Is it true what they say about european men?

Having traveled extensively with my wife... I beleive the Italian men are more forward. She says they're not too bad. I think it's a matter of perspective.

Having a number of Italian male cousins and friends, I would say they are more forward, but they seem more comfortable and confident with themselves (it's like their fear of rejection is lower than that of American men). Italian men also seem to be under the impression that American women are "wild" and "crazy" making them more likely to come on to us (I'm only telling you what they told me). If anything, though, I found most of them to be gentlemen, unlike a lot of the men you would encounter in the States. I think it may have something to do with the culture in Italy (and the rest of Europe) being more family oriented. Men there respect their mothers more and thus women in general. That's not to say Italy doesn't have its share of jerks and pigs (it does) or that chivalry is completely dead in America (it's not).

'European' men is too broad to make such a statement. True there are cultures where men are more open to flirting and complimenting a woman, but likewise there are other cultures where men won't even think about doing such a thing.

Also, I don't think it is 'more open sexually' that Americans consider as more open sexually. It is about comfort in sexuality not just sex.

I can tell you as an Italian American woman, this is very true about the Italian man!
Last year I went to Rick Steves travel class and he was talking about this very thing. Rick even said the "H" word! LOL!!

Lisa...the "H" word? Hot...hunka-hunka...hubba-hubba? PM me with details! :-O

As luck would have it, last night there was a Rick marathon on the local PBS station, and Rick was taking questions from callers. One woman asked this same question. Rick's answer: "Yes, if you want a lot of extra attention from a bunch of horny men, go to Italy. If you want to avoid that, try Denmark."

He said it, I didn't....

Norm, David just said the "H" word. I didn't want to say that word because I didn't want to upset the moderators! LOL!!

I was merely quoting the moderators' boss (on TV, and on his hometown PBS station no less). If they don't like the language, they can complain to him.

When I was travelling around Europe, when I was a young 23 yr old, my friend and I DEFINATELY found the Italian and Greek men to be most annoying. They DO seem to figure that if you are without your husband or boyfirend and going out and about by yourself , you are fair game and looking for game.
They do not make you feel unsafe, ,, frankly we just found them annoying.
The saddest thing is ,,, if you just want to chat with them , be friendly etc, they are thinking one thing, and you are thinking another. They are not interesting in "cultural idea exchanges" they just think you think they are hot.
We found that in most other countries the young males ALSO liked to chat with us, but, really seemed interested in what we had to say,, would ask questions about our country, our schools, our politics etc.. Italian men do not seem to care about any of that.

I just returned from Italy a couple of weeks ago, I am now closer to 50 then 20,, the problem is not so much of a problem for me now ,,, LOL
Did see the young men still calling out, but oddly they seem to prefer calling out to the young girls, LOL... so if you are a middle aged woman with a child( as I was) you will likely not notice too much of a problem. LOL

Forgot to add, my friend had some issues in Paris a few years back, she unfortunately is a very friendly lady who thought nothing of chatting with strangers, smiling at them etc.. in Paris if you respond to looks they do seem to take it as a big green light.

I didn't think they were that forward, but then again, we have travelled to Mexico and Venezuela and many of the Caribbean islands where men were even more forward.

Just ignore any advances and you will be fine. Maybe travelling alone would be cause for more concern.

feel free to continue the discussion...it's almost as interesting as wondering if shorts on men are appropriate in Europe...

...little more sexually open ??...well, sometimes they Do forget to close the zipper...but that's international, not just european..

ELi, are your 23 and blonde????

I agree I didn't find it that bad this time either,, but I am speaking of what very young women encounter.

David, no one thinks you said anything wrong. I just wanted to put some light humor in this thread. Rick Steves is known to say anything! That's what makes him so much fun to be with. I had the pleasure to spent some time with him, and what a guy!

I'm not blonde, but I am 25 (24 when I went to Rome). The closest I got to any Italian male was the chef at our hotel and he was just a gregarious, friendly guy who hugged everyone. Was kind of disappointed that I didn't get harrassed actually! ;-)

I travelled through Greece and Italy as a college student and I did find the men to be more forward in both places. I got offers for all kinds of things but I just ignored them and that seemed to work.

I'm sorry, (Pat,no offense to you, I just want to add a comment), but I have to disagree with "Italian men do not seem to care about any of that" in regards to country, school, and politics. On my first trip to Italy at the age of 24 (along with my 26 year old blonde sister), the first question out of the mouth of every man we encountered between the ages of 20 and 35 was "Bush or Kerry?" (the trip was during the last election). The question we got on our last trip there was "What do you think about the Terry Schiavo case?". Every conversation I've had with Italian males has revolved around politics, education, work ethic, and religion. That's not to say my sister and didn't get any come ons -- my cousin's friend Marco spent an entire day at the beach pestering me with questions like "Do you like cinema?" and speaking to me only in Italian in a vain attempt to get me to learn the language. He was serenading me by the end of the night. The men in Italy talk about the same things men anywhere else talk about -- women and sex -- but they're not the only subjects on their minds.

Wait...we have moderators?

I was in Italy for the first time in March, traveling with 3 other women. Two of the women in our group are EXTREMELY attractive (their mother and I are more matronly). The blonde sister didn't receive a lot of attention, but she is very aloof. Her red-headed sister who smiles at everyone, on the other hand, got a lot of looks from men. I got such a giggle out of a couple of men who passed us. I was just far enough behind the red-head to see the men very obviously turn in tandem to get a good look at her rear. However, no one ever got fresh. Perhaps if the red-head had been out on her own, but that is pure speculation. Now, when I was a college student traveling in Germany 20 years ago, my friends and I DID have some guys try to hit on us, but while I knew they weren't German, I couldn't say where they were from otherwise.

By the way, Regina, do you find this discussion silly or offensive? For a young American woman traveling abroad for the first time, these are real concerns--particularly if the woman comes from a small, insular town and has no experience with how to behave in a large city. My niece encountered some rather frightening behavior in Paris because she is from a small town and didn't have the "city face" perfected yet. A man followed her to and INTO her room when she checked into her hotel. Fortunately it came to nothing, but was scary, nonetheless.

no...neither silly nor offensive..i enjoyed reading your experiences...Lillie didn't mention her age..maybe she's 86..

North American men do plenty of admiring!! Way more than I encounter in the UK. Men here will barely look in the direction of a woman let alone have the guts to approach for a conversation... a pint or so usually helps. The approach is different than the stereotypical 'Italian' way people think.

HA HAHAHA no I am not 86 quite yet, I am 24. And I am the type of person where if someone hit on me in public I wouldnt respond purposly in an encouraging way, but I might blush or laugh or smile and that seems like it encourages people more sometimes. So I just wanted to be sure that I wasnt going to get followed... When a friend of mine went to Italy in highschool, she had some men in Paris make innapropriate hand and mouth guestures... but she loved it, it was her favorite part of the trip.

I don't know what you mean by "being more open sexually", but Italians love to flirt and compliment a woman, younger women to be more specific. I don't believe this is "more forward" than here in the US. I persoanlly enjoy it.
In Italy a man feels free to make compliments to a woman because no one would consider this sexual harassment. Here in the US a man can get into big trouble for doing that.

I'm having fun reading this thread too!
I have a friend that lived in Italy for eleven years. She had her dream job there as a flutist in the opera's orchestra. She is a tall beautiful blond. She loved Rome at first, but then she began to really hate living there. She said that every time she stepped out the door, she felt she would get raped. That never happened, thank God, but it was a big hassle for her.
Eleven years went by and she decided to give up her dream job and move back to the USA. This was thirty years ago when she was very beautiful. I remember my Italian Dad warning her about this before she moved to Rome. He really knew this would happen.
When I was in Rome in 2005, and I'm short and dark and am Italian, and middle aged yet, men were flirting with me!! I have to admit, it was good for my ego! LOL!

Italian men can be more forward than American men, but just remember it is their culture, not to say that if you are uncomfortable, by all means tell them to leave you alone! They will, and if not, make some noise and someone will help you.

This thread has me laughing out loud! My best friend and I went to Europe last September and travelled through Venice, Rome, and Cinque Terre. We are both married, 25 and blonde and received A LOT of attention from Italian men. I agree, the compliments can be nice and made both of us feel good. However, we did receive NEGATIVE attention several times. Once, when sitting at the Trevi Fountain, 3 Italian men (probably in their mid 20s) came up to us asking if we wanted to have coffee with them, go somewhere 'more quiet', etc. We said no repeatedly and they still would not leave! They kept touching our faces and trying to get pictures with us. We made it very clear that we were married and were not interested in going anywhere with them! Luckily, we were in a very crowded, populated place and they finally left after we got mad and raised our voices to them.

Once, we were walking down the street at night in Rome and a man came around the corner and said, 'You sleep both with me?' We yelled 'NO!' and he laughed and moved on. Most of the attention we received was men asking us if we were married or saying, 'What beautiful hair you have! Ciao Bella!' We had men asking if they could touch our hair, too! Most of the attention we received wasn't inappropriate.

If you do encounter an inappropriate male or situation, be very clear you are not interested and walk away. Don't give them a chance to corner you or take you anywhere private. You'll be fine! Have a great trip - Italy is breathtaking!

Ok here is another question then... if european men have an image of american women being easy, do european women look down on us for that image?