When you think of the French what comes to mind? Perhaps a woman in a black dress sitting at a cafe, sipping her cafe au lait and eating a pastry with a book in hand? Granted it is a stereotype (she might as well be wearing a beret for crying out lout), but lots of people are influenced by these stereotypes, especially people from abroad looking at French culture from an outside lens.
French culture is very visual, seen in their architecture, fashion, art, and everyday life. The French eat fresh food and they drink fine wine. They are known for their confidence, and knack for enjoying life. French women are stereotypically sexy without even trying. Recently there was a study stating that the French sleep and eat more than any of the world's wealthy nations. Sometimes it just seems a little unfair!
Go to Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble and you will find countless books about the French mystique: Why French Women Don't Get Fat, A Woman's Guide to Finding Your Inner French Girl, French Women Don't Sleep Alone, and All You Need to Be Impossibly French. Clearly there is a market for light and fluffy exposés on the French culture. By no means are these books an in-depth analysis of a culture, but they are made and sold because someone out there is perpetuating the stereotype that French culture is something to be imitated. I am probably guilty of doing the same, since I love the culture so much.
So what is the intrigue?
The French don't get fat but still enjoy food
The book Why French Women Don't Get Fat, states that even though the French indulge in what Americans would consider fattening food (buttery sauces, chocolate, pastries) they do not gain weight because they use moderation. Although at one point the pastries were starting to catch up with them, with rising obesity rates in France, however recent efforts to battle obesity seem to be working. Mealtime is important in France, where people who rarely consider eating on the go or on their way to work.
The French are known for their natural beauty
Although the French women do take care of themselves and are proud of their femininity, they take a slightly more natural approach to beauty. You won't be seeing orange colored fake tans and long red fingernails on the streets of Paris. French women let their hair dry naturally, sometimes miss a waxing, and wear less makeup, yet they are known for being sexy and alluring.
Age isn't a big issue, even when it comes to sex
French women don't fight age as much as some other women. In France the beauty ideal isn't merely based on youth. This also translates down to their sex lives. A survey showed that cohabiting French women have more sex than they did in the 1990s. The statistics don't bode so well for American women. After the age of 50, a third of American women haven't had sex for over a year. By their 60s nearly half have gone sexless. Only 15% of French women over 50 and 27% in their 60s go sexless.
The French have more sex
The average French man and woman have sex almost twice as much as their American counterparts.
What do you think about the French? Share your opinions below.
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