D'accord, j'ai beaucoup de choses aujourd'hui. Le thème est l'espace urbain et moderne (particulièrement européene) et tous les personnes qui le habitent.

This blog is not an appropriate soapbox for my reflections and predictions on the state of the world's affairs. It's enough to say that it is something to which I have given a lot of thought.

Then again, I can't think of a better space to voice my personal concerns or to assert their validity. Either way, I'll just end up sounding like a crazy, old bat. For now I'll touch only on the superficialities (which, I will also add, directly correspond to the larger issues at hand).

First, on age. I noticed that "the kids" here seem to mature much quicker than at home. This may just be part of my naive imagination, but Rodrigo assures me that there is a difference. Rodrigo and his friends laugh at American teen movies because they almost always climax at prom (or some other such end-of-the-year party). It is at these parties that drinks are consumed, crushes are confirmed, and virginities are lost. Everything we experience with prom is dramatic, yet perfectly innocent. I told him that we laugh at those movies, too, but there is a lot of truth in how they reflect life in suburban America.

In Europe, kids can go to bars and clubs as teenagers. He said he could buy cigarettes when he was 12 and that he knows plenty of kids who were having sex at 13. I think everyone agrees with me that, as a majority, kids are getting into things (that is to say sex, drugs, and rock and roll) at an earlier age than they used to, but there is also a difference between American and European youths. This does not come as much of a surprise, but I am interested to learn more about the consequences of such early exposure.

I'm currently living in the bedroom of a fashionable 11-year-old French-Swedish girl. When I say fashionable, I don't mean that she wears the newest sweater vest from Limited Too (or whatever the French version would be, which I have reason to believe doesn't exist. Rodrigo, too, points out that all trendy French women dress like little girls, a look inappropriate for women over 30 and too mature for a girl of 11). I have also scoured through this girl's music collection. One of her old cases holds a lot of cds by Marilyn Manson, Linkin Park, The Offspring, Avril Lavigne and The Sex Pistols. Avril's not such a bad choice... but I can imagine the humiliation a lot of discontented 17-year-old American boys would feel if they knew an 11-year-old girl had already experienced and finished the stage of life associated with these bands.


There are lots of explanations for this, but the point is that I hold a grudge against these 16-year-olds with whom I have to share very valuable bar-space. I don't want to attend the same parties, listen to the same music, or wear the same clothes as someone of that age. Since when have they become more hip than twenty-somethings? At 22, I am already too old to be cool. Fortunately, I'm not too old to be a snob.


Secondly, on sexuality. I disagreed with my conversation partner on this part, but I suppose he knows best, considering he's male and all. In Spain, he says, when a man checks out a woman walking by, she ignores him and looks the other way (I imagine this is a consequence of both Mediterranean and urban cultures). In Paris, however, she stares right back at him, "challenging his gaze." I had understood that if you looked back at the man, you were accepting his advances. That has also been my experience here -- the "French" thing to do would be to stick my nose up in the air and keep walking by (which Rodrigo explained was a game French women sometimes play, to act like they already know they're attractive). However, if I look back at a man, he tries to talk to me. I thought that's how the game was played, but apparently I have it all wrong.

He also told me that in France they train the women to speak with quick, soft (wispy) voices. I thought that was just how the French language worked, but he insists that even in schools they tell the women to speak softer. He contrasts this with Spanish and American (i.e. me, a poor example of all Americans) women, who have an individual voice and don't hesitate to speak boldly.

He assimilates these voices with the fashion, which he says is also undergoing a Lolita phase. What I had earlier mistaken for androgyny is in actuality innocence. (How this corresponds with the rock aesthetic I have not yet completely sorted out). He makes bangs and ballet flats his primary examples.


One thing I know is that French women characteristically do not like to look the same. I think that's why it's easy to spot an American -- they just look so trendy. Somehow Parisians can look fashionable without seeming like they try too hard. I think it has a lot to do with the resources available to them (the variety and abundance of shops) and having a lot of money to spend on clothing (if money doesn't have to go to food, drink, or a car, what else can one do with it besides a 65€ haircut?) Additionally, a lot of Parisian youths live with their parents well through their twenties. Which means their income doesn't have to go toward rent, either.

Okay, lunchtime. Part two of this composition will address something much more exciting: les manifestations!


Song: Art Brut - My Little Brother

Disclaimer: It is a subjective task to determine what is fashionable and what is not. I am not claiming that the French are more fashionable than Americans. The majority of people here don't dress to impress. It's Europe -- this means that even cargo pants are acceptable. When I spot a stylish person at home, I usually like their look because it seems so European. I define that as unique and cool without too much effort. Their look says, "I traveled to France with my mom on my spring break and brought style back with me." But don't mistake me. There really is no difference. Cool is cool. It's an attitude, not a look. Additionally, Paris is a major world city. There is going to be a higher number of stylish people in any major city than in any college town, but the actual percentage may actually be lower here. Of course, this is by my personal standards only.

As much as I wish it did, this photo does not depict the average French girl. Here is Catherine Deneuve, who is allegedly one of the most beautiful French women of all time. This is one of the only times that I will use a photograph not taken by myself.