One of the things common in Spanish culture is the pirópo, or catcall. During our orientation weekend the female students were told that we could probably get hit on on the street and we would just have to ignore it.

I think the female reaction to such attention is equal parts interesting and infuriating. In the United States, usually if I am catcalled I'll whip out a comeback or, if the catcall is particularly lewd or I'm just having that kind of day, I'll give some vulgar hand signal I'd never, ever show my mother. So when it happens here it's strange that I just have to ignore it. "It's part of the culture," I've been told. "It's just how men try to get women's attention."

Correct me if I've overlooked something, but in what universe does a catcall EVER solicit positive attention from a female? If you can tell me of a happy couple who met because she was getting groceries and he made some comment about her shorts, I will give you a dollar. Maybe the pirópo is used to get attention from women, but it's not the kind of attention that I feel I should ignore.

One could make the argument that by me making some smart comment or flipping the bird I'm giving men a reaction, but it's a reaction that tells the catcaller that I don't appreciate the attention and inappropriate behavior is going to be met with an aggressive response. I think I feel that ignoring it is worse, because it reinforces negative behavior, much like letting a toddler throw a fit in a restaurant.

Also troubling is the dismissal of the pirópo as "just part of the culture". Call me a raging, bra-burning feminist, but I feel like the tolerance of something as seemingly innocent as catcalling is the gateway to other things like sexual discrimination in the workplace to rape apology. It's the same can of worms you open when you allow kids to call each other "gay" as an insult and are then surprised when raging homophobia complicates the road to equal rights.

So those are my thoughts on that.


And now a nice thing about Alicante

One thing that has really impressed me about Alicante is the use of public space. The plazas here are really beautiful. On every street connecting the plazas there are benches, sculptures, fountains, playgrounds, and lots of plants. Everywhere I walk I see people interacting with their space. It's really encouraging and smile-inducing to see people being a part of their community in such a lovely way. There are places like that in Minneapolis, but for the couple of fountains and sculptures there are at home there are myriad in Alicante. I think public space that invites interaction is one of the reasons that people become proud of their city. I think that's one of the things I like best about Alicante: the personality of the city, and how a trip downtown feels like a little art excursion.

Ok, that's all! I'm going to watch some anime before going downtown for dinner with some kids in the group for a girl's birthday. It'll be nice to have some Mexican food--I've been missing enchiladas. I'll bet you a dollar they won't be spicy, though.

Hasta pronto,
Maren