Argentine men love to stare

Press, 2 May 1985, Page 10

Argentine men love to stare

By

ANTON FERREIRA,

, Of

Reuter (through NZPA) Buenos Aires Most guide-books to Argentina omit one important piece of advice for male visitors — it’s not rude to stare, at least not at unaccompanied women. Girl-watching is second nature to most men in the country that made machismo famous. They do it as naturally as they would skim through a newspaper or puff a cigarette. Discreet appraisal is not for Argentinian men. They prefer the long analytical stare, stopping in mid-stride to ogle and turn their heads to look from all angles at a passing woman. Often, the stare is accompanied by such comments as “super-pretty” or, “wish I squinted so I could you

double.” Of course, some women don’t call it machismo, they call it gross, and others say it is just a sign of insecurity. Argentinian women by convention ignore men’s remarks, although they sometimes acknowledge them with a smile or giggle. “When we go to other countries we get anxious about our appearance because the men don’t stare. A friend said after visiting Brazil that the men there must all be gay,” one woman said. "Men here regard it as their right to look at women. But at least they don’t touch.” Many of the comments men make are complimentary, but often they will mutter obscenities or sexual threats.

“I don’t wear revealing clothes in the street,” said a

Buenos Aires receptionist, “otherwise dirty old men come up to you and say disgusting things.” Foreign women are sometimes shocked by the attitudes and behaviour. “It’s like the Middle Ages,” said one. “I feel like I’m being visually raped every 10 yards.” Another foreign resident said she was flattered at first when men’s heads turned as she walked down the street. “Then I realised they do it to everyone.”

An American model said men sometimes walked backwards in front of her to stare. "It’s gross. They just about do handstands to get your attention.” The macho mentality is expressed in the common boast* “The best two things in Argentina are the meat

and the women,” and in the work of a local surgeon who implants tiny hydraulic tubes to guarantee impotent patients an erection whenever they , want one. “It’s one of the most popular operations I do,” he said. In Argentina, to call a man macho is to compliment him. The late President, Juan Peron, was “El Macho” and LieutenantGeneral Leopoldo Galtieri was praised for his machismo, albeit briefly, when he ordered the Falkland Islands invasion three years ago.

“The whole macho thing is a sign of insecurity,” said a less traditional Argentinian man. “Men who invade islands or insult women are trying to prove themselves.”

A fledgling feminist

movement has begun to emerge since Argentina returned to democracy in 1983, but its work is likely to be all uphill in a country where men hold the important jobs and never go into the kitchen. The movement’s modest programme does not include legalisation of divorce or abortion, both of which are banned under conservative church pressure. One sign of the easing of men’s domination of society was a discussion in Parliament earlier this year of a bill which would give wives equal legal power with their husbands in the home.

The girl-watchers are not worried. “Just wait until summer,” said one, raising his eyes to heaven. “The way the women dress gives you high blood pressure.”