It’s no secret that many politicians and leaders are corrupt and say and do inappropriate things, but it’s still very disappointing to hear some of the extremely sexist things New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said over the years, as revealed by Gawker. He’s even equated street harassment with compliments, saying:
“I know for a fact that any self-respecting woman who walks past a construction site and doesn’t get a whistle will turn around and walk past again and again until she does get one.”
Unacceptable.
Street harassment is gender violence and a human rights violation. Remarks like his are a great reminder why we need feminists (women and men) in political positions. How can we trust that his government will ever address street harassment if this is his view? How can we ever feel he’ll advocate for pro-women policies if he seems to hate and degrade women?
