Sexual Harassment - An Argument I Had Yesterday
Nothing remotely academic going on here; just bitching about an argument I had yesterday. Sort of.
It is relevant - in that every single woman I know, and most men too, have been sexually assaulted. But why does no one want to talk about this?
I was talking to a friend of a friend, when he *ignorantly* declared that he doesn't think sexual harassment is an issue.
I know.
I tried to be polite and calm at first - I asked him why he thought that, to which he responded 'I know one girl that's been sexually assaulted.'.
I told him - 'I can guarantee you that every single woman you know would have been sexually harassed at one point or another.'
I don't want to make assumptions - but where I live it is fairly regular. It's not unusual to be catcalled, just walking around. What's worse - is that it was more common when I was wearing school uniform - making me 16 or younger. The most bizarre catcall I've ever had was about a month ago, when two male paramedics, driving around in an ambulance, beeped their horn and waved at me. I actually happened to find that quite amusing, but it shouldn't be. It isn't. Once, walking back from sixth form when I was around 17, a fully grown man came driving round a blind bend absolutely screaming at me. Imagine endangering yourself that much, just to make someone feel uncomfortable.
What made it worse was a young boy behind me made a similar comment.
It's also fairly common (at least in my experience) to be groped in a club - and the worst part is I've become kind of desensitised to it; I'm almost not surprised when it happens.
But sexual assault gets a lot worse than this. Just one example - I've had my drink spiked before - a dangerously vulnerable situation to be in.
But, he wasn't convinced.
So, I strayed away from women. I told him how my boyfriend, our mutual friend, had also been groped in clubs. How another male friend of mine had been grabbed and kissed - and how he had been made so uncomfortable and upset by it.
The biggest question for me is - why is that different? He couldn't seem to understand. Maybe that's part of the problem. Some people seem to have the view that that's just what happens in clubs - consensual or non-consensual, it's just people 'making their move'.
Maybe people should 'make their move' whilst treating the other person like an actual fucking human? Had he thought of that?
Well, hopefully he will now.
It is relevant - in that every single woman I know, and most men too, have been sexually assaulted. But why does no one want to talk about this?
I was talking to a friend of a friend, when he *ignorantly* declared that he doesn't think sexual harassment is an issue.
I know.
I tried to be polite and calm at first - I asked him why he thought that, to which he responded 'I know one girl that's been sexually assaulted.'.
I told him - 'I can guarantee you that every single woman you know would have been sexually harassed at one point or another.'
I don't want to make assumptions - but where I live it is fairly regular. It's not unusual to be catcalled, just walking around. What's worse - is that it was more common when I was wearing school uniform - making me 16 or younger. The most bizarre catcall I've ever had was about a month ago, when two male paramedics, driving around in an ambulance, beeped their horn and waved at me. I actually happened to find that quite amusing, but it shouldn't be. It isn't. Once, walking back from sixth form when I was around 17, a fully grown man came driving round a blind bend absolutely screaming at me. Imagine endangering yourself that much, just to make someone feel uncomfortable.
What made it worse was a young boy behind me made a similar comment.
It's also fairly common (at least in my experience) to be groped in a club - and the worst part is I've become kind of desensitised to it; I'm almost not surprised when it happens.
But sexual assault gets a lot worse than this. Just one example - I've had my drink spiked before - a dangerously vulnerable situation to be in.
But, he wasn't convinced.
So, I strayed away from women. I told him how my boyfriend, our mutual friend, had also been groped in clubs. How another male friend of mine had been grabbed and kissed - and how he had been made so uncomfortable and upset by it.
The biggest question for me is - why is that different? He couldn't seem to understand. Maybe that's part of the problem. Some people seem to have the view that that's just what happens in clubs - consensual or non-consensual, it's just people 'making their move'.
Maybe people should 'make their move' whilst treating the other person like an actual fucking human? Had he thought of that?
Well, hopefully he will now.
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