Every single day of my life I experience intense street harassment. It makes me question why, when I am with a group of just as feminine friends, most of the comments or entitlements to a body are targeted at me. Is it something about me that screams ‘harass me?’ I live every single day wondering, ‘when am I going to get raped?’ Not if. When am I going to get raped. I have had disgusting encounters with men, saying and doing repulsive things to express to me that they want me or are entitled to my body.
Beyond this, I am also a queer woman. I am a very feminine presenting queer woman, and that anomaly brings even more attention my way. Wherever I turn and wherever I go, I experience an immense amount of street harassment. Here is a glimpse:
One night my girlfriend and I were walking through NYC. As we were walking, a man grabbed my hand and stopped us. He wouldn’t let my hand go, and then he proceeded to make a motion with his other hand up and down my body, turn to my girlfriend and say, “Nice work.”
Last week, I was at a social justice forum. I was waiting in the hall for a meeting to finish. A man came up to me and started talking to me, soon enough he was telling me how he can’t stop staring at my body and how incredible my body is. He proceeded to comment on my looks. I removed myself from the situation. He then came up to me later, again, and continued to stare at my body and comment on how ‘fine’ and incredible it is and how he can’t stop thinking about it.
A few days ago I was at a street parade. A man spotted me from somewhat far away and came towards me. He grabbed my hand and said I had to be his girlfriend cause I am so damn fine. I asked him to let go of my hand, and instead he decided it was okay to lay a disgusting, wet kiss on my hand. I immediately walked away. Every time I saw him after, he continued to say nasty things to me.
I’ll leave you with this story, because it is one of the few in which I have gotten an answer to my question: why do you think it is okay to do this to me? Once someone came up behind me and started slowly kissing my neck. I turned around and pushed him off of me and said what the f*ck are you doing? He told me not to be such a bitch. I asked him, “Why do you think it is okay to do this to me?” And he said, “Because you are a f*cking woman.”
I don’t even know what to do anymore.
– Anonymous
Location: Everywhere
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea
