Why can`t Americans tell European races apart through physical features?

Question

European whites easily tell each other apart.For examples, a French man could tell a French person from a German person on first glance.A Polish person could tell a Pole from a Hungarian at first sight.A British person could tell a Russian from a Ukrainian quickly just by looking at them.But Americans can`t distinguish the various white races apart!An American,for example,can`t distinguish a British from an Americn!Nor can an American distinguish a Greek from a Russian on first sight!What is up with this?

Answer 1

I've been told "All Asians look alike." After living in Korea for a couple of year I could identify people from the various nations on the Pacific rim. It was learned through experience and daily contact. I did get a kick out of being told "You Americans all look alike."

In Europe you have separate nations with long histories. Each has differences in food, dress manners (or lack of) and behavior. Live in Europe for a time and you'd be able to identify Germans from French too.

Answer 2

Maybe, we aren't as smart as we look!

Answer 3

I'm English and I don't think that I can tell a Russian from a Ukranian at first sight... But I know what you mean, I do look at people and think 'He looks very Danish', or 'she must be French'. I don't think this is always physical though, sometimes the way people dress and their mannerisms suggests that they belong to a certain culture. There are obvious indicators - which I'd be suprised if Americans didn't notice - like that Scandinavians tend to be fair with wide cheekbones, Mediterranians are very dark, Eastern Europeans are generally very fair or very dark with strong bone structure. So many people look like they could be from many places though, Europeans are generally interbred. British people are really anglo-saxon roman norman celts, who've interbred with French and Scandinavians and all other Europeans...:) It's all so ambiguous that it's difficult for Europeans to tell at first sight, let alone Americans

Answer 4

because race is a flawed concept!

  Before race was noted by skin colour. Things like skull shape, hair and even height were viewed as race.

Answer 5

i agree with other posters in that most americans are a mix of other countries. myself i a part english, part german, and part scottish, and part latvian.

Answer 6

because we live in a country where there is much more diversity, more subtle influences and backgrounds -- ie who knows what an "American" looks like, anyway? we are more isolated--can't travel to other countries with a 2 hour car ride like europeans can. while there are the requisite jokes about cultures where, say, dental hygiene may be of less importance or women may be built differently on average, there are also a lot of variations even there.

Answer 7

Wow!  That is interesting.  I had no idea that we lacked that awareness.  I can identify a few different European ethnicities (e.g., Greek from Russian) but, you're right, it's VERY few.  

Maybe because so many of us are such "muts" from different European races we don't really look for it and don't aquire the skill to tell the difference.

Answer 8

BECAUSE, AMERICANS are crosses of every race. We can't tell people apart, because in America EVERYONE looks different. WE are a mix. My bloods practically native american on my dad's side, but my mom is a mix of practically every race you can think of.

Answer 9

I don't think Europeans can tell each other apart with a glance.  While in Bucharesti, Romania I spoke with a man for about 30 minutes & because we both spoke Romanian neither of us knew the nationality of the other... finally he asked "You are German aren't you?"  I asked, "are you Dutch?"  Well it turns out that he was a Swede & I am an American with UK & native American ancestry.

I find that those from the Netherlands tend to speak more languages than most other nationalities & tend to have a slightly different head shape... but that is sterotypical & not something one can depend upon as a means of determining nationality.  Most Europen countries have several different kinds of people with differing morphology (North & South Italy or Spain come to mind.)  Europeans are a lot more mixed than they would have you believe & in fact, other than localized accents, can't tell each other apart by looking at each other... they can make an educated guess based on looks, but I suspect they are more often wrong than right.