Just a quick interruption in the process of getting caught up for a rant. There are a LOT of things I love about Argentina, and some things I'm not such a huge fan of...
But there's really only one thing that I think I actively dislike about the culture here: pick-up attempts. There's a recent PSA from Wales that sums up the experience pretty well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyJIWA2QOPI&feature=player_embedded
While some are flattering, and some are funny, many are just downright creepy or offensive. I'm not entirely sure where the cat-calls come from. I could be the culture, which is conspicuously more macho than the US's. It could be that my clothes mark me out as different. I don't dress any more provocatively than your average Argentine, but I definitely don't dress like an Argentine. My final thought is that my appearance itself makes me stand out as 'exotic.' My pale skin, fine, straight hair, and button nose stand out in a nation of second- and third-generation Spaniards and Italians, where the norm is olive skin, heavy - often curly - hair, and a strong nose. While I don't know what the cause may be, the other girls in the program get the same whistles, but I rarely see Argentine girls treated this way.
For the first month or so, it was more on the flattering side of things - mostly just because it was new. Since then, however, it has quickly turned into a problem. I hate the way it makes me generalize about certain groups - including the nation itself - but I've started conciously avoiding construction sites and bracing myself when I walk past groups of guys in their twenties in street clothes. (I mean, I hate stereotypes in general, and especially those regarding gender, age, and profession. Not to mention my dad's profession and my age... What am I doing now, if not all of the above?) I find myself walking the thirty minutes it takes to get anywhere staring at my feet so I don't have to look anyone in the eye. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that I get at least 5 cat-calls, whistles, honks, or pick-up attempts a day. Ouch.
A few examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly:
- It's hard to be mad about 'hermosa,' roughly equivalent to beautiful.
- I opened a shoe box to pull out the pair I'd bought to see that the salesguy had written 'Sos muy linda.' (You're really pretty.) He managed to avoid being creepy by not hitting on me while I was there and not leaving a phone number.
- Katherine and I were walking to class on a warm fall day, wearing dresses to hear a guy exclaim 'Flores de la primavera!' (Spring flowers!)
- Some of the football players at the track where I run will yell out 'Vamos Argentina!' or 'Culo monumento!' a) I'm not Argentine, and b) my butt's roughly as curvy as Kansas.
- I've now been stopped while running to have guys try to pick me up at least 5 times.
- One guy tried to hit on me by saying he could get me into the Natural History Museum. I can get in free with my student visa.
- Another came up to us while we were inside a bar, waiting for the guys to get past the bouncers and said 'No sé que es, pero mi amigo me dijo que debo pedirte un 'blow job.'' (I don't know what it is, but my friend said I should ask you for a blow job.)
Those are just some of the ones that stick out in my mind. 'Hermosa,' 'linda,' 'diosa,' and 'mamacita' are just parts of my every day life here.
To any and everyone who reads this blog, do NOT sexually harrass strangers. Thanks for the rant, the next post will be happier, I promise!
