Feminism
I could seriously become a militant feminist in México.
I've never felt the need in the U.S. I've never felt discriminated against because of my sex there. Really, I'm a white protestant young woman, so I've never felt discriminated against at all.
But I could so go for some bra burning here in México.
Last night, while I was waiting for the bus next to a pizza stand, a man sat down next to me. His wife bought him pizza and a beer, and brought it to where he was sitting. He proceeded to eat every bite of it without offering her any, while she stood next to him and held the beer ready for whenever he wanted it. And while he ate, sitting, and she stood there, waiting for him to want the beer, he proceeded to blatantly check me out. It made me literally sick to my stomach. It took all I had to not slug him in the face and spit on him.
The thing was, that was what his wife seemed to expect. She had her long-suffering face on. I guess mexican chivalry ends after "I do."
That's just one little ejemplo del machismo I see here. I wrote a report for my context class on the rights of women here and the stuff I found out about rapes and women's lack of rights made me blanche. Today in class, we learned that it's expected of a widow to wear black for a year after her husband dies, but not of a widower when his wife dies, because she's only a girl.
And when men commit adultery, everyone excuses it with just a "oh, he's a guy," but if a woman does it, it's as though she's commited murder.
Also, all those comments and stares I get in the street really annoy me. At first, it was flattering. But then as time went on, I began to feel more and more that they reduce me to just a piece of meat. I was in Michoacán this weekend, and it was awesome. It was so different than here in Querétaro. None of us girls got nearly as many comments and piropos. I think I got one in the whole weekend, and that was on my last day, in Morelia, when I was walking with two other girls.
I'll put up pictures sometimes this week. I'll try to do it on Wednesday. I've got a ton of pictures.
I've never felt the need in the U.S. I've never felt discriminated against because of my sex there. Really, I'm a white protestant young woman, so I've never felt discriminated against at all.
But I could so go for some bra burning here in México.
Last night, while I was waiting for the bus next to a pizza stand, a man sat down next to me. His wife bought him pizza and a beer, and brought it to where he was sitting. He proceeded to eat every bite of it without offering her any, while she stood next to him and held the beer ready for whenever he wanted it. And while he ate, sitting, and she stood there, waiting for him to want the beer, he proceeded to blatantly check me out. It made me literally sick to my stomach. It took all I had to not slug him in the face and spit on him.
The thing was, that was what his wife seemed to expect. She had her long-suffering face on. I guess mexican chivalry ends after "I do."
That's just one little ejemplo del machismo I see here. I wrote a report for my context class on the rights of women here and the stuff I found out about rapes and women's lack of rights made me blanche. Today in class, we learned that it's expected of a widow to wear black for a year after her husband dies, but not of a widower when his wife dies, because she's only a girl.
And when men commit adultery, everyone excuses it with just a "oh, he's a guy," but if a woman does it, it's as though she's commited murder.
Also, all those comments and stares I get in the street really annoy me. At first, it was flattering. But then as time went on, I began to feel more and more that they reduce me to just a piece of meat. I was in Michoacán this weekend, and it was awesome. It was so different than here in Querétaro. None of us girls got nearly as many comments and piropos. I think I got one in the whole weekend, and that was on my last day, in Morelia, when I was walking with two other girls.
I'll put up pictures sometimes this week. I'll try to do it on Wednesday. I've got a ton of pictures.