Thursday, July 22, 2010

Canadian Men

Canadian men have a good reputation in Russia for being honest, practical, handsome, strong and even stoic. The image of the proud Mountie standing on guard or the hard-working manly lumberjack providing for his family is what comes to mind when Russian people think of Canadian men.

Among Russian women, in particular, Canadian men rank among the top most suitable foreign husbands in the world. When I ask my female students "If there were no Russian men left and you HAD to marry a foreigner, in which country would you look?" Almost all of them answer "Spain" and "Canada". As with all questions posed in English class, there is the obligatory follow-up question: "Why?"

The girls usually respond that Spanish men are sexy and sensual and know how to dance and have a sexy accent, while Canadian men are strong and dependable and intelligent and know a man's role in a family (most Russian women are proudly traditional). While these stereotypes may or may not be true, it doesn't hurt that as a Canadian male I'm looked upon favourably by the women in Russia!

I recently took to exploring this concept of being a part of the top most-desirable men in the world, a notion that I have hitherto never entertained, and did a bit of online research. I was pleasantly surprised when I came across lots of articles and information that indicate that not only Russian women but most women around the world believe that Canadian men are top-notch marriage material! Imagine my surprise!

Cosmopolitan magazine, the most widely-circulated woman's magazine in the world (translated and published in over 85 languages globally), runs an annual survey of its female readers concerning the "Top 10 Sexiest Men In The World". For 12 years in a row Canadian men have ranked in the top 10 (while American men have, regrettably, never made the list). Spanish men continue to come in first place year after year, but in 2008 Canadian men made it to third place before falling back to 6th place.

Apparently Canadian men have a reputation, outside of Canada, of being strong, hard-working manly men with firm family values and big hands while at the same time being doting fathers and caring husbands AND at the same time being highly intelligent and cultured. Just look at this excerpt from an article I dug up from the Russian website yandex.ru (and used google webpage translator to read it):

"[Canadian men] are some of the best husbands and fathers [in the] world....with one hand they will [can?] pull a car from a ditch while feeding a baby with the other...tall and rugged, the Canadian [man] knows how to be [a] man and at the same time be his wife's best friend...[he] will put his family before all else and use his strength of body and mind to protect and nurture his loved [ones]...."

As a Canadian man myself I had to laugh at this article. It usually takes both hands to pull a car from a ditch.

Another, much more practical blog entry on livejournal.ru from a Russian woman living in Vancouver read..:

"I've been living amongst these species of men for seven years and when comparing to Russian men, there is no comparison. Canadian men are my ideal [men]. Most of them are tall and good looking and that [only] improves with age. They are much like big, loyal, well-behaved dogs who don't need a leash and chase away bears and burglars at night. In their eyes and bearing there is a relaxed confidence, confidence that comes from knowing they are strong and intelligent and being proud (sic) of their abilities. They don't smoke and rarely do they drink. They fight only for just reasons and prefer to sort out problems with diplomacy [rather than] fists, whereas Russian men simply throw childish tantrums and smash each other's, and their wives', faces in."

After reading a couple of more articles and blog entries about Canadian men, my feathers were proudly preened and I started to read what I wanted, thinking "Yes, that's right. That describes us (Canadian men) perfectly!" Of course that isn't all true. There are a lot of alcoholics, junkies, wife-beaters, trailer trash, assholes and complete morons in Canada, just like anywhere else. And because the Canadian diaspora is made up of hundreds of different nationalities and ethnicities, it is impossible to place any one type of label on "Canadian men". I'm sure a proud and beautiful Slavic princess from Moscow would find a different type of man, with a different set of qualities, in a third-generation Chinese-Canadian living in Vancouver than she would from a first-generation Polish-Canadian living in Toronto.

Nevertheless I decided to look further into this phenomenon. Russian women have a Canuck fetish (I can imagine a Russian girl fainting at the mere sight of a Spanish-Canadian!). I used google.com to search for impressions of Canadian men from around the world.

British women also think of Canadians as rugged, nature-loving, dependable, strong and stoically-handsome Mounties, although this doesn't appeal to the British girl as much as it does to the Russian girl: Canadians ranked 12th in Britain's idea of desirable men.

Japanese and Korean girls ranked Canadians as the sexiest and most desirable men in the world, believing that Canadian men are very family-oriented and make fantastic fathers and husbands while putting their wives/girlfriends/lovers before their careers (does that say something about the overworked cultures of Japan and Korea?). Also, Japanese and Korean girls ranked Canadian men as being the best lovers in bed!!! I know there are a lot of Canadian ESL teachers in Japan and Korea, but surely they haven't slept with ALL the Cosmo-reading girls in those countries yet? Still....yeah, baby....

Australians ranked Canadians rather poorly, and I wasn't able to find much information about what the hotties down under think of Canadian men, except that they are "..boringly normal, although with nice bodies..." Well, we could care less about you too, Australia. That's not true. You have a lot of hot women...

Europeans also gave Canadian men an average rating, although keeping them in the top 10. Again, the image of the proud man fending off circling wolves in the Yukon while his sled dogs tire prevailed (I supplied the imagery but you get the picture). Interestingly, the further east in Europe you travel, the sexier Canadian men become in the public mindset. This is probably because "sexy" for a French woman means something completely different than it does for a Ukrainian woman (tanned, rippling muscles, chiselled face and beautiful long locks compared to a dependable, loving family man).

Spanish women chose Spanish men as the hottest men in the world, followed by Brazilian men and then Spanish-American men. In fact, I noticed a bit of nationalist pride there, and Canadian men ranked extremely low in the eyes of Spanish beauties. Brazilians, however, ranked Canadian men extremely high, as the third sexiest men in the world! In fact, Brazilian women, when asked if they would prefer to have a one-night stand with a Canadian or marry him, responded positively to both! Again, that myth of the tall and strong stoic intellectual has travelled to the warm bikini-covered beaches of Brazil.

American women, on the other hand, apparently don't even spend their time thinking of Canadian men. Results were incredibly low and nearly 40% of those polled had "no opinion" (probably because they're not sure where Canada is on a map, or what it is). Contrary to gun-toting flag-waving American patriotism, however, they also ranked their own American men very low (too sensitive/not confident/unsure of themselves/too stupid were the most common reasons given), while most American women, it would seem, are busy drooling over the Spanish men.

As a proud member of a much-sought-after group of men in the world, I asked Katya what she thought of Canadian men. "I only know you." She answered. I reminded her that she met my friend two months ago, to which she replied "Yes, but I didn't sleep with him". Typical Russian answer. I pressed her to tell me what she had believed about Canadian men before she met me, to which she replied "That Canadian men were tall, strong and handsome, and took care of babies and helped their wives but were also good at fixing things and building things and loved the outdoors and....."

So there you have it. The tall and proud Mountie, despite having disappeared in his traditional form 100 years ago (except for the tourists), continues to represent the ideal Canadian man to the women of the world, or at least part of the world (why won't those Spanish knock-outs come over...?). And while I hold my head high after reading these articles, I know that when my soon-to-be Russian wife makes the big move to Canada, the vast mix of races and the fact that Canadian men are really no different than men in the rest of the world will probably be a disappointment to her, and then it will be time to buy a red uniform with a wide-brimmed hat and role-play some kinky Mountie stuff...


"Okay baby, do want the Chief or the Mountie tonight?"

7 comments:

  1. Don't think the grass is always greener on the other side. A lot of these Muzhiks are very shrewd and coniving. "Ya pay ya money, ya takes yas chanes", as they say.

    I work in the oil patch. I had a coleaugue who had a 3 year stint in Russia. He married a Russian women.He said 13 of the other guys he went over with did. After 5 years, he was the only one married. The others, as soon as they got their Visas, dumped their husbands.

    My buddy Micha from Siberia said "If you take the beauty from the forest to your den , she will turn into a worse monster than the ones you fleed from in the den in the first place"

    Personally., I far prefer Colombianitas (or any other Latina, fo that matter), but I wouldn't bring any foreign omen to Canada, any more (or even less)than I would marry a Canadian woman again.

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    1. I prefer Mexican lades than Cuban, Dominican and than other women from Latin America but I think are other types of pretty ladies to.

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  2. hahaha our manipulations work best! Of course if a woman is seeking to manipulate she will say that your country has the best men! Annoymous and his friend Misha is very smart fellows!

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  3. Well I'm a british women I lived in Canada for a while, all the Canadian guys(friends) I met were very polite very respectfull, now back in the UK I can honeslty say I much prefer the Canadian men..they are amazing...my ex british husband was nothing but abusive rude etc ..never touching a british guy ever again..I swear I'll wait 10 years if I have to!! so happy to report I have myself a wonderful Canadian man..100% pure WOW!!! such an awesome lover swoon..

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  4. I'm a black American but I think Canadian men are the most beautiful men in the world I'm serious. Seemingly without fail the most beautiful looking men come from Canada. They're really fair-skinned and their faces are angelic. I like the strong lumberjacks. The only men with more tapered faces are possible Dutch men, (very handsome) but they don't seem to be as healty and strong as Canadians.

    I don't mean to generalize but (relatively) American mean aren't always the best maybe because I'm from here I don't know.....

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  5. as a Canadian man who has never traveled (yet) i find this article very very amazing. i knew Canadian men were sought after in hongkong but not all over the world. i have a buddy named dillan in who teaches English in hongkong and he told me he could get me laid in less than an hour. although that sounds amazing and any normal guy in the world would jump at it.. i have an amazing Canadian girl right here at home with me. (sure would have been nice know 5-6 years ago!!) i don't really have a set preference on what my favorite kind of girl would be..but i can tell you what i DON'T like. drunk, bitchy, vindictive, violent, unclassy, women. women who get drunk and try and ruin my life or bang my friends. to any girl in the world reading this. if you really want to marry a Canadian man. remember this ONE word.... "devotion" stand by his side, don't leave him if he gets laid off work, (lumber jacks and loggers get laid off work once in awhile) have your own income, and take care of him through the highs and lows. simple as that.

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  6. I just returned from Moscow after visiting my future Russian bride for the first time. We have been using skype and email for the last 6 months. What an awesome experience! I will be going back this fall to marry her! I wish it was as easy for Russian women to visit Canada as it was for me to go to Moscow.

    I found her to be much more educated, with a calm personality, excellent interpersonal skills, and an all around pleasure to be with. I hope the love affair lasts after she comes to Canada. We are both older - in our 50's - so I don't think many of the issues that younger men or even older men with younger brides will come to pass. As long as you are honest and up front with your intentions, Russian women can be very rewarding.

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