Salam to all that view this subject and those who answer,
My question that i would like to put forward is…
Why do moroccans and non-moroccans never have anything nice to say about moroccan men???
Why do they have such a bad reputation???
feel free to share your thoughts
Where do people get that from ?! they keep talking about this there on Yahoo Answers…about Moroccan men & Moroccan women & bad reputations…
The rumors & the bad reputations about Moroccan men have 2 sources:
1 - European guys, because so much European women choose Moroccan men over them.
2 - Moroccan women, jealousy from European women.
But as i said…these are rumors…there are Moroccan men that sucks, & there are others that rocks.
There are the good and bad in every nation, generalizing is never accurate.
thnk u lalla Aicha WEll said
Western women are often sexually harassed by young Moroccan men. Not all Moroccan men. Not most. But enough. All the western women I know who live in Morocco complain about it constantly. It’s pretty bad. That being said most Morrocan men are really stand up guys…Most
Hammu, the word “often” would not be a valid description here since we don’t have enough information to speak on behalf of every western woman who lands in Morocco. Secondly, if people do not respect or blend into a culture when they visit the country, they are bound to get “special attention”, it isn’t considerate if a woman hasn’t observed modest dress while visiting a muslim country… that’s my take on it anyway. There are desperate and disgusting men in every country, even in the West.
p.s: im not even moroccan so don’t take it as simply a defensive response. 
feel free to give your opinion though, its always welcome 
[quote=LallaAïcha]Hammu, the word “often” would not be a valid description here since we don’t have enough information to speak on behalf of every western woman who lands in Morocco. Secondly, if people do not respect or blend into a culture when they visit the country, they are bound to get “special attention”, it isn’t considerate if a woman hasn’t observed modest dress while visiting a muslim country… that’s my take on it anyway. There are desperate and disgusting men in every country, even in the West.
p.s: im not even moroccan so don’t take it as simply a defensive response.
feel free to give your opinion though, its always welcome ;)[/quote]
I think where the girl comes from does not really have much to do with it, as foreign girls and Moroccan girls are hit on equally from what I observed. Most Moroccan girls wear the same clothing as western girls.
I’m not speaking on behalf of every western women that lands in Morocco. The women I’m referring to are development workers. They live in rural Morocco. They speak Arabic and Berber. They dress conservatively. They tell me that sexual harassment is one of the worst problems they have.
I think where the girl comes from has some effect, although I do know that Moroccan girls get hit on as well. This is a problem for many women in Morocco, regardless of their origin. Moroccan men do watch western television and get the idea that western women are easy. I know because they tell me this. Still appropriate dress is a more important factor than origin. My female friends tell me the more conservatively they dress the less they are harassed, but even when they are dressed conservatively they are still occasionally harassed. It also depends on the area. In some towns women are never harassed, in others they are harassed daily. My village is relatively conservative. Female friends and co-workers that come have never been harassed. 20 km is a larger more liberal city. A women who lives there has to deal with sexual harassment everyday.
I’m sure their are other reasons why Moroccan men have a bad name, but this is the first one that came to my mind. Moroccan men as well as women are some of the nicest, most welcoming people I have ever meet. The sexual harassment issue is the only really negative thing I can think about them.
“Most Moroccan girls wear the same clothing as western girls.” - I don’t believe this true. If your talking about the big cities then you might be right, but Morocco is more than just the cities. In rural areas women dress don’t dress like western women.
I noticed it in small cities as well.
But if you are talking about rural villages, I can see your point.
Thanks for the info Hammu, but when you refer to sexual harrassment do you mean just attempts to flirt etc. or are you speaking of more serious circumstances? I hope it isn’t the latter, and i assume not.
Salam
LA, the most I have seen in Morocco, is just guys calling girls, and saying hey beautiful, and sometimes walking up to them, and trying to talk to them.
Stealth, that’s what i assumed but i guess the more extreme case wouldn’t occur in public anyway, and inshaAllah doesn’t occur at all.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this post.
What I gather and what I have heard and seen about is that there are good and bad guys even women out there, you just have to pick carefully.
But there doesn’ t seem to many good guys, where are you hiding?
coucou :^^:
i know a lot of moroccan men who have to deal with the same treatment from western women when they go to the west
This is such an interesting topic–Lalla Aicha, I get that you’re trying to make the distinction between “harmless” flirting and more dangerous harassment (I guess you’re referring to assault, things like that?)
But the thing is that even “harmless” flirting is a huge hassle. I have to echo Huma when she says that the harassment is her only complaint as far as Moroccans. I feel the same way. It might not be dangerous (not necessarily at least) but it’s really oppressive. You might make the argument that women who aren’t accustomed to this behavior (foreigners) are particularly sensitive–and that might be true to some degree–but I know that so-called Western women are NOT the only people to find the street harassment to be oppressive.
When I walk down the street and every five seconds someone is in my face, even to say something “nice,” it’s super annoying, and personally my impression of those men is that they’re shady, chasing after any and all women, just…slimy. The message it sends is, I have a right to talk to you because I’m a man, I can approach you and it doesn’t matter whether you want it or not!
PLUS it’s one thing to say something nice–I can understand that that’s just a way of flirting sometimes–but when a man won’t back off, when he’ll follow you for blocks after you’ve made it clear you’re not interested…well, that’s not flirting, that’s harassment, and it is intimidating. Not by accident either, I don’t think.
Another thing: even if you are dressed respectfully, sometimes you still get harassed. I mean I recently heard about a friend, hijabia, moroccan, PREGNANT, and still men were getting in her face.
Soooo to get back to the original question, I have to say that I’ve met some awesome Moroccan men who are respectful, and interesting to talk to, and don’t treat me like a piece of meat, or worse. BUT just SO MANY men in the streets will give me unwelcome attention that I tend to be on my guard when I get the chance to interact with a man on a deeper level.
I KNOW there are Morocco men on this forum–what are your thoughts on the perception of Moroccan men? I’m really curious to hear from you all.
whoa how did I miss this?
Why do you think that is? Some sort of exotifying “foreign” men? I can believe that there are some people who don’t think there’s a problem with aggressively pursuing people they think are available and “exotic.”
Although, honestly? I seriously doubt they get it as much as women do. Let’s not relativize this very real problem to the point where it just seems trivial!
One more thing! (sorry got a little overexcited and rushed into posting)
You’d better believe it does happen!! Sexual assault happens EVERYWHERE, unfortunately, even if it’s only behind closed doors.
And that’s not a comment on assault in Morocco, cause I don’t know the figures. But I do know that it is a universal problem.
in that they are judged and viewed as outsiders and stereotyped in a way that affects their everyday life. since im not a woman, i dont really have a right to speak. i cant imagine what being a girl is like, all over the world i think it’s tough. i think its a different case btw western women and moroccan women.
what does fitting in to a society mean? it doesnt mean you dress a little more conservative than you would at home (full on safari hat, cargo pants jjjjj) and you buy a tourist jellaba and you try to speak arabic or berber and you eat with your hand and all of the sudden now you are supposed to get treated like everyone else :P.
some ppl really think that qualifies as fitting into a society and there is so much more they didnt consider-- your manner of speaking, the way you address others, your eye contact, your body language and hands, and willingness to treat everyone exactly the same as you would in your country ( often some doublethink form of hiding racist and sexist impulses, masked as political correctness)…etc there is more, and please believe some are really in denial about how well they fit in 
MANY have the idea that every little gesture on their part to conform to moroccan culture should be celebrated and cooed over, and any insult or affront to their personal, WESTERN ideas of personal space, gender roles, and personal freedoms is just unacceptable.
yeah i relativized, and yeah i think is trivial honestly no offense. compare what yall complaining about to the millions of immigrants that have come to your country and western europe, australia, etc, who must assimilate or fail to feed their families, and are grateful to endure the daily racism of a westernized country just to be able to make a better life. that dont have a choice if they like your country’s position on gender roles, gun control, abortion, or how a dude talks to you in the street, and never really thought they had a right to complain as a visitor to your country.
appreciate your position and your responsibility as a guest in another country, and dont take assimilation or cultural difference lightly. it takes years and way more work than most any of yall is willing to put into morocco as a country, society, culture, people. but if you did invest that time and learned how to be, you would stop being harrassed 95%. i guarantee it.
in that they are judged and viewed as outsiders and stereotyped in a way that affects their everyday life. since im not a woman, i dont really have a right to speak. i cant imagine what being a girl is like, all over the world i think it’s tough. i think its a different case btw western women and moroccan women.
what does fitting in to a society mean? it doesnt mean you dress a little more conservative than you would at home (full on safari hat, cargo pants jjjjj) and you buy a tourist jellaba and you try to speak arabic or berber and you eat with your hand and all of the sudden now you are supposed to get treated like everyone else :P.
some ppl really think that qualifies as fitting into a society and there is so much more they didnt consider-- your manner of speaking, the way you address others, your eye contact, your body language and hands, and willingness to treat everyone exactly the same as you would in your country ( often some doublethink form of hiding racist and sexist impulses, masked as political correctness)…etc there is more, and please believe some are really in denial about how well they fit in
MANY have the idea that every little gesture on their part to conform to moroccan culture should be celebrated and cooed over, and any insult or affront to their personal, WESTERN ideas of personal space, gender roles, and personal freedoms is just unacceptable.
yeah i relativized, and yeah i think ur ish is trivial honestly no offense. compare what yall complaining about to the millions of immigrants that have come to your country and western europe, australia, etc, who must assimilate or fail to feed their families, and are grateful to endure the daily racism of a westernized country just to be able to make a better life. that dont have a choice if they like your country’s position on gender roles, gun control, abortion, or how a dude talks to you in the street, and never really thought they had a right to complain as a visitor to your country.
appreciate your position and your responsibility as a guest in another country, and dont take assimilation or cultural difference lightly. it takes years and way more work than most any of yall is willing to put into morocco as a country, society, culture, people. but if you did invest that time and learned how to be, you would stop being harrassed 95%. i guarantee it.[/quote]
It looks like we’ve taken a turn for a conversation that has nothing to do with “Moroccan men” and everything to do with the presence of foreigners in Morocco.
What’s “ur ish”?
I mean I think you’re right about some people wanting to be “cooed over” as they try to assimilate–That may describe me sometimes, but I do think that has a lot to do with the process of learning another language and living in another country. It takes encouragement and a lot of contact with people, learning to mimic an accent, gestures, etc. (btw do people who have all those mannerisms down–i.e. moroccans–escape street harassment? no)
A friend of mine has this theory that Americans or Europeans want to come to Morocco to re-live colonialism (she’s Moroccan). Some good food for thought, but I’ll tell you now, with whatever level self-awareness I may have, that I am NOT into that. (Maybe a topic for another thread?) Oh and I wouldn’t be caught dead in a safari hat and cargo pants. So don’t project that kind of crap on me!
You’re also right that the experience of all immigrants and expats is not the same. (understatement) I’m not asking that Moroccan culture change for my benefit, so I’m more comfortable walking down the street. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.
Bottom line: This issue (street harassment) is a real issue independent of me and my experience (this is confirmed by many accounts of Moroccan women). But… maybe I overstepped in commenting on a Moroccan issue as an outsider.
I get that it can be annoying to have an outsider cast judgment on your culture (I guess I’m assuming you’re Moroccan?). How many people think they’re experts in American culture because they’ve watched Bowling for Columbine? or French culture because they watched Amelie? I don’t want to offend Moroccans, and I don’t think it’s necessarily my place to analyze a culture I’m not a part of.
I’m kind of conflicted here. I want to be respectful, and self-aware, and I do recognize that I am a guest. And at the same time I also feel the need to defend myself and point out that some of the comments in your post have a lot to do with this image you seem to have about foreigners in Morocco, and they hint at some kind of fundamental disgust for them… that’s just not me! I won’t take myself out of the discussion just because I’m not Moroccan! If I’m overstepping, you can let me know, but seriously, have a little faith that I have a genuine interest in learning about Morocco and being part of a fruitful discussion about Moroccan society.