Something I haven’t yet explored here but has been on my mind since before I made aliyah is: my fear of Israeli women. They’re strong, they’re pushy, they could eat me alive. They know how to get what they want. Especially unnatural shades of red hair.
At least, that is how I saw them.
Well, I can safely say that I have made my first real Israeli female friend; and she defies those stereotypes by both being them and not being them (and she doesn’t have red hair). She’s funny, she likes shopping, she wants to get ahead at work, she loves to travel, we gossip, we laugh, we’re… friends. So, I’m feeling a lot better about Israeli women now.
On a wider scale, it’s interesting what I have noticed about female friendships in general. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit like an awkward 15-year-old boy asking a girl out to a high school dance when it comes to talking to girls I like (girls I don’t like don’t really get my attention).
But the few (invaluable) female friends I have collected over the last 4-5 years – across the globe – have all come with great efforts – on both our parts, probably. And they are really special to me. I know when they reach that level because there just comes a point where I know that I actually love my friend. There’s this female friendom that is so sacred, and if you reach it, then no regular bullshit friends can suffice any longer. And from all the traveling and moving I have done in the last few years, I have learned this over and over.
So, you know what? I’m not gynophobic, I’m just clever at discerning which women are worth my efforts.
Whadya got: