Hey Guys,
So, this is going to be a serious post.
For some reason, People, mainly men think its ok to show "affection" to strangers they don't know.
In the past it has happened to me where I have been honked at or whistled at or even had people say stuff to me that they probably wouldn't say to a man.
Personally I find it very demeaning, and intimidating, it makes me feel uncomfortable in my own skin, which is something that I have never experienced, and never want to experience again.
It makes me question "what makes them think it's ok?". Because doing that to a woman on the street who they don't know, is wrong.
I did research into this 'honking at women' debate and found an article from The Guardian newspaper that says "the men who ask you what the big deal is about street harassment, say they'd love it if it happened to them, or suggest you just "take it as a compliment". It's not a simple, one-moment experience. It's a horribly drawn-out affair. The process of scanning the street as you walk; the constant alert tension; the moment of revelation and the sinking feeling as you realise what is going to happen." gives an insight into how women some women feel when they are subjected to sexual harassment on the street over and over again.
My message to the guys that do this, is please don't. You don't know what that woman has been through, you don't know her history, she could have had a really bad home life, or have low self esteem issues. Its a form of harassment and it is not ok.
So again I ask,
What makes you think it's ok?
Thank You for Reading!
Love,
Becca xx
In the past it has happened to me where I have been honked at or whistled at or even had people say stuff to me that they probably wouldn't say to a man.
Personally I find it very demeaning, and intimidating, it makes me feel uncomfortable in my own skin, which is something that I have never experienced, and never want to experience again.
It makes me question "what makes them think it's ok?". Because doing that to a woman on the street who they don't know, is wrong.
I did research into this 'honking at women' debate and found an article from The Guardian newspaper that says "the men who ask you what the big deal is about street harassment, say they'd love it if it happened to them, or suggest you just "take it as a compliment". It's not a simple, one-moment experience. It's a horribly drawn-out affair. The process of scanning the street as you walk; the constant alert tension; the moment of revelation and the sinking feeling as you realise what is going to happen." gives an insight into how women some women feel when they are subjected to sexual harassment on the street over and over again.
From my research into sexual harassment on the street I found another blog called Literally Darling (linked), written by a woman who goes into lengthy detail accounting various instances of sexual harassment that happen to her and her friend and how it makes her feel but I will let you read for yourself.
On a website called consented.ca that I stumbled upon in my searching around the internet I found this statement that I believe to be very true "The idea that women should be flattered by this behavior is offensive because it is not up to society to decide what an individual, let alone an entire gender, should find flattering. Sure, some women might find this flattering, but yelling at a woman across the street or from inside a car doesn’t allow space for her to accept or reject the attention. In other words, there is no consent." proving that it just isn't right that such things like this happen.
Real flattery is a behavior that is humanizing and requires actual communication with a person, not a random sexual comment thrown at a person by a stranger.
My message to the guys that do this, is please don't. You don't know what that woman has been through, you don't know her history, she could have had a really bad home life, or have low self esteem issues. Its a form of harassment and it is not ok.
So again I ask,
What makes you think it's ok?
Thank You for Reading!
Love,
Becca xx
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