Men Staring
Another thing that was very difficult to become used to was being stared at all the time. Whether or not I felt that I was being conspicuous, it didn't matter. Everywhere I went eyes inevitably followed me. Men, women, and children all seemed to be fascinated with me and everyone else that looked different from native Indians. It was as if we all had a huge banner hanging above our heads saying, "Look at me! I'm a foreigner!"
The fascination with things or people different from what we were used to is something I understand--we all are curious about things that we are not familiar with; nevertheless, that did not make it any easier to get used to. One thing that was especially difficult was that men would oftentimes ogle or leer, and would even attempt to touch my body in passing. Sometimes inappropriate thing were said to me, and one girl I volunteered with got physically harassed by a group of street children.
However, I feel like this is not entirely the men's fault. It made me step back and critique how Americans are portrayed to the rest of the world, specifically India. I think that many times the image of women being promiscuous is the norm in the media. This can send a harmful messages to other cultures, even putting American women in danger. It's necessary and important that this message changes, sooner rather than later.
The fascination with things or people different from what we were used to is something I understand--we all are curious about things that we are not familiar with; nevertheless, that did not make it any easier to get used to. One thing that was especially difficult was that men would oftentimes ogle or leer, and would even attempt to touch my body in passing. Sometimes inappropriate thing were said to me, and one girl I volunteered with got physically harassed by a group of street children.
However, I feel like this is not entirely the men's fault. It made me step back and critique how Americans are portrayed to the rest of the world, specifically India. I think that many times the image of women being promiscuous is the norm in the media. This can send a harmful messages to other cultures, even putting American women in danger. It's necessary and important that this message changes, sooner rather than later.