I was walking through downtown Vancouver to meet my boyfriend for a date. He works in the rough part of downtown, but I usually walk through the ‘hood without incident. I was dressed up a bit, wearing a nice red skirt and heels, not that that should make a difference.
A young-ish man started following me yelling at me about how nice my ass looked in my skirt. I decided to ignore him and just walk a bit faster, hoping he’d get the message and go away. Three blocks later, he was still shouting rude comments about my body. I passed a couple of homeless men who said hi and told me I looked really nice. I said thanks and kept walking.
The harasser swooped in next to me and said, “See, it’s not just me who thinks so!”
At that point, I turned to face him and said “You know, I could really do without the commentary.”
“Well, then you shouldn’t wear a skirt that makes your ass look so good.”
At that point, I was shaking with anger. I am a tall woman who has studied martial arts, so I knew I could hold my own if things got physical. Before I could think, I told him to fuck off and flipped the bird at him. He walked away after that without saying another word.
Right in front of me, a man and woman were walking and ignoring the entire situation.
– M
Location: Vancouver, BC
Raquel T. Hatfield says
Much as I agree that street harassment is the absolute worst — and truly, it is. When it’s a daily occurrence, it doesn’t feel complimentary, it makes you feel entirely worthless and degraded — this is still pretty blame-y. I play nicely with creepers on the bus/the street/the bar/wherever I am because it’s a matter of safety. It’s just easier to get through the situation without inflaming it. Does that solve anything? No, but that’s why I’ve written about the subject/talked to my male friends about it/participated in SlutWalk. If there’s anything women are doing wrong re: street harassment, it’s that we don’t speak up about it in safe spaces frequently enough. I appreciate this on its face, and the work that’s being done on the Slog about the subject, but the illustration is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.