Double standards come doubly standard

Obviously, Mexico is a very different place from the United States. And even after three months, the amount of double standards imposed on relationships is still jarring.

Mexican guys are incredibly jealous.* Once a girl has a boyfriend, she better not even think about looking at another guy, because her boyfriend will get jealous. Guys here have that macho sense of pride, and they simply can’t (or are conditioned to not be able to) take any indication that their girlfriends might be noticing something other than them.

But Mexican guys are also two-timing assholes.*

Seriously, while a girl in a relationship can’t step a toe out of line, Mexican boys will flirt with anyone (especially white girls) even if they’re already engaged (something I experienced on Saturday). But if you tell them you’re not interested because they have a girlfriend (which I have done**), they still think there’s nothing wrong with their behavior. A guy who was trying to convince me to… well, probably just fuck him (who had a girlfriend in Puebla**) said, “We’re young. We should be living in the moment!” Yeah, that is not sound moral reasoning for cheating on your girlfriend. I’m still not interested.

But guys here in Mexico can get away with this, and they do get away with it.

Probably the best example of this was this girl Monica that started talking to Melissa and me one night while we were walking around near Santo Domingo. When Melissa told her she had a boyfriend back in the states, the girl asked, “And he doesn’t cheat on you, even though you’re in Mexico?”

No, he doesn’t, Melissa responded, and not just because I would kill him. Because being in a relationship, theoretically, means a tacit agreement to respect your partner, and that means not cheating on them.

But maybe that's just my silly, American perspective.


*Obviously there are exceptions. There always are. So for every generalization I make here, just take that as a given, because stating it every time I write something is stupid.
**His first hint should've been when I saw him again and asked pointedly, "How's your girlfriend doing?", but he kept trying nonetheless.