The “American Lean” Is So Pervasive, the CIA Trains Its Agents to Un-Learn It

It can be argued that America's primary export for a number of years has been its culture. While Hollywood is now pretty much dead, the movies it produced in its heyday largely contributed to the dissemination of this culture.

And if you've watched iconic U.S. film actors, you may notice that there are plenty of images of them leaning. James Dean, Katherine Hepburn, Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood, all of these film greats can be seen using an inanimate object to support their posture.

Which has led a lot of folks outside the U.S. to ponder: Why do Americans lean on things?

The "American Lean" is such a distinctive trait that one of the first things the CIA trains the operatives it deploys abroad is to correct this postural giveaway. According to an article published by CPR News, Jonna Mendez, a former chief of disguise for the agency, stated that part of the de-Americanizing of its agents was to change the way they carry themselves.

According to her, just the way that Americans walk could give away their nationality, and she opined on Europeans' perception of U.S. citizens. "They think that we are slouchy, a little sloppy, and they think they can almost see that in our demeanor on the street," she said.

Furthermore, she specifically addressed the fact that Americans do indeed have a propensity for leaning. "Because they stand up straight, they don't lean on things. They are on two feet, and we're always on one foot with that other foot kind of stuck out."

Redditors who discussed this tidbit of the former Central Intelligence Agency employee's commentary on American posture seemed puzzled by the "American lean." One person referred to a picture that shows a gentleman leaning with his left shoulder against a wall whilst smiling to the camera.

Mendoza also referenced how Americans will also lean some of their weight on one leg, which causes one of their hips to pop out and a foot to jut out as well. Some folks who replied to the post found standing any other way absurd.

"Who the f--k stands with both feet firmly planted? What are you bracing yourself for, the emotional impact of finding out you're a dork?" they penned.

Additionally, the #Americanlean hashtag became prominently featured in a number of TikToks, with numerous creators posting videos and short skits highlighting the differences between how Americans stand versus their EU counterparts.

Like one user on the application who goes by Lala (@lala_sadii), who highlighted the discrepancies between these two stances.

Some folks who replied to their video highlighted that different ethnic groups have their own variations of the American lean.

Like one person who referenced the "Slavic squat." Another person wrote, "I'm Korean and we do Asian squat."

There was another TikToker who stated that Lala still wasn't standing in a European fashion at the onset of her clip, however.

They pointed to the fact that she was still largely distributing her weight on one leg whilst standing. According to them, other cultures intentionally stand with both of their legs planted firmly beneath them, ensuring that an equal amount of weight is placed on each leg.

"In the original clip of you 'standing straight,' you’re still doing the American lean. It also refers to putting all your weight on one leg. Other cultures will just put their weight on both legs."

As to why Americans do this, it could just be a cultural touchstone. Again, maybe popularized by cultural figures, or the type of assurance from knowing that the USA has the most powerful military in the world.