Your culture's sexual preferences? (tradition, hell, America, pray, baptism)

[Djamila]

I've always found very interesting the different tastes people in different regions of the world have, especially when it comes to members of the opposite sex (or the same, in some cases ).

Bosnian culture is, similar to that of Italy and Colombia, absolutely obcessed with beauty. There is even a saying in Croatia that goes, "If you have two Bosnians in a room, that's one war, two mosques, and three beauty pageants." Many women my age don't do their own hair in the morning, they just walk to the corner beauty parlor in their house coats to get their hair styled.

I've read articles in beauty magazines with all sorts of strange facts about Bosnian practices. For example, women in Bosnia spend more on clothing every year than they do in taxes (which are extraordinarily high, socialist heritage and all).

The same Bosnian Muslim woman always comes out on the top of the polls whenever magazines do 'sexiest women' or 'who guys want' surveys. You don't even need to bother reading the first three positions. Third place will always be Bosnian Serb model Ana-Mirjana Racanovic. Second place will always be Bosnian Croat singer Vesna Pisarovic. And first place will always be Bosnian Muslim singer Emina Jahovic.



Emina embodies many of the traits Bosnians love. She has dark hair, which is very important. Bosniaks are Slavic, so we're blonde just as often as Russians and Czechs and so on, but here it was traditionally seen as a curse, or a disease. There were even prayers said during the baptism of Bosnian kings that said, "Make him a hero and don't make him blonde."

Bosnians also are attracted to a very distinctly Slavic shape. A flat-chested, bubble-bottom girl who is obscenely tall by North American standards will inevitably, every year, be crowned Miss Bosnia (after making it through the previous... 6? preliminary regionals. Lets see, Miss District, Miss City, Miss Region, Miss State, Miss Country - that's the order you have to go).

The Islamic effects here are also strong. The most admired women all have a belly-dancer's strong hip bones and enough eyeliner to paint the Titanic.

Here is a video by Emina Jahovic produced just after she dumped her Turkish boyfriend, Mustafa Sandal. That matters because, obviously, she's trying to be super hot by her own (Bosnian) standards and tastes to annoy him.

Not how much taller she is than Western pop singers, you almost need to be that tall to become so famous in Bosnia. My sister, for example, is 196 cm - about 6 feet and three inches. Me, I am five and 11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxlQMcHht70

So that would be the women.

When it comes to men, the tastes are more simple. Bosnian men take great care to show off their bodies, as do women. Ferhadija Street in downtown Sarajevo is even nicknamed "The Catwalk".

Tight jeans and t-shirts are the norm, as well as other European touches like scarves in winter and funny hats, and so on.

That's about it. How about among your cultures?

[Djamila]

Also, here is the woman I mentioned who is always second place. A Roman Catholic woman from Brcko, in northeast Bosnia.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN_--oo1kj4

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Djamila

Bosnian culture is, similar to that of Italy and Colombia, absolutely obcessed with beauty.

That's really interesting! I must say, the Bosnian family I know is totally different from what you're describing. Again, it may be because they were farming people. The woman didn't even wear make-up and the man always looked kind of disheveled, like he'd just gotten in from milking the cows. The one thing that really surprised me when I first met them was that their teenage daughter was wearing short shorts. Since I knew before we picked them up at the airport that they were Muslim, I had expected them to be dressed very modestly. For some reason, I didn't necessarily expect the women's heads to be covered (which strikes me as odd now), but I really was surprised to see so much skin! Was I just totally comfused or what? From what you're saying, it sounds as if Bosnian women are very much into fashion and beauty. Would that include the Muslim population?

And first place will always be Bosnian Muslim singer Emina Jahovic.

Oh, my gosh! That woman is positively drop-dead gorgeous! Now that is my idea of beauty.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Djamila

I've always found very interesting the different tastes people in different regions of the world have, especially when it comes to members of the opposite sex (or the same, in some cases ).

I was raised in a Midwest farming and factory worker culture. Being attractive is an asset, but excessive preening and haute couture is frowned upon as a sign of vanity.

Beauty is good, but good cooking is better. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" really fits the bill.

What you look like gets you noticed -- what you can *do* keeps you noticed.

Making a scene of any sort was frowned upon. It would be a great embarassment if the neighbors heard a couple yelling at each other. Likewise, public displays of affection were kept to a minimum. Being a loud mouth is not a good thing. But laughing and having a good sense of humour is.

Most of the immigrants to my area were Dutch, German or Polish. Because of the Dutch, there are a lot of blondes, though there are brunettes as well. Blondes do have more fun, though.

They're a pretty wide-shouldered, stocky bunch. Small breasts are not generally considered beautiful -- what kind of a pillow would they make? Beauty is a little round and "comfortable."

Height is definitly not an asset. Any woman that was 6 feet tall would be labeled an "Amazon" and considered unapproachable by any man who wasn't taller. No man would want a woman taller than he was. She should be shorter. If she's wearing heels, he'll look ridiculous, especially when dancing.

For men, to be sexy meant to have wide shoulders, great pectorals and show your strength by moving heavy objects. If you're a good looking man, be sure to mow the front lawn without a shirt. Being hard working and *clean* is an asset. Also, being handy with flower gardening is a good thing. (That's the Dutch influence for you.)

[Djamila]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

That's really interesting! I must say, the Bosnian family I know is totally different from what you're describing. Again, it may be because they were farming people. The woman didn't even wear make-up and the man always looked kind of disheveled, like he'd just gotten in from milking the cows. The one thing that really surprised me when I first met them was that their teenage daughter was wearing short shorts. Since I knew before we picked them up at the airport that they were Muslim, I had expected them to be dressed very modestly. For some reason, I didn't necessarily expect the women's heads to be covered (which strikes me as odd now), but I really was surprised to see so much skin! Was I just totally comfused or what? From what you're saying, it sounds as if Bosnian women are very much into fashion and beauty. Would that include the Muslim population?

It includes everyone, yes. My family and friends in Norway and Canada live in cities with quite a large Bosnian population, and I can always tell - at first glance - who is Bosnian. There's just a difference in the hair, the make-up, the way they carry themselves. It's not better than the average Norwiegan or Canadian, nor is it worse, it's just very distinct and very different.

It's normal for Bosnian Muslim women to show this much skin, yes. Hehehe. Especially younger girls. Once she gets mature enough to marry, if she's from a rural area, her parents will probably make her cover up a bit more. But even then, you'd NEVER know from looking at her clothes that she was Muslim - unless, of course, she wears the veil.

And yes, rural makes a big difference. But in the city, it is the poorest girls who dress the best. A woman coming out of a mansion on Kranjcevica Street doesn't need a designer dress, but a woman crawling out of some shack on the hills in Vratnik will be wearing the same Gucci dress she does every Thursday - promise.

[Djamila]

Very interesting differences, Booko!

It's just so different in Bosnian culture. Even when you're very young, all the time, "Look at her, my beautiful little Djamila! Look how beautiful is she! A fine Bosniak woman, that. She remind me what a proud race we are!"

Then when you meet, it's not bad to show public affection as you say. Public affection is the normal thing. If I meet a friend on the street who is a woman, it's three kisses on the cheeks (right, left, right) while you hold each other's hands, and then you hold each other's cheeks in your hands for the first few moments of the talking.

If it's a man, you stick out your hand and he kisses it and then holds it against his cheek, pulls you close, and you do right, left, right cheek kiss as hello.

And that's just with vague acquaintences. lol

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Djamila

It's normal for Bosnian Muslim women to show this much skin, yes. Hehehe. Especially younger girls. Once she gets mature enough to marry, if she's from a rural area, her parents will probably make her cover up a bit more. But even then, you'd NEVER know from looking at her clothes that she was Muslim - unless, of course, she wears the veil.

I guess you'd never see shorts and a veil, though. So I guess what you're saying is that my understanding of Muslim women as dressing very modestly is essentially flawed, and that culture as opposed to religion is the determining factor? Interesting.

[Djamila]

I found something that will interest you, Katz. It's the top four models at ABC Models, Bosnia's largest modelling agency (pretty much the Miss Bosnia contestants just go from the pageant to their employment). I think this explains nicely the tastes I mentioned.

1. Sanja Tunjic, Roman Catholic, from Lukavac (Bosnia)


2. Amra Hasic, Muslim, from Travnik (Bosnia)


3. Njegica Balorda, Jewish/Orthodox Christian, from Sarajevo (Bosnia)


4. (And then rule-breaker, hahaha)
Selma Sejtanic (Unfortunate last name, You say it Satan-itch), Muslim, from Mostar (Bosnia)