I wanted to share my experience and stories with men while living here because I was getting pretty upset reading womens comments putting down other women and trying to defend some of the bad behavior of Tunisian men…and trying to blame foreign women for this behavior.
One. I have been to MANY countries and traveled as a solo woman to most of them. 72 countries and still counting. I’ve lived outside of my own country for almost a decade and I now live in Tunisia.
I am VERY used to getting hit on and approached by men wherever I go. I am also familiar with cultures and places where the men are more aggressive than others with this behavior. There are a lot of stereotypes that women traveling alone are sex fanatics and American or English women especially will put out or want physical encounters ion their travels. I am NOT knocking down any women that do want physical and exciting connections! The more power to you! But I am perosnally someone that is used to having to deal with unwanted advances by men nonstop. I’ve had to learn to be much more aggressive towards men on my travels because I honestly just get tired of them exiectibg something from me…whether it is my body or that they see me as a dollar sign. That is not easy to always do when you want to be a nice and kind person and not think the worst of people.
HOWEVER, these women married to these Tunisian men in this group all up in arms and defending the men and going after the women and blaming them!! Please check yourselves!!
I have been around the world and o have lived around the world. And the reality is, Tunisian men are aggressive in this nature! There is poverty everywhere and tourism everywhere. Have you experienced anything in South and Central America or Southeast Asia?!
But here the men are still extra aggressive because it’s becoming a cultural issue and it is being learned very young. I’m here less than 24 hours and I’ve got 5 Tunisian men in my inbox coming at me, including my first taxi driver. My bnb host. My dang food delivery guy.
I was nice to ONE kid on a train that I let him walk with me and my kids and stash his backpack with us on the beach. (I’m a mom and I saw him as a teenager just looking for company and to keep his stuff safe!) The next thing I know he is taking selfies and pictures of me and sending it to his friends, messaging me at 3am on the dang morning, and eventually begging for money. I never once responded to him. Never once encourages him. He was 19. (I’m 38) And I mentioned to him I had a son his exact age that was living in Germany. In my mind my kid and him could be friends!! But noooo….this young guy was looking for possible sex and money from me. And I gave him NOTHING to think this or believe it was okay.
I blocked him as well as the hundred others in my inbox. But it’s honestly ridiculous!!
For all of you going after “European” women and saying they are causing this. Check yourselves. You clearly do not have the experience with the world or men to place blame on entire groups of people who have nothing to do with poor crap behavior. Yes many women do fall victim to these shenagins. Yes many women do want to help, and foreigners coming here for travel tend to have more income than the location population. But that does not make it okay for these love rats to behave like this. This is a shameful behavior that people that know better should be disgusted with instead of defending.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Tunisia. I love it so much indedoced to live here and raise my kids here. I find most of the e people here very warm and welcoming. Every single person in my apartment building makes me feel safe and at home and looked after, which is such a comfort as a single mom. I especially love the women here and the friendliness of most.
But I can not stand meeting me under the age of 40 anywhere because I have to but my guard up and prepare to be defensive or aggressive towards them! I’m going to either get scammed or flirted with and not want it and I DO NOT WANT IT!! I don’t even want to wear a bathing suit on my own private rooftop (I live right on the beach) because I found some gross guy climbing up on his roof to get a better peak and sneaking and watching me and my every move.
Even worse I caught some disgusting guy masturbating and pleasuring himself while watching me and my kids as we waited at the train stop. I called the police and nothing happened and nothing was done. I’m going to have to start walking around with a baseball bat now just to keep these creeps away from me and my children!!
I don’t want to feel threatened or unsafe or that I have to always be in guard and defend myself and my family every time I go out. I’ve traveled alone everywhere, from the jungles of the Amazon to tiny islands in the Pacific. I’m used to saying “No!” To men. I promise you. But here, it’s exhausting the constant intensity of young men coming after me like I’m going. To give them something.
This is not the women’s fault. So please have a seat and check your morals. This culture needs some educating and boys need to learn not to behave like disgusting pigs. I’d smack my son so hard if he acted like this to women and he is a grown adult now. Maybe parents should stop spoiling the boys and letting them get away with murder and then blaming other people and cultures for the poor behavior and life choices.
The old man that lives across from me has never once tried to extort me for money or gave sex with me! 😁 He is a sweetheart and I could spend all day in the company of people like him. The same goes with every human being I’ve met in this country that is not a boy/man between the ages of 15-40. Don’t get me wrong! I’ve met some genuinely sweet men too, but I find myself holding my breathe waiting for the moment they want something from me and prefer to keep the company of EVERYONE else.
Do you think it’s possible that those who are pointing fingers at the women do not truly see the facts and what is happening to others because you yourself are married and are not experiencing this? Think about it. find yourselves lucky and have some dang empathy. Ok!