Cultural Differences: Staring

Before leaving for Chile, all 20 of us Tufts-in-Chile-ers were asked to attend a pre-departure meeting. In this meeting we were given information on a variety of topics such as classes, travel tips, and cultural differences abroad. During the “cultural differences” section, we were warned - I was warned - that black women are particularly sexualized in Chile. I had already heard rumors about the lack of black people and the sexualization of women in Chile, but I wasn’t expecting to get an official warning. I immediately cursed American media (damn you 50 Cent/VH1/industry producers/the man for putting naked black women in your videos and disseminating them abroad – yeah, I saw that video at a bar last weekend). Later, I was informed that the sexualization of black women may have also come from Brazil (I am not in the position to curse Brazil).

So I’m thinking that this sexualized-other thing is going to slightly influence my experience here in Chile. It may be too early to make real judgment, but so far, I have felt no more sexualized here than I do on the streets of Brooklyn. Obviously, in Brooklyn I am not one of 17 other Black women in the entire city, which I assure you, makes a difference. But it really hasn’t been that bad. I was once called “chocolate,” but that’s the only instance in which I’ve been singled out as a black woman.

Still, I’ve still been somewhat paranoid about being the alleged sexualized other here in Santiago. As a result, I have been particularly receptive to the way in which Chileans behave towards me.
Mainly I’ve noticed that people stare at me for longer than I find to be acceptable in a large city. As a New Yorker (and I won’t speak for all 9 million of us), I usually feel concerned, offended, violated, or threatened when a stranger deliberately looks at me for more than two seconds, and makes no attempts to hide the fact. See, it’s generally not a big deal if you catch someone staring at you, and then they quickly look away. So, naturally, my New York crazy (or just my own crazy) sets in, and I immediately feel violated (I am the sexualized other, right?) when people stare at me, and do not look away when I look back at them SEVERAL times. I’ve noticed that men, rather than women or children, like to look for longer periods of time.
I later spoke to my fellow New Yorker friend, Katy - who could probably pass for a Chilean - and she finds that people stare at her as well. I’m not so sure if she gets the curious stares, the mindless stares, or the “you’re pretty” stares. I mostly get curious stares. So maybe staring is just a little more socially acceptable here in Santiago. Or maybe it’s all a self-fulfilling prophecy. Either way, I figure I’ll just have to adjust to the culture and stare back.

I am, however, keeping my eyes open for neo-Nazis. Our program director told us that there is a group of about 50 neo-Nazis roaming the city. They aren’t huge fans of blacks, Asians, and probably a number of other social categories of people. There are probably A LOT more neo-Nazis in and around New York City, but I’m in Santiago where I stand out a little bit more. Since there are probably three more black folk than there are neo-Nazis, (and I’ve only seen about eight people that look like they might be of African descent) I shouldn’t be too worried about running into serious racial problems.

By the way, my demographic numbers are not accurate. I just find it hilarious that I chose to study abroad in one of the few South American countries that only has 12.5 black people. This phenotypic “minority” thing is not new for me, as I grew up surrounded by people who didn’t look like me. Hell, even the entire maternal side of my family doesn’t look like me. It’s not really a big deal. Not like it has contributed to any personal identity crisis or anything. ;) Oh, life. Ya gotta love it.