I'm not trying to hijack the ladies forum but here's my two cents.
I was recently talking to my Ar girlfriend about how this was a bit invasive for me. If I'm not side-by-side with her she will get cat calls (I think the lunfardo is peuropa or something).
She said something along the lines of 'they don't do that in the US? I am going to feel very ugly!'
Bless your girlfriend. She's a treasure. Take care of her and treat her right...
...which of course means, "Don't forget to slap her ass in public every once in a while, just to remind her that you can't control yourself when you're around her."
Bless your girlfriend. She's a treasure. Take care of her and treat her right...
...which of course means, "Don't forget to slap her ass in public every once in a while, just to remind her that you can't control yourself when you're around her."
This has been a really interesting thread. When I first came to BsAs in September 2009, I was horrified at how the men commented so openly. I felt really offended and thought it was disrespectful. When I spoke to my rather conservative and lovely Spanish teacher, she went to great pains to explain to me that it is not all intended as offensive. A bit like learning that its normal to write 'besos' on the end of an email and it doesn't mean someone was coming on to me. I then thought it was time for me to really think about cultural differences and how I interpret different actions or words and most importantly - the intention behind them. To get to know the culture more so that I can discern differently about what is offensive versus not, as I have brought my own set of cultural values into this. I don't have to like all of it, but I think to get offended by all of it might be going a bit far. I do agree that some of it is just plain aggressive and out of line, but a lot of is is really simply a cultural difference and is intended to be flattering and definitely no disrespect intended. When I told a group of Arg men (friends of my boyfriend) that many expats might find it offensive, they were horrified and all said they would be really careful with 'foreigners' in the future as it was not their intention. In fact, many of them have said 'if a girl looks like she has spent 2 hours in front of the mirror to look like that, it is rude not to comment that she looks nice'. Interestingly, I now feel a reverse culture shock of a different kind when I return to Australia. The men showing NO interest for fear of retribution but then doing it in such a crude way after their 6th or 8th beer or start the 'staring' game with a bit of beer courage. I experienced the same in the US. So, I don't think its just a domain of the Arg men, except they do it stone cold sober! I really do understand the discomfort of it, and the staring in particular does make me feel uncomfortable at times, but I think we just have to be careful about making assumptions about INTENTION of something we are not culturally accustomed to. And if any Arg man has gone too far (for me) with his comments with me, and I have said so, they have genuinely been apologetic and backed off. I would not, for example, be comfortable in the workplace with someone commenting on my breasts. But, any time I have said its too much or I feel offended, they stop. The Aussie and US men I have put back in their place have not had such a polite reaction and I just get called a 'feminist b*tch' or something. I do think it is important to know what people intend - and you will know the difference