As a woman of colour, I was terrified of moving to Georgia. Not because of fetishisation, in fact it never crossed my mind but racism.
Let’s be honest it’s a small country nestled in the mountain Caucasus.
Most people don’t even know Georgia and often mistake it for the American state of Georgia, so I wasn’t expecting a huge community of foreigners. Fortunately, I was wrong about that. It’s amazing how many nationalities Georgia is hosting! But my biggest problem is fetishisation..
Ever since I’ve come here, I’ve experiences harassment, unacceptable ways of approach and inappropriate touch by local men.
There are a few instances that I can list that I’ve experienced. They always approach you as a friend. Struggling to carry a bag? A local might help but what happens next? He expects you to sleep with him in return.
Wearing a short dress? Now some local dude wants to Netflix and chill with you!
A local takes you aback by tapping his card for you at the metro even though you didn’t ask for it? Well you guessed it right! Now he wants you to go home with him in return of penny he paid without your consent. It might be hard to believe but the number of times local men have pulled me, wrapped their hands around my waist or kissed me on my cheeks even when I’m screaming “Ara! Ara! Ara!”, is overwhelming at this point..
what’s worse is that fellow Georgians will not help you.. even when they can clearly see you struggling or even if you outright ask them for help..
One time things got so bad that I had to approach random Indian guys for help.(shoutout to those boys for making sure I get home safe)
And it’s not like they are behaving this way with just me, many girls around me have experienced if not worse then similar things, where they have been followed, touched, pulled, etc.
I don’t understand why Georgian men believe women of colour are simply dying to jump in bed with them.. where does this stereotype or belief come from? Why do they feel comfortable behaving this way with foreigners that have melanin?
No offence but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t do this to their own women or white women from other countries, so why in their heads it becomes acceptable for literal teenagers who are here to study?