Should I dress like the women on the billboards or the women in the street??
A number of people have asked me what I'm wearing here in Egypt... I did consider wearing a veil before I flew over here. I'd heard that the harassment of Western women who walk on the streets is getting worse and wearing a headscarf can minimize this nuisance. But none of the Western women I've talked to here wear anything on their head. Most just wear what they'd wear back at home (though you're not going to see mini skirts/ boob tubes etc!) I'm definitely leaning more to the conservative side.. I try to cover my legs and most of my arms, despite the fact that it is so hot and sticky. I'm also trying to avoid anything that hugs my figure. You become extremely aware of any VPL possibilites when you know you're being stared at all the time and thought of as a semi-prostitute...
Overall the harassment is a complete pain. Men are continually hissing, making comments about 'sex/ riding me (ie sex)', clicking their tongue... I've mastered the skill of staring at some nondistinct point in the sky or around knee height. I'm also wearing my big sunglasses as much as possible so I don't accidentally catch a man's eye. It's tiring and a real nuisance. It's horrible to be objectified as a sex object - any feminist instincts I have are being doubled by the minute ;-)
3 comments:
Hey Rebex,
Just to let you know that I'm in the Priory clinic atm - you cant't call/emai me, but you can ring the clinic (Priory Hospital Brighton and Hove) and speak to a member of staff if you want. All in all I'm doing well here, doing the detox atm. Take care, will have a proper read of your blog when I get out (mid November probably).
Love you lots!
Loz xxx
Here are a few tricks I've picked up that seem to work. 1 - Wear your GLASSES. I mean prescription glasses. Turns men off completely. 2 - DON'T WEAR SUNGLASSES. Like ostriches, men believe that if they can't see you, you can't see them, and they hit on you even more. 3- Clip your hair UP. Not a pony tail. UP. 4 - Dye your hair dark red or brown. 5 - Carry a local paper so they think you might be Egyptian.
Hope this helps! And remember - they are in the wrong - not you.
I'm not sure about the local paper thing 1) if they think you are a Westerner carrying a local paper, that is an opening to talk to you about why you speak Arabic 2) I've known Egyptian women who get cat-called worse than western women, and I've heard Egyptian men say they're less afraid to be more forthright with Egyptian women, because they assume Western women might have more leverage with the police.
On the bright side, it gets better the longer you are there. Your body language changes and you get less attention. Also, you start to realize that a lot of the hissing isn't actually directed at you, sometimes it's people calling for their friends or their kids or something. Finally, you just stop listening. I made it into a multi-step game, here's the link: http://reverseexodus.blogspot.com/2007/05/for-your-contemplation.html
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