Street Harassment Follow Up

[sierra_le_oli]

Last Friday, I wrote about my record day of street harassment in London. The subsequent discussion seems to warrant a follow up post to clarify a couple of things. I'll start by answering a request for examples of what it is the men shout

Comments

[shriker_tam]

Personally, I have very little expeience with this. It may be because of where I live - people don't interact much on the streets in Sweden at all - nicely or offensively. My bf tells me[1] people occasionally check out my...assets...and I've noticed it once or twice myself. Once, when I was a teen, I was whistled at, buy a couple of guys in a military vehicle [2]. The only time that's really been close was once in Canada when I crossed the street in front of a truck, half running to get out of the way quicker, and the guy said something like "nice skip" or "nice hop" or something to that effect. Only after a moment's puzzled thinking did I realise that perhaps he was referring to some sort of jiggle action

[sierra_le_oli]

The amount of street harassment varies from country to country, it seems. It wasn't really a problem in The Netherlands for me. Argentina on the other hand...

So do you think that Sweden has lower levels of street interaction than the UK? I've never been to Sweden, so can't compare.

[shriker_tam]

Not sure... Not on the streets maybe - but there's more old fashioned, and personal, manners in the UK; cashiers calling you "love" or "dear", stuff like that. Also I think the UK is more traditional when it comes to gender roles - you have blokier blokes and girlier girls in some ways (not all, by any means). The UK also has more class issues - you have a more workingclass workingclass (if that makes any sense). I think this things may make a difference

[silly_swordsman]

Thank you!

This helped me get a handle on my thoughts. As soon as I've sorted them out, I think I'll have to write an egomining-style post to see if it makes sense.

[shriker_tam]

Actually, I must have got my ages wrong there...the first greece thing I was 14, because I had my birthday there. So the second (class trip) I must have been 15 or 16.

[sierra_le_oli]

I agree about the more traditional gender roles in the UK. The class stuff still boggles me, but that's a whole 'nother post...

I can imagine getting creeped out in your place, ew. It's funny what you forget, isn't it? More incidents kept popping up in my head all last night.