoughts on the subject, although they would likely be the most knowledgable on the subject of Britain, and so not have a need for stereotypes...

In fact, I don't recall having met anyone who makes those blanket assumptions about Britain, regardless of their background, either (outside of the weather, perhaps).

When it’s sunny in the UK (which isn’t that rare), it’s REALLY sunny.....

These are common stereotypes Brictoria but it doesn't mean they are always true.

1. Everybody knows Brits escape the weather to come to Australia.
2. Dental care is an issue in the UK and it shows, the stereotype of terrible teeth on an Englishman is common
3. Every British person I knew said there's a shortage of jobs in the UK which is one of the reasons they came to Australia


The rat infestation in the UK is based on TV but I agree its not a common stereotype.

The dental care is an issue because it is really expensive and most people don't have insurance for that sort of thing. Some dental treatment can cost up to £10,000.

Yeah the dentist/teeth things is a funny one. I think it is just part of our culture that teeth don't seem so important compared to other nations. for many, including me, the dentist is thought of as an emergency resource rather than a standard part of your annual healthcare. I think I have been to the dentist once in the past 10 years. Why would I go if I have no issue with my teeth?!

I think the cost is possibly behind the culture. Lack of NHS dentists around, long waiting lists to get onto them if you are fortunate enough to have one nearby and if you go private they are very expensive, and often employer healthcare plans do not include dental work.

If I went to the dentist (private) for a checkup and they found I needed a filling and so I had to go back a week or 2 later to have that done. That whole experience would costs me hundreds of pounds, it would wipe out more than a months spare money and I would be left trying to work out how to pay bills.

The Anglo Saxon English conquered the world, and oppressed everyone. Near (the Scots, the Welsh, the Irish), and far (Americans, Egyptians, Indian subcontinent folks, Africans).

But the Anglo Saxons themselves were conquered in 1066 by the Normans. And even today most of Britain's aristocracy and upper class is of Norman descent.

So the A/S oppressed the world, but the Normans are "the oppressors of the oppressors".

So ... the Anglosaxons were considered safe to lampoon. But maybe we all should be sensitive to Anglosaxons, and ...all start having fun hating on the Normans for a change!

Coffee shops are pretty popular here but tea drinking is a big part of our culture. It is 9:15am here and I have just made my 4th cup of assam!

Interestingly* all the coffee shops will offer tea but as far as I know it is not popular in them. Tea is cheap and easy to make at home so people get used to having their tea just how they like it, if you got one from a coffee shop then they will inevitably make it not how you like it so why bother.