New Country, New Norms

I arrived in Russia a few days ago, and already I'm beginning to notice the gender norms of the place. Women walk around tottering on high heels as they walk over cobblestones. Their outfits hover between understated fashion and over-the-top uberclothing (think hot pink tights and black miniskirts--I only saw one outfit like this, but it was memorable). In general, there's an emphasis on looking good. Men don't seem to pay as much attention to their own appearance. They generally look dressed down, with the occasional suit and tie amongst the older generation.

More than fashion, I'm noticing that people here have less in the way of personal space issues than we do over in the US. I've seen lots of girls holding hands or walking arm in arm, and while they're obviously just friends and nothing more it still makes me happy. The phobia of touch is something that I don't entirely uderstand about my own culture, even though it's something in which I tend to participate. I like my personal space, but I also enjoy being affectionate with close friends. In the US, it seems as though most physical contact is construed as being in some way sexual, so no touch is permitted unless it's with someone you actually want to have sex with. I've found in most of Europe that this social taboo is much less prevalent, and consequently friends don't need the twelve-inch personal space bubble that we require in the US.