What It's like being black in Sweden |American Reaction
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The staring thing, nobody means anything by it. In Germany and northern European countries people will look at you openly; they don't mean to be rude, they don't think they are being rude because it happens to all, black, white, polka-dot or whatever.
She is a beautiful woman. I am not at all surprised that people would stare at her. She is lovely.
That's what I wanted to say as well. I follow a lot of americans, and even people who are not of colour get "stared" at in germany. That's something in our culture, i guess. Never thought about it before, unless americans talked about it on UA-cam 😂 but looking at people, directly in the face without being shy is definitly a thing.
staring is not considered ok anywhere in Europe. I suspect the difference is what is considered starting - looking at someone for a lil longer than you are used to makes a noticable difference. Americans coming to Poland also mention in their vlogs that apparently polish people stare, but being native i never seen that and quite the opposite - it's considered a very rude thing, example: ua-cam.com/video/fxYMnuBlkqM/v-deo.html
@@GdzieJestNemo I'm pretty sure that the "staring" basically all americans report when they go to scandinavia, germany, poland, the balkans or the baltics is just the usual "checking people out"-look we give to anybody interesting. Also for americans especially the chances are high that if they are in a group they are talking in english and obnoxiously loud by our standards.
@@GdzieJestNemo The so called "staring" is just something like americans maybe look for 0.5 seconds to other people and germans instead for 0.7 seconds.
Btw.: how do the whole small talk thing work in this regard, do americans talk to random strangers all the time, but totally avoid viewing them into the eye while doing it ? Not that the oh so great small talk suddenly becomes a small stare.
I'm a Swedish person of color. I think even if you are black, you can see by your mannerisms and the blank face that you are swedish. No one at the store ever addresses me in English, unless they hear me speak English beforehand. I think she was stared at because she exuded emotions outwardly & not just having a blank demeanour... like because she was different and interesting. As a swede i definetly stare if I see someone vibrant, and I dont even notice I'm staring. ^^ we are a shy, low key ppl.
As a Korean born Swede, I can fully agree here. I was adopted as a baby to Swedish parents, so I have always considered myself to be Swedish. I have never been adressed in English, in fact I am an expert on going invisible in a room if I want to. (Which is my personal strategy sometimes, because I like to read the mood of the room before I start to talk, I am known for being the quiet one and I can be the most talkative after about a week.)
Yes I agree.
She is a pretty girl and clearly has a lot of energy. Of course Swedes of all colours would look at her regardless of her colour.
If someone speaks loud or does something strange or "unswedish" everyone would stare, not being calm in public is a big no no if you don't like stares.
You would be treated as a Swede if you behave like one regardless if you have been here all your life or a day.
This is why, if you'r not from the northern part of Europe, most other cultures are "open" show some sort of emotion even if it's just smiling and we will know that you are not from here and people will "stare" becouse of that
Great comment! I agree!
It's definitely more about mannerisms than looks.
We can tell pretty much instantly by how people behave that they're not swedish or not raised here.
People who have been adopted and raised here tend to not show up on our "radar" at all because they behave like we do.
And americans in particular are really, really obvious.
Load, flamboyant, boisterous and very exaggerated in everything they do and say.
Black americans or americans with a lot of that subculture in them especially, it seems.
If I, as a blonde, blue-eyed, very white woman, go to a country where people of my ethnic group are very rare, then people will certainly stare at me too. That doesn't bother me at all, it just shows that people are interested in learning new things
Agreed. In asia people would stare at me all the time, and inexplicably try to touch me (!) to make sure I'm real 😄
Black people aren't rare in Sweden. There are plenty of black Swedes.
This is true. You will always stick out somewhere in the world. But, it's never good if people feel uncomfortable or offended if that happens.
@@tovep9573 Yes and no. It depends on where you live, but I agree that in Göteborg and other major cities, there are enough people of color that it should be a reason for someone to stare. It's not that rare, no.
They stare at you just because of your skin color!?! You should report them ultra rasist nazis...
(Oh, you where blonde, then it doesn't care, never mind.)
The speaking english - it probably is due to how she carries herself, we (well, at least in stockholm - I assume gothenburg is similar) are surprisingly good at picking up non-nordic people (polish tend to really trip us up for some reason).
I live in an immigrant-heavy area (mainly finland, iran, and syria, with a fair number of sub-saharan descent as well) and here it isn't the colour of the skin that dictates what language you open with, but rather how they carry themselves. Swedes (and most nordics) has an almost hesitant air about them (even when overly confident) that is easy to pick up on at a distance, also, we show our insecurities in a different way.
She actually was a bit onto this with that "can't read their expression", yes, that is due to not being swedish, for us most swedes has a clear expression and most non-nordics has a very exaggerated expression.
(Probably also part of why she was stared at - we stare at anything out of the normal, and people with an "outgoing personality" is rare over here).
It actually is kinda amusing to see when people from the continent visit - with their habit to lean towards a clerk or flash a smile and similar things that just makes the cashier uncomfortable. The norm in sweden is to have a body langauge that basically scream "I'm sorry to intrude, I just want to get this over with as soon as possible" (or, commonly, "this is just another stop on the meandering existence called life").
For a bit of fun, look at videos of where swedes talk (those not trained in international communication) and notice how the body-language is very constrained (in particular quite little gesticulation, and even that is done in an almost linear fashion), in particular notice the lack of the "bobbing" (of head and shoulders) when they talk.
Got a bit longer than I wanted it to, but it is hard to be succinct when trying to point out the everyday.
I agree with this completely
Yes, good point. I definitely agree.
Agree!
Swedes also dress in a lot less colorful clothing, mostly dark or black, we also don't look strangers in the eyes. I have never personally met anyone from USA in Sweden but I've never met someone and started speaking English to them, regardless of their skin color. Then again, I've never worked in retail so I might not be sure on that note. Maybe Swedes are good at reading people? We consume a TON of American media so we might have an easier time identifying American people.
I have it as a rule - people who aren't native, raised here tends to lean forward a lot, Swedes (whatever their color) are always vaguely leaning back, to avoid getting in someone's space. It's subtle, but it's never been wrong in my experience.
While racism def exists in Sweden, I wonder in this case if this might be because of her foreign energy or something lol. Because it's not like we don't know there's Swedish black people. In Stockholm there's plenty of black and non white people so people in stores and cafés etc should be used to them and still speak Swedish to them.
Could be because she's stunningly beautiful.
Yeah but considering alot of swedes are mega racists and i know this for a fact since i work with the middle class people and most of them vote for sverige demokraterna and usually they already stereotype blacks and arabs/muslims to think of them as criminals i've seen it happend lots of times and i'm european with dark hair and blue eyes yet even i get women crossing streets and hiding their bags when they see me, the racism is deep here they also want Sweden to go back to the old days cause they feel like the immigration has ruined their country and the politicians are being to soft on it.
@@adamkant439 That depends a *lot* on location. The north of Sweden is heavily leftie, south is center-conservative (not necessarily Centerpartiet), middle is mixed. I know my town is heavily divided among Social Democrats, Moderaterna and Miljöpartiet, while the rural suburbs are heavily SD (I've worked as an election worker counting votes, so...yeah). As for racism, it varies too - often it's just xenophobia in general (remember, 500 years ago you could get paid a bounty for killing someone from the next Swedish region over), but there's a fair amount of it here and there. Main difference is that the racism isn't part of our legal and social system like in the US - we don't make laws specifically targeting immigrants or black people (yet).
Yes! It's not like black people are an uncommon sight in Sweden, compared to other european countries. If you live in a big city, it would be impossible to not see any poc
"While racism def exists in Sweden" Yes it most certainly does! We call them Idiots!
Most swedes can tell directly if your not from that area. And depending on where you are, you will get a long evaluating look when they try to estimate where you are from and why you are there based on how you dress/move/act and talk.
Hapened to me and a friends yesterday when we had to stop at a smal shop in the midle of noware. (We where like 30 min from my house.)
But it is considered rude to stare so most people will turn away if you look bak in an "ooo fuck I made them discomfortable by looking to long".
5:32
Trust me, you can tell a black person that's local from a black person that's not apart from a mile away.
You have *totally* different body language.
That blank face you mentioned being a part of that.
Only rarely do I get that wrong.
Edit.
Forgot that this is a reaction video and not the video itself.
Yeah, I meet customers every day it's so different I meet locals that are black and middle eastern and I can tell that they have lived here for almost their entire lives. They just have these tiny mannerisms, that feel familiar.
I'll start by saying that I'm not Swedish, on the contrary (if we go by stereotypes) I'm very different from Swedes since I'm Italian.
But in this video I found some similarities with what people say about Italians when they meet a non-Italian.
1) The fact that you are answered in English. Even in Italy it can happen that you are answered in English and it doesn't depend on the color of your skin, it's just that you understand that you are going to talk to a non-Italian and you try to be polite in order to communicate.
How can you understand that you are going to talk to a non-native? You can tell just by the attitude. A Mediterranean will tell if a person is Nordic just by the way they act and vice versa.
For example, a few years ago, I visited Denmark and people immediately started speaking to me in English (and I'm blond and white as mozzarella). Why? Simply because with my attitude they could tell I wasn't Danish.
2) People staring at you.
It's related to the first point. People understand that you are not a native and are curious.
Is that uncomfortable? Yes, but it's not necessarily about skin color.
For example, when I visit small, non-touristy villages in Italy, I am always stared at by the locals.
Interesting point. Thanks.
Funnyhow black people always make everything about colour.
If you´re very loud, as many Americans are, and perhaps Jamaicans too, people will notice and look at you on the street.
In some countries people interrupt when someone is talking, while Swedes wait until you have finished, and while you talk we look at you, perhaps that could be percieved as staring.
If you´re in the way, like in an escalator or in an aisle in the supermarket, in some countries people would immidiately say "Excuse me" or even carefully push you to the side, while a Swede would wait for a couple of seconds for you to realize yourself that you´re blocking, that could be percieved as staring. Like "Why is this person just standing there behind me staring at me?"
I think it´s us being generally more silent and not as espressive in our gestures and faces can be percieved as a blank stare, when we´re just being neutral and listening.
Swedish service people try to use English with non-Swedes but unlike what she assumes it is not 100% by colour even if the impact of it is huge. Cloth and other behaviour also have an impact. For example most but not all Americans regardless of colour will be spoken to in English, because they are normally fairly easy to spot.
I work in retail. I'm from a city with a University, so we usually get alot of exchange students, most of them speaking german or english. I will usually greet customers with a Hej (pronounced like Hey), and if they speak english I will switch to english. If I notice that they are speaking english, or another language while they are waiting in que, I might start off with an english Hi. I think most people don't asume just because you're black that you speak english, but might actually hear you speaking while you're waiting and if you speak english while waiting in cue, they might asume that you're more comfortable with that.
Deutsch 🇩🇪👍
America is a multicultural country. In Sweden it is still unusual for black people to live there. Only in the last 10 years did the first black people arrive there and the vast majority were refugees from Africa. They didn't speak Swedish yet. So it was polite to speak English with them.
The number of Swedes who are black should be in the per thousand range. So out of 100 black customers who come to a bakery in Sweden over the course of a year, maybe 5 speak Swedish. That will now slowly change. But it has nothing to do with racism if a saleswoman assumes that it would be nicer to speak English with an American or African-looking customer.
I think this staring is a European thing 😁 when you talk to Americans they all say the same, this has nothing to do with the color of your skin
Try going to India or China lol and you will know what "real" staring is. There are videos with locals literally forming a half circle a meter or two away for hours just staring at the tourist.
If 70% of the time the people who arent white doesn't speak swedish, I personally don't think we should blame the workers for having made it a habit for speaking english.
I've worked in Stockholm myself as a cashier.
Especially if there's a qeue, you're just trying to help as many as possible as fast as possible while still keeping up a smile.
Honestly as a Swede I do have resting bitchface and I do sometimes accidentally kind of look like I am staring at people when I am thinking about other things or daydreaming so yeah my reaction to whenever I notice me doing that I will look any other direction out of embarrassment. It also happens sometimes when I walk in the opposite direction of the street and then I make eye contact accidentally for like a split second and immediately look away because it's awkward.😅😅
As someone who works with service and meets a lot of customers, I just get a vibe I don't base it on skin color and yes sometimes it is wrong even with people who are Swedish for generations. My friend is a white, blonde, blue eyed Swede and almost every cashier I have seen her talk to starts speaking English to her, she definitely doesn't give off a Swedish vibe though so I get it. Sometimes I've encountered the opposite though that I speak Swedish to the cashier but the cashier doesn't know Swedish for some reason probably exchange students working part time.
I don’t know about Sweden, but I lived in Oslo, Norway for a few years. As a southern English person (white), I found it very difficult to cope with locals staring (all the Brits I knew felt the same). I don’t think they are being rude, they just don’t feel so self-conscious as some nationalities do. I’m shy, so that made it worse …
"Staring" really seems to be a (northern) European phenomenon. I am from Germany we are said to be staring alot too , as are people from some other countries like the scandinavian ones. This is usually not because of color but people look at each other a lot more and it is kinda normal to "look out for each other" in the most literal sense. It also can just be childish interest when something appears foreign, which applies for people of color especially in the more rural areas, european cities are pretty much multicultural. Doen't mean there aren't A-Holes around our countries, such people are everywhere sadly. But yeah "staring" isn't necessarily seen as offensive here (central/northern europe) as long as you don't look aggressive, unfriendly or sth at the other person or overstep boundaries like staring lecherously at certain body parts of the opposite sex and such.
Your comment about 'staring' being a N European thing reminded me of two stories. I'm white, English, born in the NW on the Wirral but have lived in London for about 40 years.
#1 - About 20 years ago, I went to Colombia, South America with a Colombian friend. We were there for 5 weeks and stayed mainly in Medellin and Cartagena. I got stared at ALL the time when out. But had really no idea why, until in about the second week, I went with my friends family to the supermarket. We were lined up with 4 fully loaded trolleys, with me pushing one... when I got to the cash desk the teenage (?) girl at the till just stopped putting the items through the scanner, with an item in her hand and just stared at me! It was like a 'double take' comedy scene - LOL
She just stared and my friend and his family spoke to her, obviously asking what was wrong. Then they all started laughing ??? It turned out, she had NEVER in real life (except for on TV) seen someone with 'such blue eyes'. It hadn't occurred to me, and from then on I couldn't help notice that virtually everyone I met from then on had brown eyes.
#2 - Many years ago, my cousin and his wife sold-up everything and went on a years travelling around Asia, including China. Their one everlasting memory was that the Chinese have NO FILTER and just literally will stop, stare and point, openly discussing the strangers! Obviously they picked up essential phrases etc. but one word they would always hear used was 'gweilo' (which is a derogatory word with various meanings about 'white foreigners', spooks/ghosts etc.) - the further they went out into the countryside, the worse it got, with people calling neighbours to come and look !!!
So two different situations and not European. 😎🤣🤣🤣
Dude have you seen the videos of white people in China or India? They literally form a half circle around the person and just stare for hours. It's very much not a European phenomenon.
Hi Tysheen! Same things happens in Asia for non asian people, and also white and asian people in african or arabic countries.... sometimes can feel anoying when they ask for so many pictures and you are short with time....but people is just being curious or trying to be kind if you take it with sense of humor and kindness and understanding is better and funnnier. You are just different than the average they are use and is not bad. We all like to blend sometimes but when you travel to a different countries where people look very different than you, you are going to get the spotlight and it's normal people stare at you. I've been the first withe person some people I meet saw in their life and that can be shocking and they want to touch your hair or your nose or your skin,.... human being are just courious....Please ppl don't take it wrong if that happens to you. Celebrate differences. It's pure beauty.
Agreed. Without knowing the exact way people were staring I was leaning towards this explanation as well. Just going by when I could find myself staring on either people or random objects it'd be either when something stands out from my norm or when I find something beautiful.
With that said I think I understand how it could be unsettling in Sweden. Many of us have "resting b*tchface" (is that what it's called?) making it hard to know the reason we'd be staring.
Expressing emotion in public in Sweden (and I think most of Europe) is considered childish. As an adult we are expected to control our emotions. Hence the straight/neutral face (kind of catwalk expression).
Swedish people generally don't like/feel comfortable speaking english, if we are doing it it's to be accommodating.
I understand that if you are unused to the staring its weird but we stare at everyone. We dont talk to strangers and we are private so our expression is blank but we are still curious about others, so we "stare". I would consider it looking and not staring but if you are unused to it it probably feels like staring
People in Sweden probably like your hair or just found you beautiful
As a swede I will just point out, if people in the store hear you speak English for whatever reason, they will address you in English. If I'm with a non-Swedish friend in a store and have been speaking English with them, the employees will initially speak English with me even though I'm white, because they heard me speaking English with my friend.
I will also say that I'm disappointed and surprised that she got backlash when pointing out flaws and racism in the Swedish government and people. Usually when I complain about how much Sweden sucks (which is quite a lot, we are very far from perfect), other swedes are quick to agree while people from other parts of the world protest and don't want to hear it (their justification usually being "it's even worse in my country" as if that excuses anything that Sweden does wrong). I have no idea why it was the other way around for this girl, but it saddens me. Maybe some weird kind of reverse psychology? Like, if a swede complains about Sweden it is fine and everyone agrees, but if someone not Swedish complains nobody wants to hear it? I don't know, but in any case, that just furthers the point that much work is still to be done in Swedish society.
I was 7 (1982) when I first saw/met a person in Sweden with darker skin and black hair. She was adopted from India by a couple my parents were friends with and we went to visit them. I stared at the little girl for a really long time and my Mom wondered a bit anxiously what I was going to say. I finally spoke: “- Do you know Mowgli?” 🤣
After that I don’t remember staring at people bc of skin colour 🤷♀️. We moved to Gothenburg (Sweden’s second largest city) and if I would have had the staring habit I would have been pretty occupied moving my head around from person to person, even in my own class in school 😂. So no. Nothing to stare at.
If we stare, I’d say it’s nothing personal and more having to do with Swedes not talking to strangers that much. Perhaps we kind of stare and assess people instead of just finding out who they are by talking to them? And I mean everyone, not based on skin colour. That we just look at people with our blank facial expressions, minding our own. Or something.
So im Swedish, im also adopted from Vietnam meaning im of asian ethnicity. Ive NEVER been greeted in English by anyone in Sweden at a shop/cafe/restaurant. Then again when you approach someone at a place like mentioned you always greet them and when i say hi back they hear that im Swedish.
Regarding the staring thing. Its a culture thing. I stare at pretty much everyone i pass. When im on the bus i stare at everyone. Dont mean anything by it, dont think anything about it. More like, this person is also on their way home, wonder what they work with. Just everyday thoughts, nothing related to ethnicity. People stare at me and i dont care cus i know its just a thing.
Regarding you beeing black in Sweden. Comparing to like the united states, black people in sweden are a way bigger minority then in the USA. So unless you live in say the 7 largest cities or known university cities, black people arent common. But i still think most people dont mean anything rude about it.
Racism in sweden is mainly towards people from the middle east or general islamophobia.
I've spent a lot of time in Kenya during the late 90's and 2000's and received exactly the same stares when I was in areas that hadn't seen a white man for years. One day a young lad was cycling home from school and stared at me for so long that he rode his bike into a tree! I was the thing that was out of place and that was fine. I walked through a remote village half way up Mount Kenya and was again received with stares of incredulity and people peeping through their window and quickly hiding as I looked around. Again, I was the peculiarity, People came to the bar that day just to see the white man that was drinking there. I've so many more funny memories of being the oddball white man in a place that white men wouldn't normally be seen in Kenya that I couldn't list them all here, but that's life. Everyone came to look at the spectacle because it wasn't the normal thing to see. It wasn't racist of them, it was a curiosity and I loved that. I love Kenya, I love the Kenyan people that I met over the years and I miss them.
About the Swedish stare; yeah we do stare, but it’s not being rude, really. It’s at more that us swedes doesn’t really have suave social skills.
I don't think people stared at her because she's black. As a black person born and raised in Sweden, I can say it has more to do with your mannerism. If you're different, people will be interested and look. People aren't trying to be rude.
I bet you'll like our swedish strawberries too ;)
But I mean in all honesty spesking just for myself who was born in Gothenburg and lived there for my first 6 years and then visiting my grandmother there often for like w2 more years after, I still remember the first black person I ever saw as a little kid because it just wasn't common. I had a friend in pre-school, a little black boy. I knew his name was Daniel but he didn't speak one word of swedish and I didn't speak any ither language so we hung out by just enjoying music together.
Mind you, this was in the early to mid 90's.
Most black people we met during the 90's and 00's were adopted so for me it took seconds to figure out if they spoke swediah or not.
In the early 00's I had an American friend, a black girl, who couldn't speak swedish and I had just learned english so yet again we hung out doing things that didn't require language. A bit weird but it worked.
Most immigrants were from former Jugoslavia.
It wasn't until refugees from Africa, mostly Somalia came that it became more common with black peoole in Sweden and I'm sure you know thefe's a cultural difference and a language barrier that comes with that too.
What I'm saying is that we've just not been used to black people who weren't adopted until the past like 10 years maybe? And most people who are black are African muslims.
I think the reason why people here speak english wirh her is just that the majority of black people living with us today are immigrants or refugees you know. It's probably out of courtecy (spelling?) based on what's just general. It's sad that she feels offended and I'm sure that's not what was intended at all.
I mean our population grew from 9 million to 10 million in a very short time, a few years and with that came a lot of things we had to adapt to. It's still pretty new for us (again, my personal perspective).
I waan't even aware of races until school taught me. I didn't see black skin as being anything different in a human being than for example freckles. To me, dark skin and black hair on Daniel for example was just what he looked like, just like another person had freckles and red hair while I was blonde and light skinned. I just thought it was part of us all being individuals not that we were separated into different races.
Though I did assume for many years as a kid that if you're black you're from Africa.
I've never had a black person in my class after pre-school for example🤷🏼♀️ but now in some schools there are more black or arab people not born here than white swedish born so I don't think this is racism, it just takes time to get used to.
I also think people might stare because she has an exotic appeal and her hair out since it's not as common as black people covering their hair here. I think it very much depends where in Sweden you live you know.
When I grew up in Sweden in the 70's there were almost no blacks, today there is almost one million Somalis living in Sweden
This is not true at all! Swedish does no stare at colored people. We have cities in Sweden where 20-35% are black or if you want to say colored !. And especially in the city of Gothenburg where she lived where we have suburbs that consist of 90% colored !. We have 5 large suburbs to Gothenburg. So then you can figure out the rest yourself. And Gothenburg is Sweden's second largest city !.And I myself am from India no one stares at me. Have lived here since 1971.
I'm from Sweden and the "staring" part is just about us looking around and looking at other people we find interesting. We don't do small-talk, we just look at eachother.
The spring has begun here too and it's so nice weather outside now. And one more thing.. For the english talking part, we don't asume someone is talking english because they are black. We begin studying english in school during second grade, so almost every adult speeks fluently english. There fore we notice pretty quick if someone speeks english and we will automatically switch to english as soon as we can tell that you are not speeking swedish. It's not us asuming, we just take notice pretty quick.. 😅❤
If you come to Italy, you would definetely get stared at, especially by males. But that's just because you're so pretty! Love your reactions ❤
I have a friend who still has a bit of a trauma cause of staring case she went to Rome 20-25 years ago or so... And a guy was staring so bad at her that he drove into some lamppost on the sidewalk! It happened at a low speed, so he only broke his own car. But still... She is very light blonde, which I don't think is that unusual in Italy at all, especially not in like Milano or Roma, but it seems it was still enough for that guy to lose control of his car. 😂😭 (The others in the group never got stared at, I barely got stared at, we have more boring hair😂)
Italian men are just thirsty for anyone not Italian 😂🙈
Thank You ♥
They have a healthy black African population in Sweden of around 236,975.
There are A LOT of black people in Sweden, so I don't know what she's on about. She seems too young to have visited Sweden in the 1980s or earlier, so to speak, when dark skinned people were actually indeed quite rare and exotic up here, and locals often found them very fascinating and "stare-worthy". For the past 20 years though, not so much.
Also, if anything, Swedish store clerks have a tendency to just use Swedish on everyone, no matter how "foreign" they look. They switch to English only once it's been made obvious that the person doesn't speak Swedish. Or if they're otherwise cued (for example, if the patron addressed them in English to begin with)
Thanks Tysheen. Guess you know that one of these times I'm expecting a travel video from you. You'd be great at it. Maybe start honing your skills locally. Like a little tour of something special in NYC. I would think many of your fans and people who have never been there would love it.
Nowadays, Zweden is more divers however outside the big cities it’s still rare enough meeting a person with the deep dark color this girl has, and it is natural to stare, however Zweeds are very afraid of being intrusive (to other Zweeds and definitely to foreigners) so wen we are caught staring wie will immediately look away and be embarrassed about our behaviour.
As to our equality, that is a point of prided, but as a society we were so far ahead for a long time that we have become complacent and miss that there still is a lot to do.
Swedish here too and yes my experience is that it is quite easy to spot people that are visiting or have only been here for a short while. Maybe it has to do with the climate and how far north it is? I know alot of foreign people here through University that have stayed for longer and the dark winters kind of gets to you after a while.
As a swede, other swedes will look at you and see something exotic and be curious. And working in a store where i get alot of diffrent ppl from diffrent countries, most of the time i know before talking to them if they are swedish, depending alot on how you act and move. If we hear you talk english to a friend in line, ofc we will address you in english even if you think we didn't hear you talk to your friend. Also, being in a area with alot of exchange students, most store will figure you to be one of them.
And if you go to a town with less students, ppl will most likely talk to you in swedish first, and then apolegize when they realize you are not swedish.
Ohh and Tysheen, if you go to sweden, try to aviod stockholm, you will not get a proper swedish feeling there imo, find some middle size cities instead, i think you will enjoy that more in the long run.
We are not an utopia and racism do exist in Sweden. But there are people who are trying to make it better. It's not dangerous to come here. I don't know who all these people are that are staring at black people and talk to them in English but they might not live in a very well integrated neighborhood...
When Germans stare, most of them are just interested.
04:50 - I'm a grocery cashier. Service-minded as I am, when I first started I attempted to match my language (Swedish / English) with the customer; e.g. do I hear them speak Swedish in the queue, say "Hej hej"; do they speak Dutch in the queue, say "Hello".
I also attempted to go by looks. Where they dressed in hiking-gear, probably Germans.
Middle-Eastern or black with non-local clothes; probably, but not certainly, no Swedish.
I only did this for a couple months, because as you probably already know; you CANNOT hear nor see what languages a person know. It was more than a handful of times I embarrassed myself by greeting in English and they spoke fluent Swedish back.
Now I just greet everyone in Swedish. They have to just TELL ME if they don't understand Swedish.
And after all this rambling... The point:
I work in a grocery store and all people, regardless of background and culture, go there to buy food. This meant I could pick up on my error rather quickly.
People who work in stores that aren't as frequented by people of non-Swedish backgrounds might have fewer chances to discover their well-meant but erroneously mindset.
These stores are essentially all stores that people of other cultures don't find as attractive; e.g. certain cafés, niche clothe stores, and so on...
I'm not trying to defend xenophobia, just that some well-meaning and service-oriented people are a bit stuck in the mindset that people of colour don't know the tiny, mostly unheard of, langue Swedish.
i can only speak for myself, but i can look at a black woman, but, not as an insult, but just as i found you very attractive and beautiful. to be honest i allways like more ethnically diversed women more than white europeans. btw springtime here in southern sweden too, getting milder weather, sunny but windy.
Yes I would clearly stare at them just for being beautiful and for strange non Swedish behaviour too so they get a double stare..
Thanks for the video, I'm going to Norway with wife and kids this summer and except for some staring we should be ok. lol.
As a white Brit I was in a non-tourist area of Copenhagen (not in Sweden, look it up) when a local gave me a cheerful greeting in their language. I now consider myself to be the equivalent of a Nordic super hero.
Yes..we live in a bubble! I did not really understand some things until I gave birth to my half-African daughter. A couple of times I realized things I might not have realized otherwise (though it happened very rarely) ... but staring can mean less than you think. I was looking for hairstyles and techniques, so I could take care of my daughter's hair 😊. When I was in Kenya, people stared at me too. It's probably a common reaction, which does not necessarily mean something bad!
I'm a swedish gal. With bright neon pink hair and always dress in a very goth or punk style. People stare at me. ALL THE TIME haha. The reason is swedes are very very, let's call em bland or low-key. They don't like to stick out, having a spotlight on them is basically a lot of swedes absolute nightmare. So that someone else dares to stick out like that from the crowd. To basically yell "Yeah here I am and I ain't ashamed of anything" gets swedes very intereted, and many think "I wish I dared to be bold like that" and they stare.
Most swedes can also tell when someone isn't swedish, and it is because of your level of "sticking out" and how you express your body langague. I as a swede, also gets approached in English sometimes. I just find it funny. They think I'm different. I think they're boring :p
As a Swedish person born in Stockholm, I can confirm that we are very introverte. We do not like attention, and are in general very shy. I am personally a very vibrant person with a lot of energy and I am not ashamed to show it in public, which often results in a lot of states. I think that this is the exact same thing, but it does not mean that racism doesn’t exist in Sweden.
I also work as a barista in one of the most touristy places in Stockholm, and 85% of our guests are tourists. I speak more English than Swedish when I work, which often leads to me speaking English to anyone who enters the shop. When the customer basically announce that they are Swedish I often apologize and keep on going. So I think it also depends on what type place you find your self in.
You can almost feel the energy if you live in Sweden or not
There are a few more videos on UA-cam about Africans who actually live in Sweden.
One by a Lady called Flava Luyima, and her video is titled, Being Black In Sweden. Is Sweden a racist Country?
Another video UA-cam channel Lureen’s World, and her video is titled, What’s It Like Being Black In Sweden? My Experience.
One more, UA-cam channel Christopher Daniels, and his video titled, Black In Sweden. This Is Not What I Expected.
I’d thought I would look up some more videos for you as this lady says she doesn’t actually live in Sweden. I thought these videos would give you more idea what black and living Sweden from black people who actually live there.
Hi Tysheen, can you post a link to the original video please? Curious about what else she has to say.
I've never been to Sweden, but I'm pretty sure I'd be "made" as a non-native and addressed in English despite being white (I just can't do that "expressionless" resting face). I suspect this woman's expressive body language and easy smile give her heritage away just as much as the colour of her skin!
Me and my wife went to Thailand many years ago. My wife is blond and close to 1.8 (meters). alot of Thai people stared. I rembered one event especially, a girl asked if she could take a photo of us, well I thought she meant us so when I stand by my wife for the photo the girl signaled for me to move out of frame 🤣
Something that may give insight into the discussions in Angelica's classes that she mentions: Swedes do have a tendency and preference to "agree to disagree" rather than argue passionately. It's not our wont to try to push our opinions to the top or raise our voices so we're the loudest. I assume a lot of the students in her class, when it came to the racism issue, were suprised possibly because in general - and that "in general" is important because there'll always be the exceptions that confirms the rule - we don't *want* there to be racism. We also try to aim for there to not be any. It can still happen, of course, but the goal is for there to not be any.
Example from my family: Two out of my four cousins on my mother's side are adopted (East Asia). The only time one of them has told me about that was overtly racist is when an older lady turned around to my female cousin on a train platform and told her to go back home. She replied in a clear Stockholm dialect. I can't remember what she said her answer was but the old woman was surprised that she was native to Stockholm. A guy, near my cousin's age and visibly native to Sweden, had been doing the (infamous) staring at this exchange but at this point agreed or backed up in some way my cousin. It was a while ago so I don't remember many of the details, but it surprised me that she'd gotten that reaction from the old woman.
I think the younger generation is much more prone to not expect racism and will at first be surprised that it, actively and directly or accidentially and indirectly, happens in Sweden. For reference, my cousin and I are both mid-thirties now and this example is at least around a decade old.
On the (hopefully amusing) flipside, this same cousin has told me of being approached in the more tourist heavy areas of Stockholm by East Asian tourists who began speaking to her in their own native tongue. I assume they did it because she looked like she knew where she was going (she definitely would) but looked enough like them that they thought she'd know their language. Amusingly, I think she knows more French (her chosen third langauge in school) than she does any East Asian language. Lol
Hopefully this may give a bit more insight. I'm sorry that I can't give any first hand accounts. I am as Nordic-looking as they come.
My Maria is from Iraq. And she’s always in the garden. Which made her skin even darker than before and she also have black curly hair.
When my family and I were on vacation in the southern part of Sweden (it’s where my dads relatives live) and we where having breakfast at the hotel there where a middle aged man there to. And when my mom went by him on the way my dad were sitting. He nodded to my mom and said: hello
And my mom had heard him speak Swedish so she said: Hej ( that’s hello in Swedish)
The look of surprise and on his face was amazing!!
I was beside her and I couldn’t stop laughing for so long 😂😂
I don't think people "stare" like that, I think she looks around a little like "why is everyone staring at me" and people in Sweden probably pick up on that and look at her like, "what is she looking at me like that, is she staring at me?" ;)
A catch 22 moment. If you chill and don't mind people, they don't notice you either if that makes sense.
And if people do stare it's probably 1 of 2 reasons: 1) They have bad manners 2) They think she is gorgeous looking, I know I would look at her like that ;P
I'm a red-haired small guy living in Germany. An ex-girlfriend who is German said that when we started going out, she never had so many people looking at us. Germans stare at me, I stare back sometimes. Also, the language thing happens to me and I'm really good at German. Being black in such countries is quite different I think and I like the video.
I live in Stockholm, and I don't know really if it's different, because I am not a person of colour, but if you stare at people of colour here, you couldn't do much anything else, because there are so many living here.
It's spring in the middle of Sweden right now. And there are few countries where spring is so beautiful as in Sweden.
The thing is why we speak English to people of color is that we a lot of imegrants
I'm ethnical Swedish and living in Sweden. I'm proud of my country, which has shown solidarity and led the way in equity, equality and democracy.
But I am ashamed to tell about the hidden afrophobia in Sweden. It was a big shock for me when I realized that. Even adoptees who are Swedish in every way except skin color ..... have been discriminated against in the past and present.
Bullying at school, injustice in court, difficult to get a job etc. It's a big disgrace!
I just had to get it out of my chest.
As an "ethnic" swede living in Sweden, and having lived in various countries throughout my life imo Sweden is the 2nd best country to be non-white in. My rankings:
1 -Southern England
2 -Sweden
3- Portugal
Last place: France >:(
Ok
👏 yes this!!! I’m born in Sweden, parents from Chile, I have experienced racism all of my life, can’t imagine how it is for black people.
Hi Tysheen. I really enjoyed your reaction and also that video, which was fascinating but as a 67-year-old Londoner,I knew anyway.
If you live long enough you see life go full circle:) In around 1965 walking down my High Street, 57 years ago there was a Black Guy on the OTHER side of the busy road and the adults pointed him out due to the rarity and this was only 2 miles from the most diverse area in Britain i.e. Brixton. Travel on a Bus or walk down that SAME High Street in 2022 and it will be the WHITE person who will be in the overwhelming minority.
I think people just stare at anything or anyone that's unusual - it's what we all do, automatically. It can be disconcerting, but it doesn't have to be interpreted entirely negatively. It could be because she's not only unusual, but strikingly attractive.
Well, Sweden would obviously not be a strawberry cheese cake. It would be a pickled herring cheese cake, very delicious. ;)
I will stare (but try not to make it obvious) if I hear people speaking a different language, just out of curiosity. Wondering were they're from and what brought them to our tiny little country.
I feel, for me and people I know at least, it's more about culture than race. If I meet a black man born and raised in Africa, I will treat him differently than a black man born and raised in Scandinavia, because I know the way they were raised is different and how they view woman might be very different. I've had some unfortunate encounters with African men who don't believe in feminism and think they can control what I do and with whom I speak because I spoke with them for a minute. One guy grabbed my arm hard and threatened to beat me up if he saw me talking with other guys after I talked to him for a minute.. so now I try to avoid all men who might have similar believes, especially at night. But even in the day, I'm scared if I act like a normal, polite human being, they will interpretant that as flirting and pester me (has also happened before). But I have friends in every shade who were raised in this country with our values, and I don't care what colour their skin is!
It might be bad to avoid all "cultural" men after a few bad encounters, but I've felt very threatened, uncomfortable, and unsafe and don't particularly want to end up in similar, or worse, situations again, so I avoid!! There are many countries I don't know the culture of, but I do know that Scandinavian countries are considered some of the most "progressive" countries in the world, and we still have a ways to go to reach full equality and all that. Depending on the time, place, and situation, I am more wiry of people from "conservative" parts of the world (who usually are not white) because I know some cultures view woman in a way I want no part of, and I don't want to take any chances. If a person of colour has a British accent for example, I instantly feel more relaxed, because even though he might not agree that it's just as much his job to clean the house, he does understand that it's not his "right as a man" to do what he wants with/to a woman, regardless of her feelings.
I don't feel like I see many ethnic woman around in my daily life, but it might be because I'm not on high alert around them, so I don't really notice them. But I've been to some clubs where the majority of the women are black and it's always so much fun dancing with them!! Black women can MOVE!!
Swede here! I'm also from Chile but borrn and raised in Sweden. I grew up in the swedish ''ghetto'' and I have grown up with a mom that has hammered into me what is right and wrong. Like racism, and human rights. So in my school there was never racism bcs not a single person was swedish ahahahah. But when I went on in higher school I could see my classmates stare and I would point it out. and they would get so caught of guard. mostly it was that they thought the person was pretty or had nice clothes or hair. but sometimes there was no answer, and that speaks for it self.... I admit myself to staring at people, but my moms heritage has passed on to me, I am shameless and tell the person that I love their hair, make up or clothes xD but yes like the person creating this clip said, there is no paradise, Sweden come of as one of the best countries and all, but asking someone like me, we got so much to better and fix! Anyways, I love your vids and continue being you!
Interesting thing, but I find out that I started at black people only in my country, because it's not many of them here. It's about 0.01% of population.
Did she do her homework before going to Sweden? The "stare" thing is rather known for Sweden. All countries have their own customs. For example, if a foreigner comes to France, the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO SAY, when entering a shop or a restaurant, is "Bonjour" and when the foreigner leaves, "Goodbye". If tourists don't do that and just enter a shop and talk to the seller without saying "Bonjour', the reception could be very cold.
That's just one of those little things that can make or break a foreigner's time in France.
Let me tell you about the stare. All it is is curiosity, since small talk is not a big thing in northern European countries, they resort to stare without even realizing it. Since it is good maners to respect peoples privacy and not engage with complete strangers, people are simply curious,maybe it is the hair or skin or hair or stain or something odd - that's all. Hope this helps, loved your vid 👍🏻😊
I remember the first time I saw a black person in the mid 70's (in Sweden) - and really stared because I had only seen black people on TV or in a movie. The staring was just from fascination ;) I have visited countries where children have stared at me the same way being white.
My friend is a tall, blonde Swede and when he went to India people stopped him in the streets and in train stations to take photos together with the family or the the kids. Another friend had the same experience in China. I would probably be one of the "rude" people that would stare unintensionally. I seldom see "black" people as I live in a small village and work in a small city where people either are european, from asia (we got a lot of Vietnamese in the 80s) or from the middle east (got alot of them lately). The woman in the video would get my attention for being black, probably for her un-swedish manners and also for being pretty. I would look but look away if being cought as I wouldn't want her to think I was interested (being much older and also married).
I am sure that this girl here in Portugal would have a different experience. We are a multicultural country with so many people of various cultures, races and creeds. She would go unnoticed but as she is very beautiful she would certainly attract attention for her beauty, not because she is black. A long time ago maybe blondes would have this sensation in Portugal because there would be few of them, now even these women are rare here in Portugal.
Greetings from Portugal.
I'm black and I'm born and raised here, it has been very interesting to say the least.
She said they spoke English to her and immediately assumed she was from another country. That has happened to me as well. I wanted to buy coffe and tried to pay with an old coin. The cashier told me in English that it wasn't valid. It was awkward. I'm Swedsih but she thought I was a tourist.
Racism is every where but here in the north its not common. Blacks are rare here to so that's why they look at her.
There can be many reasons for people to staring, your look for example, wich is alot more than just the colour of your skin. This girl in the video is reallly beatiful, an eye catcher for sure.
As a swedish person that lives on the country Side. And going to the big cities like Linköping or Stockholm I even get many stare from other Swedes. I think its because I just stand out from a normal city boy because how I take place and talk, but the thing is I have learned that its the city people that have give the impression that swedish people are a very shy and introverted country. But if you go to the country side its like a whole other people. But I even stare at black people but its because I just dont see many but I just dont mean anything bad with it.
This is similar in Scotland, if you are very expressive, people will watch, regardless of if you are Scottish or not.
As a Swedish person I'd blank stare at this girl anytime. She's pretty!
I haft to admit, I stare often, Especially at black people but my reason is, its only at those with the classic braids/dreads/fluffy afro cuz I find it so beautiful, intricate and symmetrical.
I know it sounds weird but I also almost apologize for staring and give a compliment and say I just love that hairstyle because it's beautiful.
💖I'm Swedish and I know that in Sweden we stare att things we tink looks interesting and beautiful. But we are also shy so if you get caught staring we look away.💖
Personally, I wonder if maybe black people often think that others have bad intentions even when that's not the case becuse of history and so. I always(!) look at people everywhere. All kind of people and for different reasons, sometimes just trying to figure out where they're going so we don't crash into each other ;) But, sometimes black people gets irritated and (clearly irritated) asks me why I'm staring at them, and I can promise, I don't stare at them in any other way than a white person. Maybe I look a few seconds more if someone has really nice clothes/cool style/cute dog, but never in any other way.
I totally understand that if you come from (or have close relatives coming from) countries where black people gets treated very badly, it's easy to react to everything that reminds you of that. But I do think that if you don't assume that others wants to be bad, and if "both sides" try to communicate in a respectful way, that doesn't have to be a big problem. (And of course, Sweden isn't perfect! There is racism here as well, but there's also a lot of people actively working against it and we do have a lot of laws against racism)
i have been living in sweden for 18 years and never something like that happened to me, swedish people is one of the nicest people and never racist to black people. something must be wrong with her
The thing is ANYBODY will be stared at if they stick out in some way from the norm- it isn't a uniquely 'black' thing. So if someone wears a striped yellow and pink outfit, even if they are the typical blond, blue-eyed Swede in every other aspect, people will stare a bit for the odd taste in clothes, but internally shrug. If there were more black people in Sweden people wouldn't pay much notice.
That isn't to say that there isn't racism- but her experience sounds like she was a bit quick to assume a racist intent was behind something perfectly innocent because she herself is so very aware of her own "blackness". Rather than she simply sticks out as foreign. Also sometimes you can tell by the way people act and dress that they are foreign. So the whole English thing may have been people around her picking up on those slight social cues that she was obviously NOT Swedish- regardless of skin color. I have had people do that to me, assume that I am foreign and start talking to me in English for no obvious reason, and I think it is since I have spent a fair bit of my life abroad, despite being in no way noticeably different from most other Scandinavians.
Riiight, I'm not going to avoid staring at people. Stuff happens, mostly for no reason at all.
If you're not acting like a Swede, people will pick up on it right away tho.
And with the influx of people these last 10 years that doesn't want to learn the language people will assume that you don't speak Swedish.
I know one guy(From Yemen) that picked up on everything within a half year and then no one assumed that he didn't know Swedish.
Going abroad I can recognize a Swede in any country outside of the Scandinavia. Close to instantly. Especially if they talk english.
No surprise that the students didn't agree with the teacher about the racism stuff, there are very few racists among the Swedes.
But there are cultural barriers that make some foreigners hate Swedes and for some reason think the worst of them.
There are many many people of color in Sweden these days 💙💛 I bet people just stare at her because she is beautiful
The staring would be the same here in Germany. It is not meant in a positive or negative way. We just stare a lot... And I would definitely stare at her too because she looks gorgous!
I can't say anything about the other things she says, but if you're Swedish and black, people will speak Swedish to you. You look at clothes, hairstyles, etc. I would think that very few black Swedes get people to speak English to them.
But also things that are more subtle such as how close the person is standing to another person, a Swede generally wants a great distance regardless of skin color. Does the person understand what the people around him or her are saying, so when you arrive at the counter, theshop-assistant has calculated that you are not Swedish and then it is the service to switch to English.
I think also that people watching "stare" is quite common, I also don't think it has much to do with whether you are black or not, but more if you stand out, most black people in Sweden come or have parents who come from East Africa , Somalia, Ethiopia Eritrea, but also some with roots in West Africa.
Extremely few come from the Caribbean, this makes you stand out and I think Swedes would like to be able to place people, Swedes or tourists ect.
if you look at this girl, she looks very Swedish, it's hard to say how you see it, you just do it, it can also be things like body language: ua-cam.com/video/RRmKQScD5-E/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Athina
I don't know if this 'tradition' of looking people directly in the eyes, ie making eye contact is normal in Sweden as well. In Germany it definitely is. In many areas of Germany it is a sign of trustworthiness. Many people consider the eyes to be the windows to the soul. It is hard to hide your true intentions from cropping up in your eyes unless you are a highly trained actor. Even then telltales around the eyes give away possible scammers more often than not.
So meeting the eyes of someone is a sign that you can trust the person who is initiating the eye contact. Meaning, people feel 'stared at'. But at least for many Germans it is not done with the intent of 'staring' at someone to make them uncomfortable. From what I've gathered, making lasting eye contact in many cultures is considered staring, and at least somewhat rude.
At least that's my personal take on why at least Germans do seem to 'stare' so often.
Then there's the often cited interest. While a darker skin color is most definitely not unheard of, pure mathematics and averages make it still less common than lighter skin colors here in Northern or Central Europe.
It has nothing to do with any inherent racism. Purely, simply mathematical averages and interest in anything 'not average'.
As such a darker skin color is, at least, more unusal than the average. Not 'outrageously unusual', just 'unusual enough to spark interest'.
For many people 'unusual' or 'beyond average' means 'more interesting'. 'More interesting' means giving it a slightly longer look which might be interpreted as a stare.
That she is very easy on the eyes, to say the least, making her the 'target' of male 'stares' understandable, if not more acceptable.
Combine all of these factors, and the time someone takes to look at her (or you, Tysheen, for that matter) could drift from 'casual look' to 'uncomfortable stare' completely unintentionally.
Little side note: natural hair types 4a to 4c are very, very rare in Northern Europe's lighter skinned population. So anyone with 4a to 4c hair types, no matter their length or hair do, will be, again, different than average.
Sweden often has type 1, or maybe type 2a to 2c, rarely type 3a to 3c. This distribution is very common for most Northern and Central European countries.
So unless she changed her hair type artificially and unnaturally to another base number her hair type alone would have made her someone more interesting again.
But she should sport her natural hair type as much as possible. Go natural, alright? It suits you so much more, and is so much better for your hair health.
What I've come to realize is that body language does seem to differ quite a bit from the North American continent, including the Carribean to what is usual in Europe.
If you want to take a look at Christopher Russel, a black American living in Germany (sorry, I think the term Afro-American is probably the dumbest idea since the introduction of such terms) he also asked how do Germans recognize him as American even when he has not spoken a single word yet.
To his question I had the following answer: a male American carries himself with a certain posture, a kind of swagger designed to impress just through posture and stance. In a kind of "Look out, here I come, look at me, I am impressive so be impressed" kind of look and stance. It is subtly different to how a black German holds his body stance. It registers not on a conscious level for a native.
I am not certain how that translates to a Jamaican black woman in Sweden (see what a strange construct I would have to concoct if I said, she was an Afro-American-Jamaican woman?).
I have not studied enough Jamaican people yet to notice any kind of specific stance that gives away their non-native status to the surroundings on a sub-conscious level.
Swedes stare at everybody. I'm a white, generally looking person and I get stares all the time. It's just a thing of the local culture. I usually look just above the head level when I'm on the street or in a supermarket, so those stares don't annoy me. Sometimes I catch myself staring at other people but that is because I admire how beautiful/stylish they are.
Also, I think that speaking English to a black or Asian person is because Sweden has historically had a very homogenous population so most people assume that if you're not white then you're probably a tourist. But that depends very much on a place. There are many places in Stockholm and Gothenburg where personnel are people who don't speak Swedish. I speak fluent Swedish and I don't look like a tourist but many times I have been greeted in English because personnel didn't speak Swedish.
I'm white and blonde, everyone in Sweden talked to me in English straight away, it's like they have a sixth sense.
of all common flowers you can see in a garden you will surly spot the new beautiful flower popping up among all the other ordinary flowers, when i went to Jamaica i was the one every one stared at so i know the feeling but i got used to it.
It is cold and good! Love it here. It was warm around 7-15 (44-59)degrees every day for a while. But right now we have a raging blizzard with almost a feet deep snow! It is wonderful. I love the cold, now it is steadily 0 (32) degrees. (I don´t know if that is the right temp, i don´t know fahrenheit. But i tried)
I can tell you what Swedes are doing when they are staring at you here. Swedes are staring at each others if they are interested in something about you. And because we NEVER talk to people around us in public, if we don´t know them already ofc. It means that they keep it all bubbled up inside while staring creepily.
So they most likely are very interested about something about you. But they don´t dare saying anything to you because that would intrude on your personal zone.
We are very a cautious and restrained people. We care a lot about not intruding on other peoples right to be left alone. We are also very quiet and reserved by nature. So i understand how it can come across as unpleasant and rude. Almost everyone i watch that comes to Sweden for the first time says that same thing. But it almost never something like that. It is just a culture "thing" that not even we kinda understand.
But speaking as a Swede and out of my personal experience, this is my 2 cents about it:
Eye contact can often be the first stepp towards breaking the ice. If you meet some ones eyes and then look away quickly, then they most likely feel shame because they were caught looking but are to shy to face your eye contact. Or they never wanted to talk, they were just fascinated by something about you. Or they wanted something but interpreted your silence and eversion as a sign that you weren´t in the mood to talk or be bothered.
Not being bothered by others and having the right to expect that everyone around you honor that fact. Is SO incredibly typical Swedish thing that we all are pretty much born with that way of thinking.
You honestly should ask them about it when you notice it. Ask them if they want help with something or if they have something on their mind. If you invite them into your zone or (bubble) then you might find that Swedes can be quite chatty and friendly in general. They just have it in them to bother you because they don´t know you and if you´d rather be left alone.
The expressionless faces a lot of us have is simply due to Swedes often being very serious and stoic. We almost don´t smile and express ourselves in public, at least sober. It is often seen as obnoxious and exaggerated when you see someone do it too much. Again something i hear a lot from people that come here for the first time. Again something that is often interpreted as something hostile or rude. But ime it really isn´t. It would simply be weird to smile at a complete stranger that you got eye contact with in public.
But she had a legit and really good point towards the end too.
We Swedes actually DO live in bubbles in a sort of way. The personal zone we all have and treasure so much is just that!
We often actually joke about it, how we "live inside our bubbles" when we forget about the world at times. I know a couple of friends that actively doesn´t wander outside of their bubble/comfort zone at all. They do anything to distract themselves from what is going on in the rest of the world. often because they don´t like to see anything awful or feel that the happenings in the world stresses them out to much. So they just focus on their own little "bubble" instead.
I hope that cleared up some thing about us Swedes. I wish you a god day and all the best.
This depends a bit on where in the country you live in
I am white and English and when I am abroad people still speak to me in English before I say anything. I guess I just don't look like a local.
Maybe they stare cause you’re pretty and different. I know personally I’m fascinated how beautiful “black” people skin color is.
If people have stared at her, I definitely think it's because she's such a beautiful woman🧡!
10:02
You look good when you smile like that. :-)
(Ps. Remember the difference in language scale between the US and Europe, "good" for us is basically "amazing" for you guys, bad for us is horrible for you etc)
😊
Swedish people staring is something I heard white people visiting sweden say, it's just a cultural thing that people can look at other people and swedes don't find it weird. It's not staring for swedes it is looking and it's not because of someone being from another country or because someone have dark skin (that's not that unusual in sweden), swedes look/stare at each other just the same. You do not usually keep the eye contact though if your eyes happen to meet unless you know the person, then you might smile and not and if you are close you might stop and talk.
So just like a swede would find it strange if someone they don't know sits down with them on the bus and starts talking someone not swedish might find the "staring" strange but it's not considered rude.
50% stared just for the beauty 50% just envy the beauty...
She's a striking, beautiful, different person. So people will look at her because it's a little bit outside the norm. And in Sweden, and pretty much all Northern countries staring is a part of the culture. However all other kind of invading personal space or making contact, like talking or getting really close to you is NOT in the culture, so when she looks back that part of the culture takes over, because we don't want contact. Also the staring is blank because its neatral and doesnt mean anything in most cases.
Swede guilty of staring here XD Can only speak for myself, but I know I can stare at people for atleast mainly three reasones:
1. I'm on a walk and is in my own mind and don't realize I actually stare at someone
2. I check for a second longer to see if you're someone I know so I don't miss to say "Hi" (has happened I've missed people because they have changed something in their apperance)
3. I see something I find beautiful/cool and so on and want to try too check out more. Love afro hair for example
Ah the Swedish Stare. I am half latina and half Swedish. I was in a smaller town/city (dunno what to call it) for a month and I got stared at. It might be because I walked with my white mom and white soon-to-be stepfather but even another person my age with skin like mine stared at me like I was a freaking rainbow unicorn.
Sure, some places have a lot of mixed cultures (Scandinavia in general has cities where its very mixed) so they are used to people looking like me. But in smaller places I got stared at like this: O.O It might be because I was new (I was raised in norway) or it might be because I looked different. So far nobody has pinpointed where my father came from just by looking at me. Maybe I just look and act like an alien. Maybe they are just curious about a new person but their Swedish Silence stops them from doing anything but stare.