Surviving Machismo Culture in Argentina

Argentina is one of the world's best tourist destinations famous for it's amazing steak, tango, scenery and people.

However, for a single female traveler, Argentina's rich culture can be a positive and negative experience. Even though Argentina has a female president and strong female figures emphasizing female empowerment such as Evita Peron, Argentina still has a great sense of patriarchy.

The attention a solo woman receives on a daily basis on the streets can sometimes be overwhelming-especially at first. The attention is not always bad but it is definitely all the time.

It's called machismo- and men can handle it very differently. There are men here that practice chivalry religiously. They open doors, help women carry their things, address women very politely, and escort women from place to place.

But there's also a flipside with gentlemen that really aren't gentlemen. As a female traveler, you'll have to get used to relentless and aggressive advances from men.

I've learned to keep my head down and not make eye contact with men on the street and that is not like me. I love making eye contact with people and being very aware of who is around me. But if you do that with a man here, sometimes they'll give you unwanted attention.

Advertisements on the street here tend to be much more scandalous than in the states. For example, on the bus ride to my internship this morning, I saw a billboard of a pretty woman completely naked sitting on the ground. Her long blonde hair was covering her breasts and she had her legs crossed...barely.

Sorry, she wasn't completely naked. She was wearing high heels.

Does this type of daily sexual visuals have anything to do with the machismo culture?

One of my friends was talking to her host parents, who are old and conservative, about the machismo culture. BOTH OF THEM said that women are asking for the catcalls (or propios). They want to get called at so they dress scandalously and act like they are interested.

When I heard this my inner feminist came busting out.

The fact that people actually think that I'm asking for it when I'm wearing jeans and a t shirt are freaking insane. It is NOT the woman's intention to get called at, believe me.

One of the hardest parts about machismo culture in Argentian is feeling like, as a woman, you have no voice. I feel sometimes that I'm not heard when I voice a complaint. I just have to keep remembering myself that this is a different country and obviously some things are going to feel backwards.

I'm just glad to be an American.

I've learned not to be afraid of saying no to these aggressive men. I've even gotten comfortable enough with the culture to physically push a man's face away from mine.

Literally--hand to face and push.

Don't flirt out of politeness. And don't respond "to be nice". Don't believe that every compliment is genuine- not every man that catcalls you has your best interest at heart even if he says, "You're beautiful, I love you."

Last but no least, be confident and cautious, not paranoid. You will get catcalled, you will turn heads and you will have to be rude at times. Take it for what it is and walk on.

Hey, I now look at it as a bunch of ego-boosters on my walk to class every morning! Can't get too many of those!

Have you ever encountered machismo while traveling the world? Or maybe even in the United States? How did it affect you?