Tall poppy syndrome
Tall poppy syndrome is a term which originated in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s that refers to people with notable public success, who excessively promote their own achievements and opinions.[1][2] Intense scrutiny and criticism of such a person is termed as "cutting down the tall poppy".[3]
Australia and New Zealand
[edit]In Australia and New Zealand, "cutting down the tall poppy" is sometimes used by business entrepreneurs to describe those who deliberately criticise other people for their success and achievements.[1][4][5] It has been described as being the by-product of the Australian and New Zealand cultural value of egalitarianism.[1][6]
In other countries
[edit]In Japan, a similar common expression is "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down" (出る杭は打たれる).[7][8][9] In the Netherlands, this expression is "don't put your head above ground level" (boven het maaiveld uitsteken), with the cultural phenomenon being named maaiveldcultuur.[citation needed]
In Chile, this expression is known as chaquetear ('pull the jacket').[10] In Scandinavia, this expression is known as the Law of Jante. The Law of Jante originates from a 1933 novel by Aksel Sandemose. It contains rules and stipulations such as "you're not to think you are anything special" and "perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?".[11][12]
In Canada, the term "tall poppy syndrome" is used in particular to refer to successful women being criticised for their success.[13][14][15][16]
See also
[edit]
- Anti-intellectualism
- Crab mentality
- Discrimination of excellence
- Leveling mechanism
- Negative selection (politics)
- Overachievement
- Schadenfreude
- Taking the piss
- The Moral Basis of a Backward Society
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Peeters, Bert (2004). "Tall poppies and egalitarianism in Australian discourse: From key word to cultural value". English World-Wide. 25 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1075/eww.25.1.02pee.
- ^ "Opinion | Tall poppies flourish Down Under". The New York Times. 26 February 2007. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ Billan, Rumeet (31 December 2018). "The Tallest Poppy TM". Women of Influence. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Kennedy, Jeffrey (2007). "Leadership and Culture in New Zealand". In Chhokar, Jagdeep; Brodbeck, Felix; House, Robert (eds.). Culture and Leadership Across the World: The GLOBE Book of In-Depth Studies of 25 Societies. United States: Psychology Press. p. 399. ISBN 978-0-8058-5997-3.
- ^ Holmes, Janet; Marra, Meredith; Lazzaro-Salazar, Mariana (28 March 2017). "Negotiating the tall poppy syndrome in New Zealand workplaces: women leaders managing the challenge". Gender and Language. 11 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1558/genl.31236. ISSN 1747-633X.
- ^ Levine, Stephen (20 June 2012). "Political values - Political values and the 'Kiwi' way of life". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
- ^ ことわざを知る辞典,デジタル大辞泉. "出る杭は打たれるとは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 February 2022.
- ^ "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down". The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Oxford University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-953953-6.
- ^ "WWWJDIC: Word Display".
- ^ "chaquetear". Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Cappelen, Cornelius; Dahlberg, Stefan (August 2017). "The Law of Jante and generalized trust". Acta Sociologica. 61 (4): 419–440. doi:10.1177/0001699317717319. ISSN 0001-6993. S2CID 149143718.
- ^ Sandemose, Aksel (1966). En flyktning krysser sitt spor (in Norwegian). Aschehoug.
- ^ "Tall Poppy Syndrome is impacting corporations, and it's not just a women's issue". Globe and Mail. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Wilson, Jim (2 March 2023). "9 in 10 women experiencing 'Tall Poppy Syndrome'". Canadian HR Reporter. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ "Canada is hiking taxes and regulating business as the neighboring U.S. economy booms". Fortune. 6 May 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
- ^ "Majority of female leaders experience Tall Poppy Syndrome". Daily News. McMaster University. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Garland, Douglas (2022). The Tall Poppy Syndrome: The Joy of Cutting Others Down. Wise Media Group. ISBN 978-1-62967-112-3.
- Feather, N. T. (1 December 1989). "Attitudes towards the high achiever: The fall of the tall poppy". Australian Journal of Psychology. 41 (3): 239–267. doi:10.1080/00049538908260088.
- Mitchell, Susan (1984). Tall poppies nine successful Australian women talk to Susan Mitchell. Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140072105.
- O'Neill, Thomas M. Tall Poppy Syndrome: Bentham's Utilitarianism in Australia (PDF). Viterbo University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
External links
[edit]
- Flogging the tall-poppy syndrome Archived 24 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine