What does it mean to "look Polish"?

[gigi]

Do family gatherings often include conversations about how you have a relative's eyes or hair color or build (maybe sometimes to the point where you feel like a Picasso painting)?

Has anyone ever said to you that you do/don't look Polish when they find out you are either Polish by birth or have Polish ancestry?

I have been fascinated by genetics for some time and wonder about such things. My interest has increased since my genealogy research has turned up photos that show certain family traits that have been passed down through the generations. It would be great to hear about the experiences of others!

For those of you who are Polish by birth: How do others know (by sight only) that you are Polish?

For those of you who are of Polish descent: Have you ever been told that you do/don't look Polish and why?

[franciszek]

my skin colour has always been darker than my lighter countrymen me correct me if i am wrong but i read that the Polish skin type is refered to as sallow people say i only need ro look at the sun and i tan i dont need much protection from the sun.My son has the same colouring as me and he is 3rd generation Polish.My son has very blonde hair my wife and i are dark but i have a very old copy of my father he looks about 8 but you can see his hair is blonde

[gigi]

Jul 24, 2008 23:28:24 GMT 1 franciszek said:

...people say i only need ro look at the sun and i tan i dont need much protection from the sun.

Franciszek, I hope that you are still protecting your skin from the sun. A very close friend of mine who is in her 30's just recently had a bout of skin cancer on her nose. As you can imagine, it was a difficult thing to go through and I would spare anyone that I could from that experience.

My son has the same colouring as me and he is 3rd generation Polish.My son has very blonde hair my wife and i are dark but i have a very old copy of my father he looks about 8 but you can see his hair is blonde

It is interesting how some traits like hair color and even eye color can change over time. I know many people who were white-blond (towheads) as children and now have very dark hair.

[jeanne]

I've always been told by relatives and others (even some Poles) that I look Polish. I had very blonde hair as a child which people said would darken as I aged, and it did darken somewhat, but now, in my 50's I am still considered blonde. I have blue eyes like both my parents. I know however that many Poles are dark haired, have dark eyes and and skin (like Franciszek's) that tans easily. There are also Poles that have eyes influenced by Tartar genes and are somewhat slanted.

Beyond coloring, I think of Poles as having somewhat deep-set eyes. The back of my head is kind of flat without any round bulge of the skull. This is something that I notice about Poles and people of Polish descent.

These are strictly my impressions...things I have seen in my Polish
relatives and people of Polish ancestry. Does anyone have similar impressions?

[tufta]

Jul 24, 2008 18:33:11 GMT 1 gigi said:

Do family gatherings often include conversations about how you have a relative's eyes or hair color or build (maybe sometimes to the point where you feel like a Picasso painting)?

hahahaha, all the time, Gigi, all the time!

However I am extremely glad to observe that since some 10 or even 15 years I am not in the main focus. I can just sit back, sip my drink or eat my whatever and observe how the younger one's are made feel like you have interestingly discribed

[tufta]

Jul 25, 2008 1:44:01 GMT 1 jeanne said:

I've always been told by relatives and others (even some Poles) that I look Polish. I had very blonde hair as a child which people said would darken as I aged, and it did darken somewhat, but now, in my 50's I am still considered blonde. I have blue eyes like both my parents. I know however that many Poles are dark haired, have dark eyes and and skin (like Franciszek's) that tans easily. There are also Poles that have eyes influenced by Tartar genes and are somewhat slanted.

Beyond coloring, I think of Poles as having somewhat deep-set eyes. The back of my head is kind of flat without any round bulge of the skull. This is something that I notice about Poles and people of Polish descent.

These are strictly my impressions...things I have seen in my Polish
relatives and people of Polish ancestry. Does anyone have similar impressions?

Hard to say. I am probably too much immersed in this overwhelming element of white-haired kids, turning blonde in later age, and so on, to notice it But that's a fact I can recognize (some) Poles while abroad by the way their faces look. So you must be right, Jeanne!

[valpomike]

I just know that 7 out of 10 women in Poland are HOT, and the other 3 are O.K.

[gigi]

Jul 26, 2008 2:23:22 GMT 1 valpomike said:

I just know that 7 out of 10 women in Poland are HOT, and the other 3 are O.K.

What about Polish-American women??? ;D ;D ;D

[valpomike]

Most when they get here, they change, and most times, lose the great looks they had, due to the American ways.

[gigi]

Jul 26, 2008 17:12:35 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Most when they get here, they change, and most times, lose the great looks they had, due to the American ways.

Present Polish-American descendants company excluded, right?

Anyway, I'm wondering if you mean it is how they look physically, or how they dress/behave/etc.?

[valpomike]

On my last two trips to Poland, I was taken for being from Poland. Is that good, I think so?

[gigi]

Jul 29, 2008 3:20:57 GMT 1 valpomike said:

On my last two trips to Poland, I was taken for being from Poland. Is that good, I think so?

So if you were a woman, you would be...uh, let's see, what was it again...something that starts with an 'H'...oh yeah...HOT!!!

[locopolaco]

lol... some poles also have kind of large 'meaty' heads. higher cheek bones etc..

i had super blond hair when i was a kid.. darker now but it tends to lighten up in the summers if i spend a lot of time outside. my sis and i are the only two blond blue eyed folk in our entire family.

i normally recognise poles by the clothes they wear. it's the deadliest give-away.

most assume i am an american or something but not polish. even in Chicago most start talking to me in english and are shocked when i reply in polish. so i guess i don't really look all that polish. hehe

[gigi]

Jul 29, 2008 16:36:15 GMT 1 locopolaco said:

some poles also have kind of large 'meaty' heads. higher cheek bones etc..

Like Mariusz Pudzianowski?

i normally recognise poles by the clothes they wear. it's the deadliest give-away.

Are you referring to red spandex biking shorts??? ;D

But seriously...what kinds of clothing are you referring to?

most assume i am an american or something but not polish. even in Chicago most start talking to me in english and are shocked when i reply in polish. so i guess i don't really look all that polish. hehe

Maybe you need to to wear something like this:

[locopolaco]

lol.. i sure hope no one thinks Pudzio is a typical Pole.


i don't know what clothes besides shoes/sandals.. the other stuff i can just tell when i see it.

lol.. love the hat.

[gigi]

Aug 21, 2008 23:15:24 GMT 1 locopolaco said:

lol.. i sure hope no one thinks Pudzio is a typical Pole.

Hey, don't ruin the fantasy...

[Bonobo]

Jul 25, 2008 1:44:01 GMT 1 jeanne said:

1
I've always been told by relatives and others (even some Poles) that I look Polish. I had very blonde hair as a child which people said would darken as I aged, and it did darken somewhat, but now, I am still considered blonde. I have blue eyes like both my parents.

2
I know however that many Poles are dark haired, have dark eyes and and skin (like Franciszek's) that tans easily. There are also Poles that have eyes influenced by Tartar genes and are somewhat slanted.

3
The back of my head is kind of flat without any round bulge of the skull. This is something that I notice about Poles and people of Polish descent.

1 Like this?:












2

When I look at faces of students in old class photos (with each student in s seperate photo), I can notice many students have this average Polish look - brown hair, brown eyes. A few students look like Italians or rarely, Norwegians, so dark or so fair. Red guys are extremely rare.

Today`s Poles are in most part of peasant origin - the majority of the population lived in the countryside for centuries:

























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Wow, I just touched the back of my skull - it is flat! I am Polish - thanks God.

[jeanne]

Jan 27, 2016 19:23:58 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Jul 25, 2008 1:44:01 GMT 1 jeanne said:

3


Wow, I just touched the back of my skull - it is flat! I am Polish - thanks God.

And it took a foreigner to bring it to your attention!