[General] all-American girl

[leemccarthyn]

When somebody has an US-American mother and a South American (Brazilian) father or vice versa, but was born on another continent, can she call herself an "all-American girl"?

 

[GoesStation]

When somebody has [STRIKE]an[/STRIKE] a US-American mother and a South American (Brazilian) father or vice versa, but was born on another continent, can she call herself an "all-American girl"?

The US being a nation of immigrants, nobody is more all-American than the child of immigrants. However, if this girl is a dual citizen, some people might find it a bit of a stretch for her to describe herself as all-American.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hmm. Interesting. This is an exact duplicate of a post by Do228. See HERE. (17 Feb 2018)
Leemccarthyn, why have you copied someone else's question and pretended it's your own?

 

[Skrej]

I don't think I've ever heard 'all-American' used to refer to someone's ethnicity.

It's usually used to refer to a stereotyped image of someone who reflects a perceived 'wholesome' image or exhibits perceived 'American' values based on qualities, looks, values, or ideals.


In sports, it can refer to a team composed only of Americans, but can also refer to an athlete selected by some kind poll (usually by journalists or coaches) as being the best in the US in some particular category.

I personally would never use the phrase to discuss whether or not someone was 100% American in terms of ethnicity of heritage (regardless of how you define 'American'). It's for qualities and values, not heritage.

 

[jutfrank]

Hmm. Interesting. This is an exact duplicate of a post by Do228. See HERE. (17 Feb 2018)
Leemccarthyn, why have you copied someone else's question and pretended it's your own?

Thanks for pointing that out. I was sure we had this question before but then I failed to find it. I thought I was going mad!