Or is it the accent that dooms us?

September 28, 2008 2:45 PM

So there is the stereotype (substantiated in my experience) that American girls love themselves some Brit or Aussie man-action. Where are the guys throwing themselves at Yank girls?
posted by dame to Society & Culture (29 answers total)

There are several in my graduate program.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 2:55 PM on September 28, 2008

Do American girls generally have a problem getting laid? Or are you talking about getting the type of guys they really want?
posted by Not Supplied at 2:58 PM on September 28, 2008

That seemed ruder than I intended when in print...I meant a rhetorical question. I assume that like most places, the majority of US women can get guys throwing themselves at them by smiling and showing a bit of cleavage.
posted by Not Supplied at 3:05 PM on September 28, 2008

What is the question, exactly? Is it, "Where/how can you meet British guys who are interested in dating American women?" But the obvious next question is, where in the world are you talking about? UK? US? New York? LA?

CL London is full of ads by American women looking for British (read: white English) men. Perhaps that's a good start.
posted by war wrath of wraith at 3:06 PM on September 28, 2008

Pretty much everywhere that there's rampant institutionalized sexism, if you don't mind being treated as a combination of an "honorary man" and a public convenience--Saudi comes to mind. I assume you're looking for something a little different than that, though.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:06 PM on September 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

Where are the guys throwing themselves at Yank girls?

Really from guys' points of view, availability trumps nationality (and almost every other factor, even important ones) pretty much every time. They're just as susceptible to exoticism as women are, but far less picky.
posted by [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] at 3:17 PM on September 28, 2008

I think what the OP means is the phenomenon of US women going "ooooh" whenever a male British or Australian accent shows up. OP is probably curious which places have men going "oooh" when a female with an American accent shows up.
posted by Xere at 3:22 PM on September 28, 2008

Yeah, I've thrown myself at American women (I'm Australian). I think the wider problem you're referring to comes from the fact that if your standard Aussie was going to sit down and list the most exciting and attractive countries to be from, the US wouldn't be near the top. You'd have to compete with France, Spain, Germany, pretty much all of South America, and then some. The only region of the world you might be on par with is South East Asia, because that accent is about as common here as an Amerian one is.

Are Australian guys attractive to American women because they seem 'exotic'? If so, you'll have a hard time creating the same allure, because 90% of what we see on tv and at the movies comes in an American accent.
posted by twirlypen at 3:31 PM on September 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

I was once told by a guy from New Zealand that I could have any man I wanted if I went to Australia or NZ, "because your skin's not all leathery like the local girls, and you have that soothing American accent, like the girls in the pornos."

So maybe that's something to keep in mind.
posted by caitlinb at 3:32 PM on September 28, 2008 [11 favorites]

I, a Canadian, married an Alabama girl. Part of why I was initially interested was her Southern accent. However, I have no great love for any other American accents, nor any great dislike.

Overriding all, however, was personality and availability. One thing I really like about the American girls I've met (and I've traveled pretty extensively throughout the US) is that rarely is there any trouble telling whether they are single/available or not. Those who might be open to offers are much more blatant about it than Canadian girls, in my experience. And at the other end of the spectrum, when an American girl is attached/unavailable they make great efforts to point this out. I suspect this is a societal thing where culturally it is acceptable to push to 'get ahead' and once ahead to gloat (I'm being somewhat facetious here :) ).
posted by Kickstart70 at 3:33 PM on September 28, 2008

Hypothesis:
In America, the British accent evokes (quite wrongly in so many cases) education, membership of a cultural elite, perhaps wealth: ie unique qualities that set someone apart. Whereas in the west outside America, at least, the American accent evokes mass culture, ie, the exact opposite.

Counter-hypothesis:
People are hot for genetic diversity so they love foreigners.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 3:34 PM on September 28, 2008

You will be exotic in most places where
(a) you have an accent.
(b) Your nationality (especially as tourists) are not common.
(c) Your nationality is not looked down upon.

England is probably a little too close to the USA, try further afield - Australia or New Zealand perhaps, as mentioned.

As Twirlypen notes, American accents dominate TV and movies around the world, so they're not exotic, but that cuts both ways - it's the accent of superstars and glamour, and I'd say there is definitely mileage there if you kind of fit that part. (ie if you're a hippy with a US accent, it'll probably work against you compared to if you're a high-fashion night-clubber with a US accent.)
posted by -harlequin- at 3:42 PM on September 28, 2008

I think what the OP means is the phenomenon of US women going "ooooh" whenever a male British or Australian accent shows up. OP is probably curious which places have men going "oooh" when a female with an American accent shows up.

God knows why anybody would be attracted to the Australian accent (some british accents - but not all - I can understand). Men going "ooooh" over women with American accents certainly doesn't occur here (Australia) with any great frequency.

My two cents on the exotic allure of accents: It has to be subtle for best effect. If somebody's accent is suitably difficult to determine, it piques our curiosity. If it's really heavy, we just say "Oh, he/she's definitely from _____", but once you find yourself asking "I wonder where they are from", the individual in question becomes more intriguing. So one of the problems with American accents, I think (in english-speaking countries, at least), is that they're so easily recognised.
posted by kisch mokusch at 4:21 PM on September 28, 2008

Response by poster: Yes, essentially the question is "where are American girls exotic and therefore hot?" And for reference, I'm not asking because I have trouble getting laid. I'm asking because I want to learn more about the fascinating world around me.
posted by dame at 5:04 PM on September 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

Where are the guys throwing themselves at Yank girls?

Anywhere you find a lot of Asian men.
posted by sixcolors at 5:09 PM on September 28, 2008

Wow, can people answer the question (who finds the concept of American women attractive in a similar matter that many American women find British men -and their accents more to the point- attractive)?? We've got "why do Americans like accents of smelly people?" "Americans don't like their accents!" "I don't like your accents!" "Girls can have sex with whomever they choose!"
posted by Solon and Thanks at 5:17 PM on September 28, 2008

Mod note: a few comments removed - the OP clarified what she meant, stick to the question or feel free to head to metatalk
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:40 PM on September 28, 2008

Asia -- Japan & Korea, at least.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:49 PM on September 28, 2008

Oh! Now that I know what it was you were actually asking, my sister got a lot of attention for being blonde in Mexico, but that might have been more the blondieness than the yankiness.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:52 PM on September 28, 2008

When I was studying abroad in France a friend and I (Tennesseean and Texan, but not with strong southern accents) decided to go skiing in the Alps. We stayed at a chalet that was owned by an English family and served mostly British clientele. The place was swarming with hot, athletic, accented Brit guys and my friend and I were thrilled. Imagine our delight when, after introductions at the dinner table the first night, one guy gushed "I LOVE your accent!" They all agreed with him and we reciprocated the feeling. We spent much of the night teasing one another about our different pronunciations of words like butter and water, and they were as enthusiastic about our use of "awesome" as we were of their use of "mate," etc

I've never had such attention lavished on me. It was pretty awesome. Go to the Alps and find yourself a British bloke who likes your accent as much as you like his.
posted by jschu at 6:00 PM on September 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

I got hit on a lot when I spent a semester abroad in Cameroon.
posted by candyland at 6:21 PM on September 28, 2008

When I was in France I found that French men liked American girls. They claimed to think the accent was cute, but I also know that American girls are considered easy over there.
posted by Packy_1962 at 7:09 PM on September 28, 2008

This is one data point, and for reasons that will become apparent, a bad data point, but several years ago I attended a wedding in Greece, of a good friend from college who is Greek. The bachelor party started off with dinner in one of the open-air tavernas in central Athens, and some of my friend's Greek friends started paying attention to a couple of women sitting at another table (who were obviously tourists), enough to send them drinks and chat them up. It turned out the women were (a) American and (b) from Florida, and that seemed perfectly fine to these guys. But to be totally honest, I'm pretty sure that any nationality would have been fine.
posted by A dead Quaker at 8:09 PM on September 28, 2008

Seconding France but it works only with american girls that can speak french a little. Also there's a number of myth about american women there. For exemple it's impossible to sleep with one without marrying them first but they'll blow you on the first date.
The stereotypes usually revolve around the fact that they're prude and promiscuous at the same time.
posted by SageLeVoid at 8:57 PM on September 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

In Seattle, I had an Irish (male) buddy, and when we went out to bars, the guy was a--pardon the expression--total pussy magnet. Here's the thing: he wasn't particularly handsome, he wasn't the best dressed nor was he particularly outgoing. He was a bit shy and softspoken, though really intelligent and interesting to talk to.

I personally witnessed three of his...temporary friends, American girls who actually did double takes when they heard his Irish lilt. Not a guy to turn down one night stands, he told me at one point that he knew he was getting dates based on his accent and exotic-ness, and actually seemed a bit embarrassed by it, but by God used it every chance he got.

And as usual, The Onion nails it. Not really about accent, but close enough...
posted by zardoz at 11:54 PM on September 28, 2008 [2 favorites]

Seconding SageLeVoid and packy about French men thinking American accents are cute. Especially French with your American accent. Also seconding the prude-yet-easy stereotype being a source of fascination.
posted by desuetude at 7:52 AM on September 29, 2008

I have long found women with American accents more attractive than, say, the same woman might have been without it. Conversely, I find aussie and kiwi accents less attractive, though neither to the point where it'd mean I discount a person altogether.
posted by armoured-ant at 6:09 AM on October 1, 2008

I should also point out that when I've been in the US (New York and Boston; so the closest possible places to the UK geographically), I (disappointingly) didn't find my accent attracting any extra female attention.

Perhaps it's different over on the West Coast.
posted by armoured-ant at 6:13 AM on October 1, 2008

I will heavily second Mexico and add some parts of Central and South America to the list. Blond hair or not (though that does seem to intensify it). I don't believe it has anything to do with the accent, however.
posted by mosessis at 9:39 PM on December 26, 2008