4 ms·

I thought the same regarding the American point of view. I grew up in Europe. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but I think American culture has less to

I thought the same regarding the American point of view. I grew up in Europe. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but I think American culture has less tolerance for gray areas in these matters.

_delirium 15y ago
I think it varies a lot within Europe. It's changing a bit now, but in southern Europe it's still common to be suspicious of young men and women who are supposedly "not dating" hanging out one-on-one, since everyone assumes something else is going on, or will be going on soon. It can even cause a bit of a scandal if a married man or woman is seen to be regularly associating one-on-one with an opposite-sex friend.
personlurking 15y ago
In Brazil, among the youth, there's something called "ficar" (to remain, to stay) which translates to "getting with someone", which in turn can mean anything from kissing to sex. Ficar is something that usually happens more than once, as in you 'stay' with the same person several times. Think of it like a temporary boyfriend/girlfriend, no strings attached. There's also "pegar" (to get or grab) and that is like "ficar" but more physical and usually just once. Among a group of friends, changing around the person with whom you ficar or pegar is quite normal. It's as if they are choosing which shirt to wear for the day. Afterwards, everyone remains friends, just like before. In terms of relationships, one woman told me that it's perfectly normal to get to know someone through 'ficar', as if actually getting to know someone before deciding to kiss them is passé. So take the US workplace example given where there's this repressed feeling going around in regards to sexual tension....well, in Brazil everyone (the youth) is cool with it. There's not even a need to hide it from others. 'It's part of life, let's enjoy it.'

4 ms·

I thought the same regarding the American point of view. I grew up in Europe. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but I think American culture has less to

by TelmoMenezes 15y ago

_delirium 15y ago
I think it varies a lot within Europe. It's changing a bit now, but in southern Europe it's still common to be suspicious of young men and women who are supposedly "not dating" hanging out one-on-one, since everyone assumes something else is going on, or will be going on soon. It can even cause a bit of a scandal if a married man or woman is seen to be regularly associating one-on-one with an opposite-sex friend.
personlurking 15y ago
In Brazil, among the youth, there's something called "ficar" (to remain, to stay) which translates to "getting with someone", which in turn can mean anything from kissing to sex. Ficar is something that usually happens more than once, as in you 'stay' with the same person several times. Think of it like a temporary boyfriend/girlfriend, no strings attached. There's also "pegar" (to get or grab) and that is like "ficar" but more physical and usually just once. Among a group of friends, changing around the person with whom you ficar or pegar is quite normal. It's as if they are choosing which shirt to wear for the day. Afterwards, everyone remains friends, just like before. In terms of relationships, one woman told me that it's perfectly normal to get to know someone through 'ficar', as if actually getting to know someone before deciding to kiss them is passé. So take the US workplace example given where there's this repressed feeling going around in regards to sexual tension....well, in Brazil everyone (the youth) is cool with it. There's not even a need to hide it from others. 'It's part of life, let's enjoy it.'