The sidewalks of Buenos Aires are a veritable gantlet of wolf-whistles for pretty much any woman who dares to wander them in anything more form fitting than a muumuu. Rare is the woman who doesn’t brave a catcall or two while running to catch the bus. Not to mention comments on your clothing, what feelings your legs might inspire, and what specifically your “admirer” would like to do to you if you paused.
Buenos Aires has a love-hate relationship with piropos—a sort of combination pick-up line and compliment—frequently hurled by men at female passersby. Whether the comments are a colorful custom to be celebrated or a form of gender violence that should be targeted by authorities is a perennial debate. Last year the city’s mayor (and current presidential candidate), Mauricio Macri had to apologize after saying that “deep down, all women like to receive apiropo, even if it’s rude, like ‘what a nice ass you’ve got.’ ”
On the other side of the debate, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner linked piropos to femicide last week, as hundreds of thousands of people marched to demand better protection from violence for women. The sidewalk calls create a setting in which gender violence is normal, Kirchner said via Twitter. She condemned piropo admirers, saying they’re vile rather than complimentary.
[For more of this story, written by Jordana Timerman, go to http://www.citylab.com/crime/2...toward-women/395606/]
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