I live in California and there is a huge number of immigrants from Asian and Slavic countries here. Many of the women and girls have said to me (while not, necessarily, meaning me personally ) that men from their home countries were useless slobs and that American men were the best husbands, fathers, lovers, etc, etc in the world.
Why is this? What got us this great reputation? They say that it is almost a fetish, that in may countries (especially Asian and former communist countries, lesser so in India, Arabic, and African nations, but it does exist their) that American men are idealized as being a square jawed cowboy / John Galt types.
Does anyone have any experience with this in other countries? Should I be planning my next vacation to Japan or Moscow?
Really? Not meaning to offend the Leftpondians here, but in many places I’ve visited, Americans (American tourists anyway) have a fairly terrible reputation, which in some – but of course by no means all – cases unfortunately is well deserved. They are often seen as loud, overbearing, and having a tendency to look down on those not fortunate enough to have been born in the USA.
Note that these are certainly not my views, just an attitude that I have often come across.
Well, as someone who has spent time in Spain and Russia (and dated natives of both countries), I can tell you that American culture has developed among SOME men a greater sensitivity to women’s issues, or at least the realization that being sensitive to women’s issues is a good thing. In Russia, in particular, alcoholism and domestic abuse are much more accepted than they are here, and it’s almost impossible to prosecute an acquaintance rape, because apparently if a woman knew her attacker it’s almost impossible to get a prosecutor to believe it wasn’t consensual.
For some perpective on the situation of women in Russia, read Francine du Plessix Gray’s Soviet Women: Walking the Tightrope. More details on request.
The women you’ve been speaking to are not necessarily typical of all “foreign” women. Women that didn’t hold those views would be less likely to visit the USA and would be less likely to want to speak to you if they did visit. British men seem to be popular with Japanese women too, but of course I’m basing that on favourable reports not a scientific survey.
Countries you mentiuon are fairly machismo, as Eva Luna noted. I too have lived in Spain and with a Spanish woman for three years. Her parents generation (born 30s and 40s) hasn’t got a clue about eqaulity. I read somewhere that among older Spaniards, some 70 % refuse to take out the garbage, 'cause thats a chore for wimmin.
This has to do ith politics, and I would turn this into a [hijack] if I started explaining the historical background.
So of course, someone from a more equal society would be percieved as as much more kind and gentle.
Now, in other more equal countries, like my own, American men are not considered dream guys at all. Quite often the other way around: Ignorant, superficial, loud, obnoxious… The Ugly American Tourist, basically.
It’s not a new phenomenon. Ronald Spector briefly mentions in Eagle Against the Sun that during World War II, the “over paid, oversexed, and over here” American soldiers stationed in Australia won a lot of attention from Australian women for the same reason–they were apparently more respectful and attentive than their Australian male counterparts.
(The catch phrase above seems to have been used in both Australia and in Britain, and it contains a grain of truth. American soldiers really were better paid, and most of that pay was disposable because they were already fed, roomed, and clothed. Furthermore, a large proportion of the Australian and British male populations were away fighting overseas. But as an American male, I’m here to tell you that it’s impossible to be oversexed.)
These are generalizations that most Filipinas believe, and from the Russians I know, it’s not too much different (although I haven’t had conversations with them as often or in as much detail).
Eva Luna Now, it’s been eight years since I moved out of Spain, and since I don’t get exposed to the language, the way I do with English, I often need a few days to get my brain in gear, when I go there. To start thinking in Spanish that is. ¿Pero, soy macho, verdad? En el sentido ‘ser varon’. ¿Y un male chauvinist pig es un machista? Pero, no es la cultura machismo… Mierda. He olvidado muchisimo.
The Gaspode is from marvelous talking dog of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld: The Gaspode. But somewhere in the back of my head, I hear the word gospodin which I always thought meant “Sir” as a polite greeting, rather than the title.
) that men from their home countries were useless slobs and that American men were the best husbands, fathers, lovers, etc, etc in the world.