The British think Boston is full of “fake Irish people,” according to the British staff at Buzzfeed. The website asked its employees in the UK for their stereotypes of every state in the U.S. back in 2015 and created a map of the results.
In a regional map of the northeast, Massachusetts got “Harvard,” “M.I.T.,” “Mark Wahlberg Films,” “Apples,” and was deemed “Hard to Spell”.
The Boston Irish fared poorly. The website reports the British believe that the Irish-American population are fake and not the real thing.
Every state had several stereotypes attached to it. The UK staffers listed Rhode Island as “Not a real place,” while Connecticut got “white privilege.” New Hampshire was linked with “Puritans,” and Maine is “basically Canada.”
New York is “Literally Just the City,” “Tall Buildings,” “People Shouting,” “Yellow Cabs” and “Bit Like London But Not As Good.”
California got “Earthquakes,” Tech Companies,” “Failed Actors,” and “Hippies.” Several of the states in the south were named “Racist.” Kansas, located in “The Middle Bit,” was known for “The Wizard of Oz” and “Only Tornadoes,” whereas both Dakotas got “Empty.” And Texas is equated with “Cowboys,” “Guns,” “Oil” and “Massive Hats.”
Buzzfeed has also created “Stereotype Maps” of Britain and Ireland and the rest of Europe.
*Originally published August 2015.
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