Sexism: Is It Cultural?

Just like propriety is built into a society, can sexism be built in as well? In the US, it’s generally considered silly or low-class when a man calls out to a woman from his car or from a construction site. He whistles, makes kissing noises, and sometimes expresses a grotesque interest in sleeping with her. Men here in Argentina do the exact same thing, but multiplied by 10. I’ve heard it from men pushing strollers, men walking children home from school, old men, trashmen. I’ve heard it while wearing no make-up and baggy pants, or while wearing a nice dress. “Que linda sos,” “que hermosa.” No woman can get away from it in this city. Some buses even have a built-in whistling sound besides the sound of the horn that a bus driver can use when he so chooses. One bus I was on was driven by a man that did not stop blowing this stupid whistle until the women in the street he aimed for turned around and looked at him. And then he would smile like he just got her number or something. Sexism is essentially built into the infrastructure of Buenos Aires.

I once asked Alex, my wise brother-in-law, why men do this. He quickly answered that he thought it a matter of respect. Alex and men like him have been taught to consider women in the same way they consider men: thoughtful, feeling, and unique. Is it safe to assume, then, that men who behave like this don’t respect women as individuals? I’m finding this easier and easier to believe.

What do they hope to accomplish with their calls? Do they want us to act on their advances? Do they want to pester us? Or do they simply want to congratulate us on our appearance that day? I don’t care to find out. But it is infuriatingly prevalent here. I’m afraid to walk outside in a skirt or shorts because of how I know these men will react to simply seeing bare legs. It makes me feel so indignant and, dare I say, victimized. This may sound like a strong word. But repeated objectifying treatment like this can get to a person.

If it is indeed a cultural lack of respect for women, why are other Argentine men so ready to let women board the bus first, sit down first, and open doors for them? Men here are either chivalrous or pigs. Now I don’t mean to sound like Gloria Steinem, but chivalry, too, could be an indication of an understood inequality between men and women.