Women in Europe are renowned for their beauty, excellent personalities, behaviour, and intelligence. Sadly, despite these traits, they continue to be vulnerable to damaging prejudices that harm both the men who see them and them. The most common misconception is that they are seen as golden prospectors. This is related to the classic male-female roles in postsocialist nations, where men are in charge of ensuring economic security and women are primarily concerned with the needs of their families and children. As it implies that women lack the resources or capacity to make independent decisions or accept responsibility for their own presence, this derogatory myth can make women dependent on their partners and can also make them feel inferior.
As a result, the stereotype of European women as gold diggers is not only unpleasant, but it can also include critical long-term effects on their physical and psychological health. Unfortunately, this kind of profiling still thrives in the internet despite having its roots in long-standing biases. The portrayal of northeast German women as platinum miners is all too popular, whether in videos, Tv shows, or cultural press.
A prime example of how Eastern Europeans are portrayed on American tv is the renowned Borat franchise. The movie, which stars a youthful actress named Melania Bakalova in the designation responsibility dating danish women, represents almost all of the unfavorable stereotypes about local women. Bakalova is portrayed as a local helper with no aspirations other than her relation with the rich gentleman, and she is frequently seen vying for attention and funds from the guys in her immediate vicinity.
These stereotypes of women from northeast Europe as metal miners are bad for them, but they can also have an impact on how other people view the area. Professor of English and American analyses at Arizona state university Claudia Sadowski-smith claims that these images gained popularity in the 2000s as a” stand-in” for depictions of people from other cultures. She tells Emerging Europe that it’s less” controversial” to make fun of and caricature Eastern Europeans than it is to reflect a more contentious group like West Asians.
Although it is clear that Mt’s character in the film does not represent real ladies from the area, her natural attributes do meet northern beauty standards. She resembles famous people like Beyonce or Paris Hilton in the way she is dressed in apparel, leather, and designer clothing, which reinforces her reputation as a thin, attention-seeking Barbie doll.
The othering of Western ladies is a result of racial and class-related workplace structures as well as their whiteness. The othering of eastern European women occurs at the intersection of sexualization and class-occupational constructions, according to academics like Williams ( 2012 ), Parvulescu ( 2014 ), Glajar and Radulescu ( 2004 ), and Tuszynska ( 2004 ). They are seen as being various from and poor to the rule as a result of their gender. As a result, they are easier to separate from than women from different racial parties. Additionally, their othering is related to their status as recently wealthy newcomers in terms of school.