Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just male companionship. In Turkey, men talk close and may even walk together arm in arm. And in general in Europe and Latin America, men can socialize together and show a level of intimacy in comfort.
Now in ever-homophobic America, you can't do these things unless you are really drunk. Especially after the age of about 22. How and why the US got so homophobic is another subject. Ironically it has made many men in relationships subserviant to their wives and girlfriends. Most married men I know call their wives 'boss.'
Quote:
Originally Posted by green_mariner
Last night I was celebrating my birthday at a Turkish restaurant/hookah bar. There is alot of music there. Whenever a particular Turkish song gets played, alot of people, including the waitstaff, get up in a circle and dance(similar to the horah). Alot of people who work there are of Turkish heritage or from other Mediterranean nations. The only place I know, there two straight men can be holding hands and no one thinks anything of it.
In relatively large parts of the world including Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and Africa, men holding hands or even walking arm in arm doesn't carry any sexual connotation.
I was in Istanbul last year with two male German friends, visiting a German friend who was living there. We ended up walking arm in arm ourselves because:
° it was so normal, and
° it was so d#mn cold (we were there in February).
It is kind of sad how homophobic Anglo societies can be. And by that I don't only mean primarily the violent homophobia, but also the fear of looking gay or that others might think you're gay.
Also kissing on the cheeks between two men is not socially acceptable in Anglo countries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindavG
In French-speaking Belgium and in France men (or boys) kiss each other as a greeting, that was quite uncommon to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpolyglot
Same thing in Italy.
Same thing in Argentina and Uruguay.
It means nothing more than "good to see you."
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish_bob
i once visited argentina , i worked on a ranch for a week , the men used to kiss each other upon meeting , thats the italian influence , tony soprano often kisses johny sack from new york
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
I've heard due to American influence the younger generation are not doing this as much. I think it's kind of annoying American homophobia is spreading all over the world, especially when it's got nothing to do with homosexuality.
I also noticed that when I was in France. Guys greeted each other with a kiss (where I was it was three kisses each).
Quote from the Bible:
"All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. "
I Corinthians 16
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,756,157 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by green_mariner
Being a straight male living living in America, and hanging around people from different places all over the world, I've had a chance to experience a few things. I've had to think about some things in American culture and some other cultures. Last year, a friend of mine graduated from college and we were hanging out all night with her friends. We were all smoking hookah together in the apartment. We were also drinking tea together, men too. An array of ethnicities there: Arab, Turkish, African-American(me), Brazilian, Cameroonian, Filipino. We were all eating candy and drinking tea. Sometimes I wonder if a few men sitting together drinking hot tea could ever happen in American culture. I've never seen it. I know some men drink tea in America, but tea is often seen, as far as I've seen it, as slanting towards being a feminine thing.
I've noticed alot of other things. In the USA wine is seen as either slightly feminine, or for the middle upper class persons. Beer, on the other hand, is seen as more masculine, and often more of a working class drink. Actually, I'm starting to notice a pattern here. Some things that are seen as feminine are often things that are more middle-upper class things and many things that are perceived as masculine are sometimes associated with the working class, at least in the USA. For instance, wine. I notice many people who enjoy wine and are wine tasters are often middle to middle upper class. It is sometimes seen as feminine by some, but I notice the men who like it tend to be(keyword:tend) middle or middle upper class. Beer is enjoyed by middle class men, and sometimes upper class men, but among working class men, I see beer being the drink of choice over wine.
In some nations, like France, both men and women drink wine. It isn't seen as feminine. It's seen as something everyone drinks. I read a National Geographic that featured France. It was from 1989. I saw some hunters drinking wine.
I've even seen some of what is seen as masculine in the commercials. I have seen alot of beer commercials in the USA. The main perception is that beer is seen as something masculine, something a bit more working class. I had the opportunity to see a beer commercial from the Czech Republic and I so more of the opposite. I saw a Pilsner Urquell commercial with Bedrich Smetana(famous Czech composer) featured.
That's true, isn't it.
Feminine = dainty, refined
Masculine = rough, earthy, coarse
Beer ads definitely still target men - even though plenty of women enjoy beer. I notice the more 'feminine' women often say they don't like beer so I don't think it has anything to do with taste. Same goes with the idea that women like chocolate more than men. Anything sweet is seen as 'nice' and 'feminine.' Tea parties are 'nice', little China tea-cups and tea-pots are 'pretty', not something a 'real man' would be seen being a part of.
Europeans are just generally more sophisticated and refined so it would follow they do not see those things as 'feminine' but just cultured.
Male drinks: Beer; drinks with a higher alcohol concentration and little "extras"
Female drinks: "Fruity" alcoholic beverages; wine; tea (have you seen most teas lately at your Target? They're definitely marketed towards women); Cosmopolitans
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,756,157 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvdxer
Male drinks: Beer; drinks with a higher alcohol concentration and little "extras"
Female drinks: "Fruity" alcoholic beverages; wine; tea (have you seen most teas lately at your Target? They're definitely marketed towards women); Cosmopolitans
Male foods: Steak
Female foods: Yogurt (again, from the marketing)
Salad is also seen as a female food. And prettily decorated cupcakes. And quiche.
Male drinks: Beer; drinks with a higher alcohol concentration and little "extras"
Female drinks: "Fruity" alcoholic beverages; wine; tea (have you seen most teas lately at your Target? They're definitely marketed towards women); Cosmopolitans
Male foods: Steak
Female foods: Yogurt (again, from the marketing)
That is true, at least for the society that we live in. I even mentioned this in earlier posts(the yogurt and the tea).
In the Middle East/Eastern Mediterranean, yogurt is seen as something everyone eats. Tea is the same way. Most parts of the world, everyone drinks tea, especially in Asia. In the USA, tea is seen as a more feminine drink.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,606 posts, read 55,756,157 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by green_mariner
That is true, at least for the society that we live in. I even mentioned this in earlier posts(the yogurt and the tea).
In the Middle East/Eastern Mediterranean, yogurt is seen as something everyone eats. Tea is the same way. Most parts of the world, everyone drinks tea, especially in Asia. In the USA, tea is seen as a more feminine drink.
Personally I've never heard of tea or yoghurt being feminine.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.