The Zagreb Chronicles: Slavic Style

By Christian Hummel | Monday, January 21, 2002

The Battle Between the Sexes

Croatian women can be gorgeous. Notice, that I didn't write 'are;' the caution is intentional as I do not wish to categorize a whole country's female population as readily as I am willing to disparage their civil society. This is an important topic and must be discussed delicately.

Since haircuts are pretty much unisex around here, one of the biggest differences between men and women is that many women have red hair. Naturally, they aren't born with it, rather they utilize a peculiar hair coloring available only in Eastern Europe to produce a dazzling 'Balkan red' look. This trend has been waning in its popularity since its hey-day after the fall of the Wall, but it is still present. The best explanation I have heard has to do with expression of individuality—since the people had been without hair dye for so long, the practice became a novelty (in the face or reason) when the Yugoslav state fell.

Women in Croatia are trendy. More than half of the ladies I see every day wear rectangular sunglasses with either blue or pink tinting. A reliable source told me that J.Lo first popularized these in one of her videos and the idea took off. I also suspect that Carla Del Ponte's own 'interesting' eyewear has something to do with the craze. But, then, it's strange to imagine Croatian women taking style points from the lead prosecutor of The Hague War Crimes Tribunal.

Probably related to Croatia's proximity to Italy, the country's style seems to be very cosmopolitan. But, the clothes here just seem off. It's terribly difficult to describe, but suffice it to say, clothing here as worn by the locals isn't the same as when its worn on Italians. But, I'm not one known to invest much money in style.

If you want to look like your average Croatian guy, throw on a pair of Kappa warm-up pants (preferably the kind with snap-buttons on the side) and wear a big, puffy jacket. That should just about do it.

Or, focus on having black, square-toed shoes, tight-fitting black jeans, and a leather jacket. For some reason, men in the Balkans always maintain a steady one or two day growth on their beards.

Young couples ubiquitous—marching up the street, holding hands and drinking coffee. The nice park area stretching from the train station to Trg Ban Jelacic is a particularly popular among the make-out set.

Since few young people possess cars (and presumably available bedrooms), the park benches are crammed with couples being youthfully exuberant in their displays of affection. Not having back-seats or bedrooms does keep teen pregnancy down; I have yet to see any single mothers.

I've asked people around town what dating here's like, and I never got any real answer. In fact more often than not, I had to explain the concept of meeting somebody and going out to dinner. Rather than 'dinner and a movie' as practiced in the U.S., dates go from coffee in a café to the park benches.

Friends in their mid-to-late twenties report the disco scene to be fairly active. One gentleman at a café I frequent said I should not have any trouble finding someone at a certain club on certain nights. Actually, he used a word I didn't understand. I wasn't sure what he meant, but I thanked him for the advice.

The young couples are always together, but older couples are always apart. Old women and old men have their own social circles. While wandering around Trogir a while back, my friend and I found old men playing bocce. It wasn't hard to guess that this was a space reserved for men.

The next day in Split, we saw men playing chess on benches next to the sea and then stripping down to Speedos for a dip in the Adriatic. While the men enjoy the outdoors, the women are at the market buying vegetables and meat. Cafés are neutral territory, with each side having staked out certain locations and hours

As far as gender roles go, I think what is most critical to see is how roles change between generations. Keep in mind that this based on an urban view in the capital, and probably different in the villages, but young women seem to have ambitions beyond shopping for their family's food in Dolac [the main market] in middle age.

I see equal numbers of women in certain parts of the university, and encounter more than men in various government offices.

Still, attitudes regarding the proper place of women tend to be tightly held, in spite of obvious changes. While women may be head of political parties or serve as members of Parliament, they by no means run the country, and it may be some time before more rural populations have attitudes similar to those displayed in the capital.

Young ladies seem to leap when beckoned by their significant others and rarely does an attractive young woman pass through the street without some thuggish young hunk at her side.

Homosexuality is another touchy subject in this predominately Catholic country. It is legal, though not widely accepted. While attending one party hosted by an international a month or so ago, I realized soon that I was among fully half of the gay male population in Zagreb. I also realized that such events are rare in any widely-known context. Oddly, 'Will & Grace' is shown on Croatian-state TV. 'Ally McBeal' is not.

The Zagreb Chronicles: Slavic Style

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