Belgrade, Serbia

Seven women per one man

Published: September 8, 2010

Theres a nifty urban legend in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, that the number of women in that city is much bigger than the number of male inhabitants. Apparently almost everyone in Banja Luka believes that there are at least seven women per each male citizen of Banja Luka. Of course, there are no ways to prove this theory (thats why it’s an urban legend) but that doesn’t stop people of Republika Srpska to refer to Banja Luka as the “city of women”. Mr Drasko Mikanovic, one of Banja Luka’s citizens, came up with the idea of placing two giant female statues at the city gates who are supposed to welcome travelers to Banja Luka and let them know they are entering the city of beautiful women.

The real proportion of women and men in Banja Luka is, of course pretty much the same as in every other city in the world – 50:50. So how exactly did this legend appear? Many claim that the wars had much to do with it, ie that the great deal of male population was simply wiped out over a longer period of time since the Second World War until the latest Yugoslav wars.

Supporters of the theory claim that the best evidence you need is to go and have a look for yourself: For some reason women appear to be much more noticeable—in the streets, cafes, shops and generally everywhere you look.

This is where Banja Luka has some similarities with Belgrade and Serbia in general – and this is also where we go back to the Serbian girls hotness theory. The women could indeed seem more noticeable than men in the entire region – because they invest more time in taking care of their looks. But people tend to forget one thing—more women who invest much in their looks also means bigger pressure on other women to follow in their footsteps. Why? Because female beauty is now almost officially a trademark—of the city, of the country, of the region. You see it in every tourist brochure – “gorgeous girls”, “stunning women” etc. It’s a vicious circle, but it’s probably too late to stop it now. And Banja Luka’s legend is not helping – the proposed female statues, Nada and Zora, do not look like your average girls – more like your average supermodels. Click here for picture.

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