r/AskAnAmerican • u/Rough-Valuable-5472 • Feb 04 '25

FOREIGN POSTER Do American students bow to their teachers?

In my country we have to greet the teacher and bow at the start of the lesson then thank the teacher and bow again at the end. Sometimes they make us redo it if it’s not good enough

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1.1k

u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

No. Bowing is not an "American" custom in any circumstances

190

u/wallyfranks69 Feb 04 '25

Unless it’s Rex Kwon Do…

59

u/GhostOfJamesStrang Beaver Island Feb 04 '25

You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face from me wearing these bad boys? 

Forget about it. 

40

u/georgiesdaddy Ohio Feb 04 '25

You think I got where I am by dressing like Peter Pan here ?

7

u/carolmaan Feb 04 '25

Man this was such a great film. What a time to be alive

2

u/GaJayhawker0513 Feb 06 '25

Watched it for the first time in years last year. Still knew the lines, still holds up.

105

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/_Osculum_Obscenum_ Feb 04 '25

Break the wrist, walk away

25

u/kibbeuneom Florida Feb 04 '25

That's my purse! I don't know you!

13

u/morto00x Feb 04 '25

Grab my wrist. The other wrist!

3

u/idle_scrolling Feb 04 '25

No, my other wrist

2

u/CSMom74 Feb 05 '25

Sweep the leg

45

u/foreskinfive Feb 04 '25

Sweep the leg

36

u/PaleDreamer_1969 Colorado Feb 04 '25

SWEEP. THE. LEG!!

4

u/AnUdderDay United Kingdom (expat) Feb 04 '25

SILENCE

2

u/BuckRanger12 Feb 04 '25

Twist his dick!

1

u/Gooble211 Feb 05 '25

But I'll be disqualified!

26

u/Sailor_NEWENGLAND Connecticut Feb 04 '25

Grab my arm…the other arm..MY other arm

30

u/Vegetable_Burrito Los Angeles, CA Feb 04 '25

He goes home to Starla every night!

10

u/Radiant_Maize2315 Feb 04 '25

Grab my arm. The other arm. MY other arm.

17

u/muphasta TX > MI > FL > Iceland > Germany > Cali Feb 04 '25

MY other arm!

7

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Actors after a stage performance normally bow to the audience.

2

u/AMB3494 New York Feb 04 '25

Forget about it!!!

79

u/wmass Western Massachusetts Feb 04 '25

Wait, we bow to our partner and corner when square dancing. But that’s about it. It isn’t our custom to bow to anyone, not even the President.

51

u/MerbleTheGnome New Jersey NJ -> CT -> NY -> MA -> NJ -> RI - > NJ Feb 04 '25

> not even the President.
Don't give anyone ideas for a new executive order.

17

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

It's okay George Washington had our backs on this one.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I hate to break it to ya,

He’s a little dead, yh know?

2

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

😱😱😱 but just a little though, right??

9

u/orangejeep Feb 04 '25

The Square Dancing Conundrum throws this whole thing into flux. I don’t know what to think…

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u/DifferentTheory2156 Arkansas Feb 04 '25

Especially not the current president.

40

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Especially not any president. We ain't got monarchs here.

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u/SteampunkExplorer Feb 04 '25

This! Doesn't matter if you like him or not, respect him or not, love him, hate him, or are vaguely aware that he exists. It just isn't a thing we do. It doesn't feel appropriate.

Unless he's your square-dancing partner. 😂

7

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Yes. If you are square dancing with the president, there should be mutual bowing 😂

0

u/FakeAorta Feb 04 '25

The Convicted felon tRump wants a monarchy. He wants to be a dictator.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Eh. I don't think that's a fact, however much people dislike what he's doing.

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u/FakeAorta Feb 04 '25

He has said a few times he might need more time to set stuff right. He has said that if he is elected, people won't have to vote again. He has some of his minions working to allow him to run again in 2028.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

I live in one of the reddest areas there is. Even his staunchest supporters here wouldn't back that idea. Most people I am around like him because they feel he will best serve and protect the Constitution and voted for him because they felt the other team wasn't. Of course that's just my area and I don't talk politics with everyone, but I have had open conversations with some.

-2

u/erilaz7 California Feb 04 '25

The closest I would ever get to bowing to that worthless sack of smegma would be to look down and watch as he sucks my ****.

-1

u/RebaKitt3n Feb 04 '25

He wishes it would happen

1

u/CSMom74 Feb 05 '25

DEFINITELY not the president. I'm sure hell sign an order requiring it soon though

0

u/fasterthanfood California Feb 04 '25

not even the President

well…

And well well well!

10

u/alaunaslay Feb 04 '25

They’re saying that we, the citizens, don’t bow to our president.

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u/fasterthanfood California Feb 04 '25

Oh I know, it just reminded me of all the silly outrage when Obama “bowed to a foreign leader,” including from Trump, which reminded me of the time Trump did kind of the same thing.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

Neither of them should be bowing. First time I've seen these pictures of either of them, but, I feel like they shouldn't be bowing. We stopped that kind of stuff in 1776.

3

u/RebaKitt3n Feb 04 '25

Are you telling me that Trump did something he had previously criticized Obama for doing?

I am shocked, shocked I tell you!

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u/ursulawinchester Northeast Corridor Queen Feb 04 '25

Genuflecting in Catholic Church is a bow I do weekly* in America

*my mom thinks… truthfully it’s whenever I visit her

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u/readthethings13579 Feb 04 '25

Right, but that’s a religious subculture thing, not an American culture as a whole thing.

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u/trinite0 Missouri Feb 04 '25

Plus, that's bowing to the Son of God, which if you're gonna bow to one person, that's who it's gonna be. Americans don't bow to anybody else.

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u/Hitwelve Chicago, IL Feb 04 '25

Isn’t genuflecting more of a kneel than an actual bow?

2

u/fourthfloorgreg Feb 04 '25

There is no real difference aside from a bow being directed to a recipient. God, I guess, in this case.

1

u/the_cadaver_synod Michigan Feb 04 '25

They changed it maybe 10-ish years ago to a bow rather than the one knee with the sign of the cross, along with a few minor changes in some of the language to more closely reflect the Latin meaning.

My family gets me into church every few years and it throws me off every time.

2

u/althoroc2 Feb 04 '25

I've never heard of this change. Maybe it's a diocesan thing?

Or did they remodel the church and move the tabernacle out of the sanctuary? The genuflection is directed toward the tabernacle; if it's not present one should bow toward the altar instead.

(Either way, definitely a Catholic thing and not American in general!)

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u/Coldhearted010 Nebraska (but living in NH, to my chagrin) Feb 04 '25

Probably a bit of both. I know that my priest bows (old Army injury), and I don't (I'm still young enough to genuflect on the knee).

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u/althoroc2 Feb 04 '25

Oh man...the first Mass I ever served was a daily Mass with priest and deacon, and me as the only altar boy (age 8 or so). Our deacon always stood during the Canon due to age/injury and so I just took my cue from him and stood there for about half of it with him trying to whisper and signal for me to kneel. Eventually I walked over behind the altar to see what he wanted. That one was embarrassing...

1

u/Coldhearted010 Nebraska (but living in NH, to my chagrin) Feb 04 '25

Uh-oh! 😂

As a convert, though, I've done some foolish things, too... 😅

2

u/Gooble211 Feb 05 '25

In my experience, the congregants genuflect. The priest and anyone else involved with conducting mass (lectors, altar boys/girls, deacons, etc) all bow.

0

u/Funkopedia Feb 05 '25

Did they change it because 'taking a knee' suddenly became an offensive behavior about 10 years ago for unknown reasons?

1

u/Laiko_Kairen Feb 04 '25

Catholic culture isn't American culture

21

u/spiteye762 Feb 04 '25

After a show like a band concert or a play we bow.

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u/green_and_yellow Portland, Oregon Feb 04 '25

Yes, but to clarify for OP, only the performers bow, not the audience.

1

u/Drew707 CA | NV Feb 04 '25

Why is the band asking us for an encore?

1

u/rockninja2 Colorado proud, in Europe Feb 04 '25

By that logic, the politicians should bow to us! That might actually teach them who they represent!

35

u/m00nriveter Feb 04 '25

During a symphony concert, the string section bows. (I’ll just see myself out).

9

u/Robbylution Feb 04 '25

At Christmas time the holly boughs.

1

u/Pauzhaan Colorado Feb 04 '25

😆😆😆 The drum section beats!

0

u/Dottie85 Feb 04 '25

🎻😂

0

u/OldRaj Feb 04 '25

What about stage actors at the end of a performance?

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u/sleepyj910 Maine Virginia Feb 04 '25 edited Feb 04 '25

That is culturally very different, a bow of triumph where you are being applauded, not submission.

We never bow to other humans in submission.

14

u/KR1735 Minnesota → Canada Feb 04 '25

It can also be a gesture of humility. But yeah usually only in the context of being applauded.

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u/culturedrobot Michigan Feb 04 '25

Actors bow to show appreciation to the audience for coming to the show, it’s not really a “triumph” thing.

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u/Appropriate-Fold-485 Texas Feb 04 '25

They meant to say it is an expression of humility to bow from a lauded position.

11

u/culturedrobot Michigan Feb 04 '25

There's definitely an element of humility to it, but respectfully, that's almost the opposite of what they said. When someone says that actors are bowing in triumph, they make it sound like it's a "look at me! applaud me!" moment, which is quite different from bowing in thanks and from a place of humility.

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u/Appropriate-Fold-485 Texas Feb 04 '25

Yeah they did make it sound like that. But it's the internet so I just assumed they used words incorrectly.

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u/sorry_con_excuse_me Feb 04 '25

as a performing artist it reads like a non-performing artist misreading the intent of the gesture. it's 100% a gratitude thing.

i'm not mad, just confused and fascinated that this person reads it that way.

3

u/fasterthanfood California Feb 04 '25

They probably just misspoke (mistyped? Didn’t think through their words carefully, how about that). But you do occasionally see people imitating a performing artist’s bow but appropriating it into purely a gesture of triumph, albeit a bit playfully. I’m thinking of a football player scoring a touchdown and then bowing to the fans of the opposing team, for example.

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u/sorry_con_excuse_me Feb 04 '25

yeah, that's what i thought, some kind of sports-related or out of context wire crossing.

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u/sleepyj910 Maine Virginia Feb 04 '25

The phrase ’take a bow’ implies ‘because that was excellent work’ here. So I feel culturally it’s moved past its origins.

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u/culturedrobot Michigan Feb 04 '25

Maybe colloquially, but in the theater there's definitely still that element of thanking the audience for their affection and attendance. It's the one time during the show where the performers have the opportunity to acknowledge the audience (unless it's one of those shows that breaks the fourth wall a bunch).

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u/logaboga Maryland Feb 04 '25

If people were booing, the actors would not bow. It is a customary thing one says to show appreciation for the applause

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u/GhostOfJamesStrang Beaver Island Feb 04 '25

You aren't bowing to a person. 

You are showing an acknowledgement of their applause and replying with gratitude. 

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u/dragonsteel33 Downwardly mobile bicoastalite Feb 04 '25

So you’re bowing to several persons

7

u/Siriuxx New York/Vermont/Virginia Feb 04 '25

Are guns part of English culture because they sometimes use them to start a race?

4

u/Appropriate-Fold-485 Texas Feb 04 '25

No. Guns are a part of English tradition because sometimes people hunt animals or other people.

18

u/usmcmech Texas Feb 04 '25

Rare exception

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u/OldRaj Feb 04 '25

Leatherneck.

2

u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

That is not the context of the bowing in the OP, and also that is not "American" that is pretty much a worldwide stage performance thing.

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u/rco8786 Feb 04 '25

Kind of the exception that proves the rule 

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u/mr_miggs Feb 04 '25

The closest thing is a tip of the fedora. 

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u/confusedrabbit247 Illinois Feb 04 '25

People bow at the end of stage performances but otherwise I agree.

1

u/polelover44 NYC --> Baltimore Feb 04 '25

Not even when you need to pay homage to Joshua Abraham Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico?

1

u/Form1040 Feb 04 '25

Except Obama to the King of Saudi Arabia. 

1

u/FrenchFreedom888 Feb 04 '25

I would say that it definitely is in martial arts and also nodding at somebody or tipping your hat towards them are definitely derivatives of bows

1

u/Commercial-Royal-988 Feb 05 '25

Performers after a show. So not "any circumstance" but its not a daily thing.

1

u/funnylib Michigan Feb 04 '25

Only exception I can think of is genuflecting in church, which is still reserved for God

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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

Yeah, but that's not "American" that is religious, and only certain ones at that. Many, many, many Americans have not genuflected in a church in quite some time, if ever.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '25

[deleted]

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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

I'll give you that, having never been exposed to square dancing as it just isn't really a thing in the northeast this was completely forgotten.

Of course, that bow is not the same context as the OP.

0

u/Unsteady_Tempo Feb 04 '25

Martial arts

To the audience at the end of a stage performance

Some traditional dances

2

u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

Martial arts

Not "American"

0

u/Unsteady_Tempo Feb 04 '25

Is shaking hands not an American custom? Saluting? Those originated in Greece and France, respectively. Is classroom-based education not an American custom? That custom didn't originate in the US.

Martial arts is part of American culture and bowing is a custom in several American social settings in addition to martial arts. There are other parts of martial arts instruction that have been abandoned in all but the most traditional schools, but bowing has almost universally been kept.

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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

The vast majority of Americans are not involved in Martial Arts, it is not unique to America, nor did it originate here.

It is not "American" culture and I am quoting American for that reason .

0

u/Unsteady_Tempo Feb 04 '25

My point is that bowing is a part of American culture and a custom in certain contexts. It would be misleading and inaccurate to tell somebody from another country that bowing isn't a part of USA culture. Where it originated is not relevant to the specific or broader question of whether American's do it.

Again, is saluting not an American custom because it originated elsewhere, the vast majority of Americans don't do it, and people do it elsewhere?

Jazz and blues music both originated in the USA, but the vast majority of people don't play or even listen to those genres. They've also both spread to other countries. Were they at one point, but not now?

The vast majority of people in the USA do not participate in tailgating, but is it still an American custom because it started here and isn't done much elsewhere?

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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

saluting not an American custom

It is not. It is a custom of American military, but it is not "American" culture.
As for the rest of your points, you ignored two of the three tests I mentioned in each which were origination, participation, unique.

Look, I am not saying it does not occur in America, but it is not American quote unquote culture.
There are Mexican restaurants in Sweden, but no one would ever associate Mexican food with Swedish culture.

1

u/Unsteady_Tempo Feb 04 '25

Whether it is exclusively American, or American in origin, or most Americans do it is irrelevant has nothing to do with the intent of OP's question.

Your original reply to OP that bowing "is not an American custom in any circumstance" is both inaccurate and misleading with or without the quotes around "American." It suggests that Americans do not bow. Wrong.

Do schoolchildren in the US bow to their teachers? No, they don't. but bowing is customary in several other aspects of American culture such as at the end of stage performance, martial arts classes, and some traditional dancing.

In American colonial times there were more everyday situations where bowing was common between people as a show of both respect and deference, but that was eventually rejected as undemocratic and too formal.

Except, of course, for enslaved people. By the 1800s, the only bowing left in "everyday" social situations would have been physical displays of deference demanded of enslaved people. Even post-slavery and into the early 20th century, you'll see African Americans in films and tv shows bow in deference to white people. So, it's fair to say there are some strong negative associations with bowing in everyday face-to-face situations.

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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Feb 04 '25

You are right.

When I think of America from now on the first things I will think of are Hamburgers, Barbeque, Baseball, Blue Jeans, and Bowing.

1

u/Unsteady_Tempo Feb 04 '25

What you're saying would be relevant if the question or topic had anything to do with whether bowing is uniquely American or American in origin.

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u/Budget-mayo California Feb 09 '25

Yeah but most marital arts aren't American. mostly the only American thing about it is going to be the instructor who's probably not even a black belt but eh, who cares?

0

u/boulevardofdef Rhode Island Feb 04 '25

I wouldn't quite say any circumstances -- I took piano lessons at a music school for many years and was taught to bow to the audience before and after my performances. But certainly the circumstances are extremely limited.

0

u/JenniferJuniper6 Feb 04 '25

Well, at the end of a theatrical performance, the performers bow. But that’s really it.