German Men

Germany is a funny country. The longer you live here, the more baffling it gets. Thus with German men. At first glance, they seem quite normal. Maybe even slightly better than average. One appreciates the absence of creepiness,  there is a faint (if slightly boring) sense of camaraderie. Unthreatening, friendly, open. The more you look, however, cracks begin to show. Once you looked a bit more closely, you see the nervosity, the flickering eyes, maybe when you mention the operating system of your smartphone.Or you're doing really well at some sporting event, or you mention that you prefer Mozart to Beethoven...You get the picture. They really really find it hard to deal with "strong" (all the things mentioned don't actually indicate any "Strength"...!) women. They feel intimidated so easily, it is truly worrying. Sadly, this isn't just their own private problem - it can easily become yours too, especially at the workplace!

Often, you find that German women adapt instinctively to this "need" situation, and just play dumb. Meaning - at the workplace they rarely contradict, let alone criticise. But back to the menfolk.

Their conversational topics have changed over the years. But only slightly. Where it used to be cars, cars, and bits of cars, it is now technology and social media. When I say technology, I mainly mean iphones and other Apple-related gadgetry. Showing off with up-to-date, in-depth Apple-knowledge is absolutely crucial to being taken seriously as a German male. Weird. And very boring.You may say "Oh,  all men are like that", wich would be depressing enough, but actually Geman men (in my experience) have this urge to really really know more than any other person about technology.

The second topic is sports - again, no surprises. Except here, it isn't spectator sport - it has to be some "extreme" sports that they practicethemselves - triathlon, extreme speed cycling, or at the very least something dangerous. (Not quite as good as it can't be quantified).

Showing off, topping all others as a personal need in order to distract from their very real insecurity. Not unusual, but fairly irritating. And a bottomless desire to be admired. (For speed cycling??)

So yes, I find German men a bit tiresome with all their hang-ups, neediness and fear. Thankfully though, I'm not married to a German!

If you want to tell me that your sweet Heinz is "totally different", or I "obviously got a real psychological hang-up", or even if you agree with me, you're very welcome to do so on twitter (@Margit11) as I find this blog commenting a bit fiddly.