French Guys

Since I'm starting my blog so late into the semester, I thought I would bypass a summary of all my daily activities thus far (which involve a lot of drinking, eating, and sleeping anyways) and just summarize the last 2 months with a few generalized posts. I thought I'd cut to the chase: french guys. 

Before arriving in France, my only idea of what French guys were like was that they were a sexy, suave, slutty, sleezy and skinny bunch. Some things are true, others are not. 

What is not true:

French guys are not that sleezy (for the most part but, oh man, there are DEFINITELY some haha). The ones I've encountered in "civilized settings" (this excludes some bars and sketchy parts of the metro) have a shocking amount of manners (especially the bougy ones). Yesterday I awkwardly stood in the elevator for a moment when a guy and I were going to the same floor. I expected him to jump out of the elevator in front of me since I was standing in the far corner and most American guys would never think twice about going first. But no. He stood to the side and waited patiently for me to exit and silly-me waited for him for an awkward few seconds before I realized what was going on and proceeded. Also, they ALWAYS hold the door open. In America I'm so used to the door slamming in front of me, that I automatically prepare to catch the door. In Paris, I had one guy notice I was behind him going into the building and he waited a bit so he could hold the door open for me. American boys => learn!

Now, it would be untrue to say that French guys are not slutty because they are in the notion that they seem to want to have as much sex as humanly possible with any girl that crosses their path. But the thing that shocked me the most is that French guys are REALLY quick to start a RELATIONSHIP. This is almost an unheard of idea amongst college-age men in America. All American boys want to just party and get as much ass as they can while they’re still "young and free" without any "commitments." Shockingly enough, not French guys. Sure, they want to have sex all the time (what man doesn't?) and will probably want to on the first date. However, from what I've heard, for some French guys, even a makeout sesh on the dance floor signifies that you are in-a-relationship. I think the whole "no strings attached" concept doesn't exist here (btw that movie was called "Sex Friends" in France). French guys WANT girlfriends. 

illustration by Stina Persson

What is true: 

They are pretty suave. Whenever I drunkenly give out my number to French guys whom I can’t remember the next day (I've become a lot better at not doing that, don't worry), I am always greeted by a lengthy text poetically asking me to get coffee, drinks, or dinner. Last night my friend and I received roses from a guy who we were just sharing a drunken cigarette with. Other than Valentine's Day (or when they're sorry), when do American guys give you flowers? HOWEVER, sometimes this "suave-ness" can be pretty sleezy. And when they're sleezy, they're sleezy. Let's just say my friends and I have had countless laughs at the RIDICULOUS propositions French guys put out. RIDICULOUS.

Unfortunately, French guys are slim. I think that as a country the French are just small people, but someone PLEASE find me a French guy that works out at all. I don’t think a single French guy exists who has big muscles. At most, one can hope to see a tall guy with broad shoulders and natural muscle tone, but that’s as good as it’s going to get. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the clothes men wear in France, but the fit of most things does not help to hide some guys’ scrawniness.

They are sexy. The accent alone is pretty sexy, not gonna lie. Now, many are NOT sexy AT ALL, but the ones who are…..are SO SO SO SO sexy. The way they dress, that perfectly cut hair, and how they get really close so they can talk to you softly are all things that make them sexy. There are definitely more guys who are handsome in France (I do mean ALL of France: at the Food & Wine Expo I had the please of observing French guys from all regions) than there are in the US, at least that I’ve seen. Yet it may be that they all wear good shoes (a personal subject of importance). At least once a day (which is more than I can say in America) I see an ABSOLUTELY PERFECT-looking guy. It is my personal belief that every guy that appears in a fashion ad (like the one in this Balmain ad) lives in Paris.

This is all on this topic for now. But I can't wait to see what happens to these guys once Spring is here...

Elizabeth