Creeps part II
Further to yesterday's post, I was thinking about street harassment and why it happens and the best way to react, and I remembered this story:
This isn't about me (I wasn't even there), but rather my boyfriend, AKA Austin, AKA the Sign Guy. While he was in university, he took to carrying a sign that said something different everyday, and it was usually nonesense. This got him all kinds of attention, though he was too socially awkward to use it to his advantage - he was hit on several times by women, but either didn't notice, or didn't know how to react so he never got a date, and occasionally people would offer to buy him a beer, but this never happened. People would hug him, talk to him, and tell him he was awesome. He was essentially a minor celebrity. Then one day he carried a sign that said "Platonic Prostitute for Hire." Surprisingly enough, he only had one skeevy encounter that day. A homeless man read the sign, looked him up and down, and said "You can suck my dick if you want." Austin declined and removed himself from the situation, but he continued to carry the sign for the rest of the day.
To this day, Austin still visibly shudders when he talks about it. This is perfectly understandable, of course, but I think his reaction is interesting. He thought the encounter was gross, but he was never in fear for his safety. He is a man, after all, a tall, burly man that most people would not want to mess with. Perhaps this is why it does not appear to have occurred to him that the sign could invite creepy behaviour, and he continued to carry the sign even after faced with this behaviour.
I wondered, briefly, how this day would have been different if it had been a woman carrying the sign. I quickly dismissed the thought because I seriously doubt any woman would carry such a sign; the harassment would be neverending. If it were me, I'm sure I would have torn up the sign before I even got to the university (though now I'm tempted to try it, for science. I would have people with me in case things went sideways, but even so, I'm not terribly tempted to subject myself to that).
In conclusion, even while being accosted by a creepy, unattractive dude, Austin (and I'm guessing the majority of men) are just as grossed out as women, but not nearly as scared.
(Yeah, I know, not a new concept, but I haven't seen many stories like this so I thought I'd share)
This isn't about me (I wasn't even there), but rather my boyfriend, AKA Austin, AKA the Sign Guy. While he was in university, he took to carrying a sign that said something different everyday, and it was usually nonesense. This got him all kinds of attention, though he was too socially awkward to use it to his advantage - he was hit on several times by women, but either didn't notice, or didn't know how to react so he never got a date, and occasionally people would offer to buy him a beer, but this never happened. People would hug him, talk to him, and tell him he was awesome. He was essentially a minor celebrity. Then one day he carried a sign that said "Platonic Prostitute for Hire." Surprisingly enough, he only had one skeevy encounter that day. A homeless man read the sign, looked him up and down, and said "You can suck my dick if you want." Austin declined and removed himself from the situation, but he continued to carry the sign for the rest of the day.
To this day, Austin still visibly shudders when he talks about it. This is perfectly understandable, of course, but I think his reaction is interesting. He thought the encounter was gross, but he was never in fear for his safety. He is a man, after all, a tall, burly man that most people would not want to mess with. Perhaps this is why it does not appear to have occurred to him that the sign could invite creepy behaviour, and he continued to carry the sign even after faced with this behaviour.
I wondered, briefly, how this day would have been different if it had been a woman carrying the sign. I quickly dismissed the thought because I seriously doubt any woman would carry such a sign; the harassment would be neverending. If it were me, I'm sure I would have torn up the sign before I even got to the university (though now I'm tempted to try it, for science. I would have people with me in case things went sideways, but even so, I'm not terribly tempted to subject myself to that).
In conclusion, even while being accosted by a creepy, unattractive dude, Austin (and I'm guessing the majority of men) are just as grossed out as women, but not nearly as scared.
(Yeah, I know, not a new concept, but I haven't seen many stories like this so I thought I'd share)