What are Portuguese Women like - Dating Girls from Portugal

This country nestled in the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula is blessed not only with natural beauty but also attractive looking people. Portuguese women are known to be some of the most desirable in the world. However if you wish to know more about them apart from their good looks, here are a few pointers.

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Mediterranean good looks

Like many people from southern Europe, Portuguese women too are blessed with vivid Mediterranean beauty. Their dark eyes, long eyelashes and thick dark hair are some of the most striking physical features. These traits coupled with their tanned skin due to living in sunny areas makes Portuguese women incredibly attractive. Many of them have broad frames and carry their curves with pizzazz. Traditional Portuguese culture encourages women to be curvy and while women of today are aware of the health problems brought on by obesity, they don’t think much of starving themselves in order to attain size zero figures. All the better for it since Portuguese women with their sensuous curves are far more attractive than the stick-thin figures on many of Europe’s fashion runways.

Emotional at heart

Women in Portugal are passionate to the core. This means that while they are ready to lavish all their love and passion on you, when upset they can give free rein to the most frightful of tempers too. While their mercurial passions are more often the stuff of stereotypes about temperamental personalities influenced by the “hot Southern Sun”, to a certain extent it is based in reality since here people have more license to express their emotions. Unlike Scandinavian cultures where people tend to be shy and emotionally reserved, Portuguese culture allows its members more freedom when it comes to expressing feelings.

Socially open

Another aspect of Portuguese culture is that people tend to use a lot of physical contact during social interactions. Men will hug each other or shake hands warmly even when meeting for the first time while women will kiss each other on the cheeks. Here people stand close to each other when talking and use a lot of gestures and animated speech to get their point across. So if you are introduced to a Portuguese woman by a good mutual friend, don’t be shy of shaking her hand or even giving her a light hug. In fact if you insist on standing away in informal situations, you may even come across as haughty and rude. However don’t mistake a woman’s social openness for sexual interest. If a Portuguese woman feels you are abusing her friendliness, she is quite capable of giving vent to her fiery temper.

Like their partners to be involved

Portuguese culture welcomes open and involved verbal communication which is why Portuguese people are passionate conversationalists. And while women have traditionally been allowed to express themselves primarily in the domestic setting, now modern young Portuguese women are venturing out more than ever in cafes and pubs. So when you take your Portuguese girlfriend out on a date make sure you have enough topics in mind to engage in an animated discussion. Ask her about her work is she is a professional or her courses if she is studying. Also enquire her about her family, ancestral home town and other such details as women here are more open about discussing their upbringing as compared to other west European cultures. Above all show in your conversation that you are interested in knowing more about her as a person and that you do not see her just as another attractive face.

Love to be courted

Love in Mediterranean cultures is all about passion and the Portuguese are no different. Women here thus expect their admirers to woo them with intensity and fervor. So if you are reticent by nature or come from a culture where love is a private emotion, then be prepared to put in some extra effort while court your Portuguese girlfriend. You need to go all out while wooing her; lavish her with gifts – while they need not all be expensive, they should be romantic and symbolic like flowers and jewelry rather than practical like a hair dryer or hand-blender. Also remember to be at your gentlemanly best when taking out your Portuguese girlfriend – open the car door for her and offer to take her coat or shawl while sitting down at the restaurant table. A pertinent point here is never to keep your date waiting at a bar or pub alone – not only because it is rude to keep a lady waiting but because in Portugal single women in public watering holes are looked at askance.

Close to their families

Portuguese families are extremely close-knit which is why you may find your Portuguese girlfriend forever bringing up her parents and siblings in conversation. More importantly she will want her family’s approval if she is seriously thinking of settling down with you. Traditionally parents here have exercised great influence in the personal lives of their children, often arranging marriages or at least prodding them towards particular partners. Even though today women are far more conscious about individual choices, still they prefer keeping their parents in the loop about who they are seeing and may also waver if their parents don’t approve of their choice. So if you are keen on your Portuguese girlfriend, it would be far wiser to make a good impression on her family first. Turn up with a nice gift like a bottle of fine wine or expensive chocolates when invited to dinner with your girlfriend’s family. Don’t forget to compliment her Mama on her delicious ‘ovos molles’ as well as her father on his well-maintained garden. Portuguese culture is essentially rural and though many families now live and work in cities, they are proud to be reminded of their roots. On the upside, a tightly-knit family will ensure that you and your Portuguese partner are always taken care of and you will never want for a support network.