I’m A Single-woman Traveler Going To Latin America. What Do I Need To Know About Spurning “unwanted Attention”?

Many Latin American men consider all unaccompanied women as fair game to whom to make suggestive comments, "hit up" sexually, and generally harass in a sexual manner. "Gringas" are particular targets.


Thanks to the prevalence of U.S. pop culture and television, all American (and, by extension, all Anglo) women are considered whores, eager to jump into bed with any native man.


Therefore, you can lessen harassment if you behave in a discreet manner, avoid places like bars, stare straight ahead and keep walking to ignore catcalls and suggestive comments, and for God's sake do not dress like a prostitute with too much bare skin!

Research in advance what is proper attire for women. This generally means long pants or skirts and sometimes no bare arms or feet. I wear long walking shorts or skirts in cities, saving my short lower-body garments for resort areas. At one of Mexico's few nude beaches, I even kept my swimsuit on. Observe what native women are wearing and adapt. Dress your age; what may be fine for the teen girl you see on the bus is not OK for a 35-year-old woman.

Always wear a bra, as jiggling breasts are considered low-class and provocative. In Indian areas, a woman in men's clothes may be offensive to people.
I always wear a wedding ring, and tell ready lies about my nonexistent husband at home. Be prepared for the third-degree from taxi drivers about why you are traveling alone and how many kids you have. An unmarried and childless woman is an object of fascination and pity.


It has been my experience that sexual harassment occurs mainly in big cities. In Indian areas, not only are you as far as can be from the men's standard of beauty (gringas are also called "gueras," or ungainly white cows), it would be unthinkably impolite to make sexual comments to any virtuous woman.
After years of traveling alone in the Third World, I finally attained a magical age -- about 40 -- when almost all unwanted attention mercifully stopped. I now remind young men of their aunts or grandmas -- who would tan their little hides if they caught them being obnoxious to women.

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