Shouting back

I Came across this video recently online and it really got me thinking. It was made by the founder of the everyday sexism project http://youtu.be/PBeNfSoMqjY and it talks about the large numbers of women who have experienced sexual harassment regularly from an early age and encourages them to shout back by tweeting their experiences of everyday sexism. I think the thing that struck me most about the whole thing was how normalized sexual harassment has become in our society and how accepting we are of things that should quite frankly horrify us.

Many of the women whose stories featured in the video mentioned being in public places such as a bus stop and had a strange man masturbate while sitting near them and I was somewhat taken aback by how common an occurrence this seems to be but simultaneously relieved that I have never had the misfortune to experience this and I hope I never will. My own experiences of everyday sexism pale in comparison to accounts like that, so much so that I am almost ready to dismiss them as nothing but I think that says more about our attitudes to sexism in general when so many women agree to put and shut up just to keep the peace. I think when we sit back and say nothing it is as though we are giving our tacit approval for this situation to continue and honestly that just misrepresenting myself. I am never the one to sit quietly and keep my opinions to myself so why start now.

Since my teenage years I have been wolf-whistled at and had suggestive comments shouted at me in the street. On nights out I have had strange men think it's acceptable to maul me or on occasions even try to put their hands up my skirt ( while walking through a nightclub). I've had men discuss me as though I was an object or openly leer at my boobs. And Once When I worked in call center I had to listen to calls as part of my training but as it was quiet no calls were coming through so the guy I was listening just spent the time looking at pictures of women in low cut tops online and discussing with his friend whether or not he'd fuck them and while that may not sound like much it felt pretty demeaning at the time.

I think it's time we stopped accepting this. Every time we experience harassment and say nothing we are normalizing sexism and sending messages to the young women of today that it's not a big deal to be treated like an object so there's no point in complaining. Really we should be shouting back because it's not okay for strange men to touch you or leer at you regardless of how you're dressed and I think it goes without saying that masturbating beside a woman in public is never okay but something tells men who do that probably have bigger issues if they are displaying such levels of sexual deviancy. I for one am shouting back, are you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The darker side of romance

Image
  For some reason I felt compelled to write about a corner of my past that hasn't been part of my blog before. a heads up to anyone who might be upset by this topic I will be delving into emotional abuse so feel free to stop reading now if you don't feel able to carry on. When I was in my late 20's I met a guy on a night out. He was a few years younger than me and honestly looking back threw up a couple of red flags early but I didn't trust my own intuition plus I was only a few months away from finishing college and planned to move to Edinburgh in a few months so it wasn't like it was going to be anything more than a brief fling. However as time went on I became more infatuated with him, there was an intensity there and he seemed sweet but damaged. Like a perfect modern fairytale I thought I would be the one to fix him. somehow plans changed and he was going to follow me over to Edinburgh, get a job there and we were going to live happily ever after. at this point
Read more

Help, I think I'm autistic

Image
 So I, at the age of 41, have come to the realization that I am autistic.  Growing up I always had a feeling something about me was a little bit off. I never quite fit in and I wasn't sure why. It was like everyone had been given a book of rules of how to exist in society but no one had thought to hand me a copy. Looking back with hindsight the signs were there. I was a super sensitive kid, a sensitivity I have not lost in adulthood, I cried very easily and felt every emotion very deeply. I was a picky eater and very particular about the textures of different food. I was very sensitive to light and noise and the feel of different fabrics. I was never a hugger. all of these things are as true about me now as they were when I was younger. I am socially awkward, I don't make friends that easily and will joke I am an acquired taste. Eye contact is something I have to actively work on and small talk feels like torture.  I thrive on alone time, I am incredibly sensitive to the moods
Read more

Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out ..

Image
I have been told on more than one occasion that I'm sarcastic. Often that I'm too sarcastic (as though there could be such a thing) and I have retort up my sleeve for such occasions which is if you think I'm sarcastic you should meet my mother. No, really you should because my sarcasm is but a pale imitation of hers. Every so often though I come out without something that makes my friends or other family members pause because sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out.  It's funny how people always take the words you are turning into your mother as such an insult because the reality of the matter is it's a both a good and bad thing. Obviously there are certain qualities I am perfectly happy to emulate and others not so much and on the whole I am not entirely sure how much control I have over it. It's not quite a pick and mix counter here. I think there are some habits you are not even aware you have picked up until someone else kindly points it out.
Read more