"East European Women and the Battle of the Sexes in American Culture" Nanda Dimitrov, University of Western Ontario. 2004.

[deleted] · 2013-12-14T00:20:34+00:00

This is only anecdotal, but when I lived in Asia, the locals and other western expats considered gender relations in America strange. They didn't understand "marriage is a contract" or men would want to stay at home and raise kids or women would want to have a job like a police officer. When I showed my students Fargo they were perplexed that a visibly pregnant woman would be working at all.

Americans have a atomized view of individualism and it's hard for most cultures to understand us. It's normal to define yourself fundamentally through your relationships in most parts of the world.

Archipelagi · 2013-12-13T20:21:51+00:00

Every woman that is made to feel less worthwhile because of her choice to be a stay-at-home mom or defer to her husband is a victim of feminist mental abuse and manipulation. This is tolerated in a society supposedly dedicated to equality and free choice. Our gender norms are forcing these female immigrants from Eastern Europe to withdraw into their own sub-cultures to maintain a positive self-image by getting validation from their peers.

needathrowawayplease · 2013-12-13T23:05:03+00:00

These passages really resonated with me:

"I simply I feel like part of my personality is trapped on some bed or I am strapped to the chair. I am sitting in the class and I feel that I cannot be myself. I cannot appear in a way that I really am, naturally, because the expectation that you shouldn't be too personal and you shouldn't be too feminine." (Hungary, age 22, 2 years in the US)

"Eastern European women find it difficult to decipher gender-related norms in American culture. When asked about their perception of gender in America, their answers revolve around five main themes: gender-neutral relationships, competition between men and women, female assertiveness, sexual harassment, and feminism.

East European women feel that in the US gender lines are blurred and the behaviors of men and women are very similar to each other. They are not always able to distinguish between men and women based on appearance, manners, or conversation. They notice that American colleagues at their workplaces carefully avoid discussing gender differences in order to stay in the "neutral zone." From the East European perspective, acknowledging the differences between men and women makes conversations come alive, even if there is no romantic interest between a man and a woman. Gender-neutral treatment "sterilizes" relationships between male and female colleagues, and as a result East Europeans often lose interest in interacting with American colleagues of the other sex. At the same time, participants acknowledge that Americans are very skilled at such gender-neutral relationships, and women are indeed treated in a more equal way than in their home culture. That is, East Europeans see egalitarian gender relations in the US as successful, but not desirable for their own lives."

"East European women perceive American men as less masculine than men in Eastern Europe, because they are not as attentive to women's needs. Eastern European women perceive American women as more assertive than they are, and they feel that American women "try to be like men," "boss men around" (Albania, age 22), "try to dominate a lot," "dress like men" (Bulgaria, age 35), and "expect to be treated the same way as guys" (Hungary, age 23)."

AshleyYakeley · 2013-12-14T08:47:29+00:00

Eastern European women do seem to take much more care of their appearance and presentation. They also seem to be less troubled by the impossibility of media beauty standards. It's like they're adults or something.

Title	"East European Women and the Battle of the Sexes in American Culture" Nanda Dimitrov, University of Western Ontario. 2004.
Author	needathrowawayplease
Upvotes	9
Comments	10
Date	December 13, 2013 7:05 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/1stb73/east_european_women_and_the_battle_of_the_sexes/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/east-european-women-and-the-battle-of-the-sexes-in.286503 https://theredarchive.com/post/286503

Comments