I'm surprised to hear very little about the sexism I saw in Mexico during my travels. It was more evident in Puerto Vallarta (where groups of men would whissle at the girl I was walking with) but overly sexual looks and sounds were very common. I do remember my spanish teacher saying that wives are expected to listen to their husband and sons were treated different than daughter (I guess that happens everywhere). Is that practice going by the wayside?
I've seen almost none of that, here in Cancun, and what I have seen of it has been confined to poor neighborhoods, and never directed towards my wife (fortunately, because I just hate knives!). I saw more of this type of foolishness, unwanted attention directed at women, in Turkey, than in Mexico, and there it was mainly confined to groups of teenage boys doing it.
What RG said about the greetings is so true! My mom came to Cancun this weekend, and my fiance asked me "How do I greet her? I know you don't kiss on the cheek in the US." And I said, "Dang... I dunno! It seems weird now to just not do anything." When I go back to the States and see people, I don't want to weird them out by hugging them. I don't know what to do with my hands anymore! I also agree with her about people bending over backwards to avoid telling you something you don't want to hear. Apparently there are different ways of saying, "I'll call you later." One of them means that I WILL call you later. The other way means I probably won't. Mexicans seem to understand the difference between the two, so there's no need to ever say, "Sorry, I don't think I can hang out tonight, so don't hold your breath." That would be unpleasant! I haven't learned the difference yet, so I still get frustrated when people don't call. Silly me. I looooove sleeping in hammocks!! (more than one night in a row is rough on the upper back, though)
Yes, guys do whistle here, regularly, especially if you walk by a construction site. I also noticed when I lived in Colorado that the guys who whistled usually looked Mexican. Those native CO boys are too busy running marathons and climbing K2 to worry about whistling at girls, I guess (or maybe they are more respectful). I'm not sure what the average role of a Mexican wife is supposed to be. My husband is Mexican. He cleans more than I do (he's better at it too), he cooks more than I do, he irons all his own clothes, and he definitely expects to hear my opinion on everything. But he was raised by a very powerful mother who clearly gave her sons a serious respect for women. And he's traveled and has lived outside Mexico for many years, so he's not trapped in the cultural norms, instead he ignores the cultural norms, or finds them irrelevant. I've noticed that one crucial aspect of Cancun and of Quintana Roo is that it's young. There isn't a long history here which means you don't have very many traditionalists here. Other parts of Mexico have 500 year old buildings and someone's grandmother sitting on every porch, and I think that brings a greater sense of tradition. Here everyone is either under 40 or has emigrated from somewhere else, or both. Cancun is so young, and is such a frontier town, that it doesn't have a long sense of tradition. I think that's why so many gay people emigrate here from elsewhere in Mexico, they are accepted here. And I think that many of us here in mixed race/ethnicity marriages are accepted here in ways we might not be in other areas of Mexico. Would my marriage be as accepted in say Puebla or Aguascalientes? Maybe not. But here it's very normal for a foreigner to marry a Mexican, it's perfectly ok here. The lack of tradition here, and the fact that everyone is an immigrant here, means there's less family support here than in other parts of Mexico. The home for the elderly at the City of Joy is full of old people who were found begging in the street. Many of them moved to Cancun years ago, lost track of their families back home and then when they got old they had no family to care for them and ended up on the street. That doesn't happen, as much, in other parts of Mexico. But here people can get lost. Quintana Roo also has a higher suicide rate than other parts of Mexico, from what I recall. And I think this is tied to the lack of history and the way that people here tend to get cut off from their roots and from their families.
Does it happen to you when you're with your husband? I would think these same construction workers would be just a little less bold, in that case. Does "regularly" mean "frequently"? If so, then, "You little hottie, you!"
Never happens when I'm with my husband, just once or twice when one of us was down the block from the other for some reason. And it doesn't happen as much as it used to. I was definitely more fit when I moved here, and I think my body language was, frankly, happier then. But Mexicans guys definitely dig the Gringa chicks. We could also talk about how older Mexican women often dislike the Gringas. I never knew what a real dirty look was until I got here and got stared down over and over by Mexican señoras who saw me with my husband. It's usually Mexican women over about age 45 who do this to me. And it won't happen if I'm alone, only if I'm holding hands with my husband in public. I get the feeling that they think I stole one of their men. Also we Gringas who live here can attest to the fact that our purchase selections are often closely observed while we are shopping. I can't tell you how many times I've been looking at something in a grocery store and then notice a Mexican woman watching me, and often she will come right over and start looking at the same product I am buying. It doesn't feel like she's interested in the product, it feels like she's interested in the product because I am buying it. Lots of my Gringa friends here report the same thing, especially at Walmart for some reason (this is another reason to avoid Walmart).
Is there an issue with personal contact with stangers? I've sat next to a wide range of people on the bus and everyone treats me like I've got a disease. I kind of expect it from little old ladies since I'm 6'5" and 250 but grown men will scrunch over as far as possible to avoid being near me.
I find the opposite to be the case... People will stand uncomfortably close when in line, and I'm usually the one trying to keep some space while riding on the bus, especially when its hot out and everyone is sweaty. Then you have the ones that will be nodding off next to you the whole way into town.... it must just be you
Maybe if you haven't been introduced? I've never noticed this, but then I've ridden exactly 3 buses ever here. This may be because you are not only a stranger but a big foreign stranger, not sure. Best advice is to smile and be friendly.
That.. or get a set of metal teeth and do your best impression of Jaws from the 007 movies.. then see how much space you get :icon_lol:
