Archives for June 2014

I recall on a hot summer day, I was wearing a flowing dress to go with the beautiful weather. There was a man, possibly the age of my father, who loved nothing more than to stare at a fifteen year old girl’s legs. Uncomfortable, I tried not to make eye contact as I slid away from the man who was less than five feet away from me. I exchanged looks with my friend who knew exactly what I was thinking. “What a fucking creep.” As five minutes pass, we try to make small talk, to ignore the man’s blatant staring. My sister- who was sitting next to me glances at the man- to our “surprise” taking photos of us. My sister then stares intensely back at him, and pulls out her phone to take pictures of him to give him a taste of his own medicine. Shamefully, he puts his phone down, but lord-behold he does not stop staring.

Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?

Stop being perverts

– Anonymous

Location: Flushing, NY

It’s whenever I leave the house. I seem to have been born with a magnate for the entitled. I am not pretty, and I am overweight. So of course there is at least one person who feels the need to tell me these things. Or that I would be prettier if I lost some weight. Or that I am a c**t. Or, in one most recent case, a drunk guy at a bus stop told every one waiting that my tattoo must mean I tried to kill myself (after telling him that it had personal meaning).

I used to get men yell out car windows at me to “walk faster!”, “move that ass!”

Since I moved, I have copped considerably less, but it is still when ever I go out. There is always at least one person who insists on staring, commenting to their mates, or commenting to me how I shouldn’t wear something or that I need to lose weight. Or, in the case of one “friend” that I would need extensive plastic surgery to ever be attractive enough to find even a “shitty husband”

I have had an acute anxiety and panic disorder for life, and people wonder why I don’t want to leave the house.

– Anonymous

Location: Brisbane, Australia

In college I was walking down the street, running some errands, on a sunny Saturday afternoon. There were tons if people walking around in center city Philadelphia, but I happened to notice these two guys up ahead of me. I don’t know why they stuck out to me, but right after I passed them, they started cat calling and saying things to me. It started with a “hey beautiful” and other such statements, but as I kept ignoring them, not only did the comments get worse and worse, but I realized they were following me.

Finally, one of the men said “I would love to slide my dick inside those milky, white thighs.” I was so scared that I went into the nearest store and waited until I was sure they were gone. I was so worried they would come back that I didn’t finish my errands but just went home instead. Philly is pretty notorious for its level of danger, especially to women.

– Elana

Location: Center city, Philadelphia, near the 11th and Market subway stop