You may have heard that one of the ways non-Americans pick out American tourists is by the “American lean.” That is to say, we tend to lean against objects or shift our weight to one foot when we’re waiting around.
Apparently, there’ssome truthto this: According to former CIA chief of disguise Jonna Mendez, Europeans think Americans are “a little slouchy” and the CIA would train spies to stand up straighter in order to better blend in overseas.
But why do Americans do this? Redditor Raski_Devoraaskedthe people of Reddit that very question, and honestly, the responses from Americans were a little TOO real.
A lot of explanations basically boiled down to “we feel awkward.”
" I did n’t know it was an American thing , but I often feel clumsy just standing there . angle against something makes me feel less awkward , I guess ? I donno . It ’s kind of like require why Slavs squat . It ’s just what we do , I guess . "
— Santos_L_Halper
Because frankly, standing completely squarely would make you look suspicious, don’t you think?
" Who the f**k digest with both foot firmly planted ? What are you stabilise yourself for , the worked up impact of finding out you ’re a dork ? "
— bipocni
I mean, you’re just cooler when you lean.
" Cuz we station up true chillin at all metre "
— mortified - Buy-8634
Maybe we’re just too cool, ever thought of THAT?
" Americans are less formal in most situations , good posture is less stress . It ’s cool . conceive James Dean or mode models . "
— No - Oil-1669
" American and I ’ve got ta tilt on everything because every job I work was sharply against us sitting in typesetter’s case the client saw us well-to-do , I guess ? There ’s a weird notion that session equals otiose . "
— pickleruler67
I mean, how often do you see a cashier sitting? Rarely.
" Every retail job I had play like a client find out you sitting would be the most nauseous , f***ed up affair you could do . "
— Neat - Client9305
I think you should be legally allowed to reverse-fire your boss if they speak this phrase to you:
" Not allow to sit at work , so we tend to tip against things . The phrase , ' Time to lean , clock time to clean , ' is also very dominant . We ’re not all right btw . "
— W3R3Hamster
And then there’s just our general work culture.
" My back is mad from carrying the company . "
— stoolprimeminister
The grind, the hustle.
" We ’re exhausted all the time . "
— Jackanatic
The lack of national work holidays.
" Like four days off oeuvre a yr . We fatigue . "
— redboe
And then there’s the whole health insurance (or lack thereof) thing.
" We have a shit short ton of injuries from never conk to the doctor and OSHA infraction . "
— Upstairs - Parsley3151
The ’90s kids will relate to this one, too. We have a very specific source of back pain, especially since we had roughly one minute to get to our next class and therefore no time to get to our lockers.
" My back hurts from going to school between 1990–2004 and wearing dual articulatio humeri strap bookbags that hung low and ruin an entire generation ’s sticker . "
— EndersScroll
Now, some Americans in the thread refused to believe the validity of this “American lean” concept. And to be fair, it’s not like every single American leans, and every single non-American stands like a dang statue.
" I do not believe non americans do n’t lean …. what if they ’ve been stand up in a line for an minute ? "
— Always_Worry
But people mentioned the prevalence of squatting in some countries and cultures.
" Drive down the street in South Korea and you see folkssquattinginstead of angle . "
— Artistic_Potato_1840
And the Brits in the thread were being very British.
" Englishman here . We do n’t lean during queueing . We just sustain , it ’s what we ’re good at . "
— kennypeace
My personal theory relates to this observation:
" I ’ve noticed this since the 1970s . It ’s because there is a deficiency of dear public infrastructure for seating room , plus the approximation that pose down is frowned upon in work polish at the working - social class story . "
— FreeNumber49
There’s a war on seating in this country, because god forbid people spend time somewhere without spending money.
" There is literally nowhere to ride in populace . No chairs in store , no bench on the street , no table near gas stations . America ca n’t stomach the idea of a homeless person resting anywhere , so there are NO comfortable places to sit at all . "
— BuddhistNudist987
But I would also buy an argument like this:
" I do n’t know if it ’s just an American affair , but it ’s body language . It ’s saying , ' I ’m comfortable verbalise to you , I ’m here to listen , I take you gravely , but this is n’t a professional meeting , and you ’re not my party boss . ' "
— paco64
Or, maybe this person is right, and it’s all just confirmation bias.
" My premiss is that it ’s mostly fictive formula realisation . They notice Americans for a lot of real ground : clothes , travel guides , looking around unfamiliar with the surroundings , accent mark , and then since they are paying more attention to them they notice smaller things like when they lean on thing . They probably are n’t pay nearly as much attention to their fellow local who may also be leaning to a like degree . "
— Regular_Kiwi_6775
