It is very common here to hear cat calls at groups of women walking down the street, to see sexes fall into common stereotypes of domestic duties, and for people to scoff at a woman’s professional career. I’ve even seen a drive-by pinching from a guy on a motorcycle to an unsuspecting college age girl walking too close to the curb.
Here is another recent example:
I was riding in the back of a pickup truck with a Nicaraguan male acquaintance. It’s significant to note that he was happily married with a 2 year old daughter. We were driving through a reasonably touristed city on a Friday night, and as a result several groups of well dressed white women were walking down the streets, on their way out for the night.
Being in the open bed of a pickup and in plain view of the gaggles of tourists, my Nica companion decided to give a whistle. He then explained to me that girls like being called at; using the Spanish word that roughly translates to ‘cat-call’. He continued the whistles or shouts, as a demonstration for my benefit, asking me to follow along.
While I realized that this is something that often goes on here in
We ended our conversation, me still in blatant disbelief and disapproval, and we moved on to other topics.
Ten minutes later we picked up two young female hitchhikers (hitchhiking in the back of pickups is very common here), aged 25-30, and my friend then asked them what they thought of cat-calls. Of course, they both responded that it is normal and they don’t mind. My friend then looked at me and smiled.
I guess it’s a cultural thing then, maybe being brought up around it makes it seem more ok, but it undoubtedly makes foreigners feel uncomfortable (okay so not me specifically) But is something like this okay to accept as a cultural difference?
I will say that I’ll be happy to return to the way we do it in the states, and while I’m reluctant to claim ‘our way is the right way’ when it comes to ‘cultural’ differences, on many issues there is definitely a right and wrong side of the line… even though the line itself is sometimes pretty blurry.
Question of the Day:
Machismo: cultural difference or disrespect for women? Post comments!
As the girls left and walked away, my friend yelled – in Spanish, of course – “Bye precious!”
5 comments:
I think machismo is highly disrespectful to women and dangerous to the culture as a whole. I remember in Costa Rica, my host mom said that domestic abuse was always highest on soccer game days and that women were just "expected" to take it.
That's the problem with machismo--it's cat-calls and lustful stares on the surface, but underneath there's a much larger issue. It spins out of control and forces women into submissive roles, like my host mom who put up with her husband having affairs for 15 years because females are not supposed to speak up for themselves. And, the more men think they have the right to dominate society and relationships, the less confidence women have in creating their own lives and supporting themselves. I remember talking to my host brother about the way ticas dressed....very provocative. He said that they spend so much time getting ready because for some of them, getting a man is the #1 priority and if they can't appeal to a man's sex drive, then they have nothing. It bummed me out.
Since it is so culturally acceptable, I'm not surprised that the girls who go on the bus admitted that they like cat-calls.....because that's a confidence booster for them. But if they knew what it was like to live in a society where men have at least a little bit more respect for women, they might think differently.
it's sometimes almost fascinating to view the wide range of differences among cultures for the roles of both men and women. for the most part, however, it seems that the more advanced or "modern" a society has become, the more that respect for the opposite sex becomes apparent. that is not to say, however, that other cultures dissrespect the opposite sex, it's just that the level of culturally accepted actions is different. what that guy was doing off the back of the truck to "cat-call" the women, while in some countries that is in fact viewed as a complement, in some countries it's grounds for execution.
it amuses me that all you "open-minded" americanos are so quick to point out the "errors" in other cultures while claiming to be open-minded. Maybe your so-called feminism is far more damaging to society than a "cat-call."
To say that cat-calls are synonymous with abuse would be similar to saying that cows in a field are similar to hamburger. The fallacies from Ashley are as rampant as they are in the whole of the American universities which promote equality while denigrating men.
Abuse in the US is rampant, so whatever Ashley and her ilk are promoting in the US may simply be missing the mark. To say the culture in the US is superior because we don't do cat calls is fallacious at best and dangerous at worst. You may subvert and pervert other cultures to become like the US, and in doing so make the world a worse place, not better.
Check your viewpoint and see possibly just how closed minded you actually are.
it amuses me that all you "open-minded" americanos are so quick to point out the "errors" in other cultures while claiming to be open-minded. Maybe your so-called feminism is far more damaging to society than a "cat-call."
To say that cat-calls are synonymous with abuse would be similar to saying that cows in a field are similar to hamburger. The fallacies from Ashley are as rampant as they are in the whole of the American universities which promote equality while denigrating men.
Abuse in the US is rampant, so whatever Ashley and her ilk are promoting in the US may simply be missing the mark. To say the culture in the US is superior because we don't do cat calls is fallacious at best and dangerous at worst. You may subvert and pervert other cultures to become like the US, and in doing so make the world a worse place, not better.
Check your viewpoint and see possibly just how closed minded you actually are.
it amuses me that all you "open-minded" americanos are so quick to point out the "errors" in other cultures while claiming to be open-minded. Maybe your so-called feminism is far more damaging to society than a "cat-call."
To say that cat-calls are synonymous with abuse would be similar to saying that cows in a field are similar to hamburger. The fallacies from Ashley are as rampant as they are in the whole of the American universities which promote equality while denigrating men.
Abuse in the US is rampant, so whatever Ashley and her ilk are promoting in the US may simply be missing the mark. To say the culture in the US is superior because we don't do cat calls is fallacious at best and dangerous at worst. You may subvert and pervert other cultures to become like the US, and in doing so make the world a worse place, not better.
Check your viewpoint and see possibly just how closed minded you actually are.