Do French women find American men as ugly ?

It is not particularly a question of looks.

In Russia and Eastern Europe, contacts, until fairly recently, with American men were almost nil, so they are a novelty, comparably well off, so seen as desirable to cultivate.

When I was a small kid, French girls also swooned over young Americans, had a crush on men like Elvis Presley, James Dean, Pat Boone, Tab Hunter etc... Being American was cool, and the older generation was immensely grateful to those brave boys who had crossed the Atlantic to help turf the Boche out, so they made them welcome.

At the time there were quite a few women who having met Americans who were stationed in France, did marry them and went to the States with them. Even now there are marriages between the two but, as one regular contributor to this column has done, the Americans men have stayed in their wife's country because they preferred living there.

There are a number of reasons why French women keep their distance.

Many French women have had little contacts with Americans and can only judge them from stereotypes in films or soaps which they have seen on television, and those are not exactly portrayed as desirable partners even if they are stunningly good looking. You just have to watch a few episodes of "Murder she wrote" to see what I mean.

It takes time to build a relationship and if they have no particular desire to leave France, French women are hardly likely to want to cultivate a tourist who is only there for a few days, even if he has fistful of dollars in his pocket.

There is a language barrier in that not all French women speak English, or if they do they do not understand some American accents and expressions, as they have been taught English as generally spoken in the UK. Likewise most Americans coming over speak little or no French. So there is a communication problem. There also is a large gap in culture and customs which come between the two.

In recent years the American image has changed very much for the worse, and even people who were strongly pro-American have lost their enthusiasm as a result. Some Americans who come to France act like oafs, are crude, unsubtle and even crass, therefore have no appeal, and have given a bad name to the rest. I am not talking about teenagers, who still are keen on many things American, but about adults who have lost their rose tinted spectacles.

With regard to your last sentence, many Americans are strongly biased against the French in general and are not as keen to befriend French women as you are. They do prefer women who share their own values and with whom they feel comfortable, even if they are less physically attractive because slightly overweight. So the lack of rapport is probably both sided, and you are an exception.

By the way, I am French; one of my daughters is married to an American, who is absolutely charming , and I have a ravishing small grand-daughter who is American too. I also have delightful male colleagues in America, who are neither George Bush cowboys, nor uncouth ignorants. You cannot put all American men or all French women under the same label.

Ugly French People

The hostile attitude towards Americans in France exists because of the low self esteem of the French people in the face of Americans. In fact, the French, for the most part, overestimate Americans on one hand, and harbor malice towards them on the other because supposedly Americans do not think too much of the French. And I think it's white Americans that they care mostly about. The French tend to believe, with some exceptions, that the human race revolves around white people just like some blacks in America. So when whites act in mean and depreciative ways towards the French, the French, instead of getting victimized by it, put out defensiveness. It is true that some Americans look down on the French, and it's a really hard pill for the French to swallow. By the way, there are white people among the French also, so they shouldn't succumb to racist bullying like this, and think of themselves as non-white. I guess there is nothing beautiful about the men, who try to suggest that you're inferior.

Wow, you're not yourself very nice about your fellow citizens. Are you saying that most American people are fat, no matter the gender?

Anyway!!!! French women don't find American men ugly. They don't like obnoxious, arrogant ignoramuses. I am not trying to be mean but American men have to fight against the prejudice that American people are blissfully ignorant. Unfortunately, the behavior of American tourists in France doesn't refute this common assumption.

PS: French women are swamped with American blockbusters, videoclips and tv shows portraying hunks like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake... How could they reasonably assume that ALL American guys are ugly?

Compare the fashion and style of men in USA and in Europe.

American men where shorts sandles and t-shirts during the summer.

You dont find that many french men dressing that way.

I dont know. Im american, but I lived there for a few years, and I did see french women iwht american men.

I'm not quite sure what your talking about but it seems to me that the ugly black woman stereotype is just as prevalent as the ugly white woman stereotype. There are plenty of women that get tagged with "ugly" or "beautiful" in every culture regardless of their race. However, only those that have themselves well put-together make it onto the world stage. Therefore the images that Americans receive of Europeans, Africans, Asians or any other culture (regardless of race) is usually beautiful in some way just as the images that the media sends to other countries about America is more glamorous than it actually is. I mean other than Jerry Springer how many times do you see the bottom of America's social realms portrayed on TV and that is within our own country. The fact is that people like to present their culture well to other cultures so the images are going to be skewed to be more positive. The images that are sent to other countries of American women (of all races) are glamorous as well. The difference is you know the stereotypes and social levels that are present in your own country but because you haven't lived in other countries you don't see the stereotypes and social levels present there just as they don't see ours until they come here.

I'm a French woman and it's not true to say French people doesn't like the American (men and women)!!!! Some French people doesn't like American, but these persons doesn't like nobody! But it's an exception.

For many French, going to the USA is a dream...

Concerning the physic of the American men, it depends the women. The Italian men are loved by French women because they are often seductive.

For example, I know a French woman who is married with an American man.

The French women love men with attractive physical (slim, sportive man,...)

Sorry for my bad english...

I think it's not a question of looks rather than communication. Many french aren't great english speakers and that might block to get closer.

1

Lol or mdr like we say in french.

You have a bad idea about the tastes of the French women!

The French women love the American men but they don't like the American politics, what is very different (fortunately Obama is going to change those ideas).

Of more an important problem stay which is the one of the language because French are regrettably very bad in foreign languages.

They like Italian because they are beautiful speakers and they have a good appearance.

American are very beautiful and very attractive don't worry lol and we love them but we don't see a lot of Americans in France or then they hide...lol

For me I love so much the Black-American!!

One of my friends have a sister who is married with an American surgeon.

Bye bye

Nadia.