This one goes out to the Italian Men

Ciao!

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. This week has been a bit stressful as there were a lot of things to take care of back home. So, I walked down to the beach yesterday to just relax some, and it was wonderful. So I've been thinking which topic to blog about today, and today seems as good a day as any to dedicate one to the Italian men (which I know my girlfriends are curious about).

I should perhaps preface this by saying I'm not looking for an Italian man (or any guy) at the moment. Perhaps I would have more comments if I paid them more attention, but even ignoring them seems to lead to plenty of observations.

I was warned about the Italian men before I came and once I got here. I was told they believe American women are "easy," and are therefore a bit aggressive and forward with the American women (the Italian women are apparently the opposite as they do not take too kindly to the American men). Americans tend to smile a lot more than most Europeans, and I was informed that smiling or saying Ciao back to them is often viewed as an expression of interest. So if I happen to catch a man's eye, I typically try to purse my lips together, and look straight ahead, doing my best to give off the impression I'm very very much not interested (which is also my typical strategy in America as well).

While this keeps the guys from talking to me, it doesn't stop the staring, which is something I still haven't adjusted to, even three weeks later. The men (almost of any age really) stare at the women, almost to the point of leering I would say. The American men at least try to be sneaky and just catch a look every now and then. Not the Italian men. They see you coming about 50 yards away, and once they see you, they stare at you as you walk toward them, and then they keep staring until you're 50 yards away again. And unlike in America, when I catch them looking, they just smile, hoping I'll smile back. Catching them staring isn't a shameful or bashful experience for them; they just keep on staring!

Probably the most bizarre part is that even the ones with girlfriends/wives/kids seem to have no problem staring. In the States, if a girl caught her man staring like that, it'd no doubt lead to an argument. Before I left for Italy, my professor back home, Dr. Summerfield, even told us how her Italian friends who come to visit the states think it's odd that the American men never appear interested because they don't stare.

If the staring wasn't enough to make me run in the other direction, the pants sure are. I will dedicate an entire entry on Italian fashion one day soon, but this cannot wait as it's part of the reason I think the men aren't all that attractive. The jeans here (on both men and women) are extremely tight. I'm not talking tight like what is worn in the U.S. The men wear pants that could only be bought in the junior girls' department. On the guys between 18 and 28, the jeans are tighter than any pair I've every worn - and I'm just going to say that you can see everything, and I mean everything, in these pants. It's quite disgusting. In addition to being tight, they're the skinny jeans, so they taper off (if you don't know what skinny jeans are, this link should help http://g-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/Shopbop/media/images/products/earne/earne1002214184/earne1002214184_347x683f.jpg)

I explained to my new German friend, Benjamin, that in America, the men who wear these are usually gay. But since pretty much all the young Italian men wear these, it's very difficult to tell who plays for what team. They also wear all sorts of other girly fashions that I will explain at a later point in time, but I just can't be interested at all in guys who wear jeans tighter and skinnier than mine.

Last night, a group of us went out to a Deja Vu, one of the few bars open here to say goodbye to Christoff and Alicia (and we think it might actually be a gay bar, but again, with these fashions, you never really know). When the waiter came, Christoff jokingly told the waiter I'd like to order an Italian man, and I had to explain to Christoff all my problems with them (which is what I think inspired this blog today). Needless to say, at the end of my explanation, Christoff told me to go to France and find someone there as they wear really wide trousers. :)

That's probably enough about my aversion to the Italian men. I hope you all have a great weekend. We're headed to Caltagirone with the school. It's a nearby town that is famous for its ceramics. Then on Sunday, Clay and I (and possibly Benjamin) are going to Acireale, another nearby town with a large Carnivale celebration, so Monday's blog will hopefully be interesting! Until then, Ciao!