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I'm interested in how cultural attitudes differ around the world, often involving gender, and what is considered masculine in one culture is considered feminine in another.
One example I've read and heard discussed a lot is for example, the association with women and chocolate. In American culture, there is a strong association with only or mainly it being women who crave chocolate but not men, but this isn't the case in Spain, as surveys have found -- both men and women like it equally. As well, I've heard that in Japan, on Valentine's day, there is a culture of women buying chocolates for men, which is actually the opposite of the trend in American culture.
Another example could be that I've noticed and I'm sure others have too, in American culture (contemporary American culture that is, seeing how even a few decades ago it was a different story!), men singing and dancing skillfully in musicals in costume on film and theatre is considered now quite effeminate or even gay, but in India's culture and cinema it seems quite obviously considered attractive to many women!
What are some examples you have heard about or have seen/can think about where in one culture something is associated with men or women, but not in another culture, or even examples where the associations are in fact, reversed across different cultures?
I just wanna add (don't know if it's already mentioned). In Japan, women give gifts usually chocolates or cakes to men during Valentine's day. Men only give during March 14 which is White day.
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.
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.
Happy birthday, my friend. Yes, I've heard that the Turks have a very relaxed stance about personal space. While Istanbul seems very interesting, it is not high on my list of places to visit. I've heard both good and bad with regard to safety.
Happy birthday, my friend. Yes, I've heard that the Turks have a very relaxed stance about personal space. While Istanbul seems very interesting, it is not high on my list of places to visit. I've heard both good and bad with regard to safety.
Thanks. I wasn't in Istanbul though. I was in the suburbs of Atlanta.
Makes sense. The name of the place is Cafe Istanbul.
I think in American culture, two men holding hands would be often considered a sign of being gay. In the Atlanta area, there is a large gay population(one of the nation's largest). However, being gay is still looked down on in many places. I think in many parts of the Middle East, homosexuality is looked down on and not liked at all. Interestingly, what passes for "gay" here in America doesn't have the same meaning in places like Turkey or other parts of the Middle East. The place I was at, straight men could be holding hands dancing and it wouldn't be perceived as "gay". If I went to a night club in downtown Atlanta, I wouldn't be so sure.
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.
Makes sense. The name of the place is Cafe Istanbul.
I think in American culture, two men holding hands would be often considered a sign of being gay. In the Atlanta area, there is a large gay population(one of the nation's largest). However, being gay is still looked down on in many places. I think in many parts of the Middle East, homosexuality is looked down on and not liked at all. Interestingly, what passes for "gay" here in America doesn't have the same meaning in places like Turkey or other parts of the Middle East. The place I was at, straight men could be holding hands dancing and it wouldn't be perceived as "gay". If I went to a night club in downtown Atlanta, I wouldn't be so sure.
I think that some of the folkloric Greek dances have men doing the dancing in some cases, though most are mixed. I like Greece a lot, but it's a hassle to get around. Planes or ferries to the islands. A bad railroad system from Athens to its Ionian/Adriatic coast. A Greek vacation is work but, like most Mediterranean people, they are NOT uptight.
Sometimes I wonder if a few men sitting together drinking hot tea could ever happen in American culture.
No doubt. You could see three men at Starbucks having coffee but you won't see three men at Starbucks having tea. I start my day with a cup of Earl Grey tea each morning.
No doubt. You could see three men at Starbucks having coffee but you won't see three men at Starbucks having tea. I start my day with a cup of Earl Grey tea each morning.
That is true. I don't see men in America drinking tea together. And I've always been a bit of a tea drinking. I remember my mother bringing tea home and I would take a tea bag or two when she wasn't looking. I only knew one kid who drank tea as much as I did, and he was from Poland.
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