By: Helena Kealey
Are there any cultural differences left in Europe? Every European country seems to be, (or moving towards), a meritocratic, democratic, egalitarian and free society. English is now universally spoken amongst them. We even seem to share celebrities. I’m not sure you can be a true Spaniard without a well considered opinion on House or Grey’s Anatomy. Is it possible that we have all adopted an Anglo/ American culture, and all basically lead very similar cultural existences, with the exception of occasionally donning a kilt, or some lederhosen, (pick your nationality)? Well, it turns out there is, in a little country just opposite us, a thriving culture totally different from our own. Welcome to Belgium.
Despite being easier to reach than Cornwall, Belgium has hidden amongst its beautiful medieval cities and political instability (Belgium last week staged a series of events for breaking the world record as the country with the longest standing wait for a government… including Iraq) a bizarrely different and old fashioned culture. Although we English are known as the most snobbish nation on earth, we actually have a lot to learn from our cross channel cousins in ways of snobbishness. The upper class part of Belgium has a social register called The Blue Book. It comes out every year, like the yellow pages, and it lists in alphabetical order all the families, marriages and crests of those who are lucky enough to have been born, well, sickeningly rich, or who are named ‘de’ something or other.
Outside the summer months, a ball will be thrown most weeks, with the dates being coordinated by the register authorities (it is always a girl who throws a ball, paid for by her father). To ensure that, each season, every eligible (French), young person in Belgium meets every other eligible young person.
People within the Blue Book will join two or three different social groups, which are the rough equivalents of fraternity houses at American universities. Each girl will then invite to her ball all the members of the two or three social groups of which she is a member, and by their overlapping membership of different groups – and because so many balls are thrown – everybody does eventually meet everybody else. Much like a Jane Austen novel, it is understood that the young people of the register should marry within the register, to keep the caste’s money within the caste, where it will be secure.
That isn’t the only way in which Elizabeth Bennett would fit easily into such a world. There is a traditional attitude to sex amongst the gilded youth of Belgium. Unlike us English tarts, no Belgium girl under 20 seems to have lost her virginity. Belgian girls are much more cautious of boys and careful of their reputation than we are, and they live at home much longer then we do, not leaving until their late twenties. And unlike us, they do not agonise over university, (well done guys by the way, on getting to York), as they simply attend their local. Not that university looms very large in their lives, as girls in these circles normally give up work to breed the next generation of debutantes. And besides, one is expected to find one’s man, and social life, at the weekly, exclusive extravaganzas, not in a Vanbrugh lecture theatre.
Drunkenness amongst the Belgian upper class is harshly looked down upon by most of the members of the groups and kissing is practically prohibited. There’s no ‘getting off’ at these balls. Girls are well dressed, demure, and sober. Although it has to be said, whilst much more sober than us, there’s a branch of the high society that have been known to compensate with some pretty hard drugs. On the whole however, they’re much better behaved than we are, and much less free.
The dating of someone not on the social register will be the talk of any party, and subject the offending party to some serious judgement. One Belgian contact tells the story of a friend of hers who, on the surface, is charming, intelligent and attractive. Despite all of his merits however, he hasn’t been born into the social register, and is thus extremely chippy – a social complex which seems to manifest itself in similar ways to those sufferers of ‘small man syndrome.’ Because he is upper middle class enough to have many friends who are members of the social register, but not posh enough to make it there himself, he is left feeling frustrated, excluded and overcompensates for this with a need to prove himself. Here, in today’s modern, meritocratic and egalitarian world is a 19 year old boy, bitter and awkward, because his parents weren’t born Earls.
Another downside, other than the celibacy, to being an upper class Belgian girl in this society, is the competition over balls. Each one has to be themed uniquely, and the cost! Thousands upon thousands of Euros are spent on these parties.
This is all a bit grim, but whereas we Brits can be cold to strangers, Belgians are incredibly welcoming and warm. Due to their weirdly inward looking and circular society, Belgians already know everyone (or at least their names, and possibly reputations) and so they were pleased to meet someone new, and thrilled to demonstrate their multi-lingual abilities. And unlike us, of course, they all speak French, Flemish, English and sometimes German fluently.
The interesting thing about the Blue Book, is that it’s filled almost exclusively with French speakers. Despite the fact the French speakers make up only 33% of Belgium’s population, there are very few Flemish or German speakers who make it into the Belgian ‘high society.’ It’s difficult to tell to what extent this is a historical link back to the 19th century, when one had to speak French to belong to the governing upper class, as some suggest, and how much is a cultural divide in which the Flemish take no interest. Even amongst Belgian people, there is a huge gap in the everyday experience of a French and Flemish speaker in Belgium. Both sets of people, despite living and working together, have different points of interest, political allegiances, television programs, and even celebrities. A well renown and much talked of singer in a Flemish household for example, could be totally unheard of by their French neighbours. The Flemish for example, know almost nothing of the obsession many French speakers have with class.
Another interesting difference between the French speaking upper class part of Belgium and the more middle class sectors of the Flemish, is that the English spoken by the Flemish is so much better. Whilst the French busy themselves with social climbing and akin themselves to France, the Flemish will speak a vast number of languages (I suppose they have to… no one is prepared to learn Flemish) and are much more European or Americanised. The Flemish speakers are more culturally British. They even watch Midsummer Murders… it’s on Television every Tuesday and Wednesday lunch. Their French speaking counter parts are quite British too I suppose, but in a totally different way. British in the way we were a few hundred years ago… before we grew out of it.
I don’t know if the Blue Book and its parties can be morally justified in this post-Crunch world but nonetheless, as a survival of 18th century life, Belgium is an astonishing discovery, I recommend going, it will be a true cultural adventure, back to the world of Pemberley.
Dear Helena Kealy,
I am astonished at the unfounded bias and disrespect that you display in this article. Your evidence gathering and proposal is completely obsolete. Where is your information from? How does it reflect a unique cultural practice different from those within this country or others? Why have you chosen to address a topic of cultural homogenization and subsequently proceeded to attack the upper class culture of a specific state? I do not feel that this article is about European cultural homogenization as you indicate in your introduction. Rather, it is a personal venting session of discrimination against a particular group of people and nationality.
I believe it is the responsibility of the York Vision, University of York, and greater York community to respond strictly to the discriminatory and unfounded perspectives displayed in this article.
As a student of this university I hope that this matter will be dealt with swiftly and that a public apology will be made to anyone who may have been offended or victimized.
Thank you for your time,
Marianne
Really enjoyed this article, I don’t think there is even a hint of prejudice or discrimination. The above commenter has totally misread and misinterpreted. The way I see it, it’s an interesting discussion about the multiculturalism that remains in Europe, and the vast cultural differences that continue to exist in smaller countried. It is fascinating the way Belgium have preserved aspects of their culture that Britain left behind, but I don’t think the author presents this in a critical way. And even if she did, it’s a feature, so that’s fine. Also, I think it’s quite evident the author has substantial experience, I’d be highly surprised if Miss Kealey hasn’t travelled there extensively, otherwise she wouldn’t know about this. It’s not the “responsibility of the York Vision” to respond to anything, but it IS their responsibility to continue to write compelling and insightful pieces such as this. Bravo!
Awful Article!
The author stereotypes a whole nation for a bare minority! A minority, which exist in almost every country, and especially in Anglo/American culture! Is not in Britain (England) where people are still clinging to their royalty and their titles of aristocracy? Is it not in the USA where colleges like Yale have a skulls & bones society?
She is implying England to be a democratic, egalitarian and free society, whilst there is still a house of lords ruling the country, universities are becoming inaccessible to the poorer classes, their land law is still based on feudal principles (the Queen still has sole ownership of the land) and so on… A small country like Belgium sets more of an example than anything else: universities studies cost barely anything, voting is compulsory (so as guarantee a fair system in which every citizen can express his opinion), it has legalized same sex marriage, abortion is legal since 1990, and so on… So referring the WHOLE of Belgium to a survival of 18th Century is appalling!
I do think the author owns an apology and it would be in her best interest to rectify her article and ensure that she targets this minority (because this seems to be her aim, instead of writing an objective article) rather than a whole country.
This article just really confuses me. “Are there any cultural differences left in Europe?” – I would have thought this was self-evident. “Every European country seems to be, (or moving towards), a meritocratic, democratic, egalitarian and free society.” – Belarus? “I’m not sure you can be a true Spaniard without a well considered opinion on House or Grey’s Anatomy.” – debatable. “Although we English are known as the most snobbish nation on earth…” – vast generalisation, and even then, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this said before. “To ensure that, each season, every eligible (French), young person in Belgium meets every other eligible young person.” – incomplete sentence. “…to keep the caste’s money within the caste, where it will be secure.” – do you know what ‘caste’ means? It’s a very historically sensitive term. “Unlike us English tarts, no Belgium girl under 20 seems to have lost her virginity.” – another huge, no doubt incorrect generalisation, and error in mistaking the proper noun “Belgium” with the adjective ‘Belgian’. You’re not building up your voice of authority by using slang and claiming to associate yourself with “English tarts”. “Belgian girls are much more cautious of boys and careful of their reputation than we are…” – lazy generalisation, pseudo-observation. “Not that university looms very large in their lives, as girls in these circles normally give up work to breed the next generation of debutantes.” – this seems to directly conflict with your previous statement about Belgian girls ‘being cautious with boys’, and I imagine would also be quite offensive to Belgians. “And besides, one is expected to find one’s man, and social life, at the weekly, exclusive extravaganzas, not in a Vanbrugh lecture theatre.” – what a bizarre comparison. Do you think these are culturally equivalent settings? “Here, in today’s modern, meritocratic and egalitarian world is a 19 year old boy, bitter and awkward, because his parents weren’t born Earls.” – that would be impossible since women can’t be earls. “Another downside, other than the celibacy…” – your tone is quite confusing. If celibacy is a downside, why are you critical of the supposed promiscuous behaviour of English girls and in other places within the article complimentary of the restraint of Belgian girls? I think this article is unfortunately quite badly written and executed and based on prejudiced observation, and it draws erroneous conclusions about the culture of an entire country from the age-specific social events of a portion of what you call the “upper class”. With more examples to reinforce your arguments and less conjectural fluff, and more of a focus on the ideas highlighted near the end about some of the social events you mention being throwbacks to past centuries, this could have been a good piece.
Dear Helena,
As a member of Belgium, or “that little country just opposite the UK” as you said, I would like to clarify a few things.
1. The Blue Book does exist in Belgium. It is a social register listing people from both the upper and middle class. It is also true that young people from certain families – usually in the Blue Book – do gather and organise activities together such as balls. I guess, if you must, you probably can draw a parallel between these gatherings and a Jane Austen novel, considering the long dresses worn by girls and the suits worn by guys! This though is where the parallel ends.
2. I don’t get your point that ‘Unlike us English tarts, no Belgium girl under 20 seems to have lost her virginity’ nor when saying ‘Belgian girls are much more cautious of boys and careful of their reputation than we are, and they live at home much longer then we do, not leaving until their late twenties.’ Are you sure you want to label all English girl tarts? Or say that there is no girl in England over 20 who is not a virgin: this could potentially be very offensive.
3. What was your aim in saying that Belgians do not agonise over university, as we simply attend our local? Belgium is a much smaller country, so every university could be counted as local in the manner a British university is local! Not only that but the difference in quality is not as steep as in the UK and there is greater opportunity for all to attend university…there is no discrimination…same for high schools…we don’t have private schools like Eaton, etc. What is more, I don’t agree when you say, ‘Not that university looms very large in their lives, as girls in these circles normally give up work to breed the next generation of debutantes.’ As a Belgian woman, and future worker, I can say that most women do care and, all classes included, most do not necessarily plan to stop working to raise children. Despite all this I thank you for congratulating all the little Belgians who tried hard and got into the University of York!
4. I could not help myself from laughing when I read that it was practically prohibited to kiss. Where is that from, please?
5. As with nearly anywhere in the world there are some superficial people in Belgium and they can be quite selective when it comes to finding a partner who is or not in the Blue Book, but they are a minority. Your generalising in this case is wrong, insulting and ignorant.
6. Do you have quantitative data showing that there is less Flemish or German speakers who make it into the Belgian ‘high society’? I would be interested in seeing them.
7. Of course Flemish and French speakers have different interests and points of view. In 1830, people created one nation on the bases of two culturally and linguistically different countries (the Germans joined later). Did you know that a similar division once existed in England, though it was even greater? This divide does not mean that we don’t share a feeling of pride in being Belgian. Indeed, even though our country is going through some hard times, it is plain for all to see that the Flemish and French speakers are demonstrating in the street side by side in aid of the same cause: the non-separation of Belgium! Moreover, as so many multi-cultural countries or communities, it is our differences that make our country so rich and vibrant.
8. When you say that the Flemish speak a vast number of languages compared to French speakers, you should have distinguished between the French speakers of Brussels and the French speakers of Wallonia. Indeed, in Brussels all the French speakers pupils enrolled in the general education system are obliged to learn Flemish from primary school until the end of high school, plus, they are obliged to learn English in high school and are given the opportunity to learn other languages such as Spanish or German. In Wallonia the requirements are very different. What is true for French speakers in Brussels is true for Flemish pupils in Brussels. What is more, you stated that the Flemish speakers are better at English than the French speakers: this is to be expected as both languages have strong Germanic roots and are in places similar.
9. You say that the Flemish are more culturally British and that French speakers are probably British too but in the way you were a few hundred years ago, before you grew out of it! Where does this Anglo-centric view of the world come from!? What do you mean by being British in the way you were a few hundred years ago? Who are you to be so absurdly patronising as to say that going to Belgium is an astonishing discovery, a cultural adventure, back to the world of Pemberley: as if to say Belgium is culturally stagnant country. You simply can’t reduce all French speakers to the same level or to those found in the Blue Book and who may have some ‘old fashioned’ ways. In addition, you cannot take a minority of French speakers who feel a kinship with France and say it applies to all French speakers: I am a French speaker and it is not true of me!
10. I do not agree that the French are more obsessed by social climbing then the Flemish. It is worth thinking about who wants the separation of Belgium and the de-federalization of its social security system in order to break the solidarity between the Southern part of the country and the Northern part because one is currently poorer and might slow down a bit the development of the other part. Finally, even though you did no explicitly say it, I would like to point out that Belgium did not exist in the 18th century.
I am stunned by the lack of critical thinking, the lack of relevant information, the lack of respect and the lack of balance displayed in your article. I was really surprised and disappointed to read such nonsensical, offending and generally factually unsound ideas in a University newspaper. I believe it is your responsibility to correct this.
Yours sincerely,
C.H