“[Street harassment] is like a bubble I constantly try to escape from”

A takeout guy on a bicycle kept looking at me inappropriately, then tried to get my attention me as I passed him. “Hola,” he said. I walked faster.

“HOLA!” he cried harder, as if I would stop because he said it louder. I almost ran across the street in my rush to escape him.

At the train station right after, I was followed by a creepy middle-aged man who kept trying to whisper in my ear. I tried to walk away to different parts of the train station, to get away from him and blend in more with the crowd. He followed me wherever I went.

I finally yelled, “Leave me alone!” He tried to act all innocently and say, “Who me?” with a smug smirk on his face. I stared back at him and said, “Yes, you.” He finally stopped following me, since he had been humiliated in front a crowd of people.

Some days, the harassment in my neighborhood is so invasive and frequent it’s like a bubble I constantly try to escape from. I have had a middle-aged man follow me to the library. One time, a guy was handing out pamphlets and asked whether or not I spoke English just because I chose to ignore his pestering me by saying “you’re beautiful, what are you 18?”

Another time, a guy rudely asserted that I shouldn’t wear headphones on the train, as he sat down right next to me in an empty train car, because I should listen to him say good morning. Um, no thank you.

Screw street harassment. Screw the foolish, rude, disgusting, ugly on the inside at the very least, street harassers. I hope one day they learn to respect women and not treat them as if they’re entitled to their attention. When you harass, even if you gaze intensely, you become an ugly pathetic version of yourself. I hope they realize that one day.

– SpeakOut