| | Just another comment or two (or ten) on this.
In my previous post, I want to emphasize that my perspective is that of an observer who finds himself in the middle of a war and has no idea of what the fighting is all about, not as a male chauvinist.
I think one of the reasons (outside of metooism and hidden payoffs) that this sex war has unfolded here is because of the vestiges of Puritanism that have seeped into the culture, especially that part of extramarital sex (and even non-procreational sex) being a sin. Since you cannot harness reality with an idea only, and since sex hormones continue pumping regardless of any doctrine, the mangled mess that has resulted has turned a glorious and fascinating male/female difference into smuttiness, obscenity and power plays here in the USA.
There is a "macho" quality to Brazilian men and a feminine quality to Brazilian women that are so much more than affectation and posture. These qualities have become integrated on a really basic level into their character. They are very comfortable with them. And they rarely let these qualities spill over into other areas of life, especially work.
I had the experience of going down there with a bunch of politically correct notions in my head and trying to enforce them on Brazilians. Talk about learning what a false dichotomy is! I got no converts to my wars, neither for nor against. The Brazilians just scratched their heads and said something pleasant and went on about their business. After a few years of that, I sort of became like that myself. What the fuck did I want to fight about anyway? The advantages I wanted, like more equality of opportunity, were already present in their society. (There are many problems there, just not so much this.)
Now I am back in the USA, seeing a lot of people lined up for war on two sides of what, basically to me, is a non-issue. However, I do have to admit that here in the USA, with this Puritanical influence, women have had to scrap to get to be heard. So in this context, I will not say that their efforts are completely silly.
One other thing here - on sexual harassment. Here in the USA I have seen flirting in office politics used for power, self affirmation, smuttiness and a whole bunch of things that have nothing to do with mating. Down in Brazil, when a pretty woman walks by, the men normally gawk shamelessly at them (after they pass so as not to be too obvious) and the women find it as a compliment, even swinging their hips more sensuously and looking back smiling. That used to shock me a bit and it really got on the nerves of some of the more feminist American women I have known. But the issue is biological, sort of like when a male dog picks up his ears, stares and his tail starts quivering when a female dog passes. It is certainly not some kind of smutty obscenity or men trying to show off to each other or neurotically trying to dominate a woman - not in that society.
Down there they have commercials on prime time TV showing a woman demonstrating how to put a condom on using a banana. They were completely confused and amused by the Janet Jackson Nipplegate affair, especially as their TV prime-time mini-series opening titles often include fully nude females. Carnaval is a joyful explosion and celebration of the differences between men and women, with lots of large feather creations on seminude and nude female bodies to emphasize that they are beautiful like that, and men dressed in typical comfortable male attire. (The culture down there is very soccer oriented, so a beautiful male body to a Brazilian is not a weight lifter, but a slender "normal" body. That ain't as great as the curves women have. This is why I think there is not too much sexy men's clothing. Still, you should see some of the male underwear brief billboard ads. The seminude men are so sensual that they even make me drool a little.)
Now go to the office where a woman is the boss. And there are many - more so percentage-wise than here I believe. Everybody will make jokes once in a while and gawk, but let a male underling show real disrespect (not what is considered as sexual disrespect in the USA) and see how far it gets him. Let him even insist on being too intimate with his innuendo and see if he doesn't get fired.
So if opportunity is the goal, why not look at someone who is getting it more right than they do here without all the fighting - and try to learn?
To be frank, Brazilians are just too busy fucking to be worried about sexism. Their focus is biological, not social or religious. I think that is healthier.
Michael
Edit - Thanks for the basketball link, JI. I know it might be hard to conceive, but Hortência is just as famous in Brazil as Michael Jordan is here.
(Edited by Michael Stuart Kelly on 5/23, 10:48am)
|
|
