Last summer, I was on my way to work one morning and had just stepped through the turnstiles at the subway when an older guy walked up to me and tried to get my attention. I had music on so I didn’t hear him at first but, half-asleep as I was, I thought he might want to ask for directions or something.
So I paused the music and said, “Sorry?”
And he said, “You’ve got great boobs” and smiled. Like it was a compliment and I should be flattered.
I was so shocked, I just made a noise of the disgust, turned the music back on and kept walking. Still, all day, I felt dirty and wrong. In the back of my head, I was second-guessing my clothes and worrying that people at work might find my top inappropriate, if it made someone comment on my breasts like that. Also, I kept thinking, “What if he’s still there when I go home?”
He wasn’t, of course, but later that night I told my parents all about it. My mum was properly outraged but my dad just said, “So? What’s so wrong about that?” He, too, seemed to think it was a compliment and didn’t understand at all when I said, “Do you really want someone to talk to your daughter that way? Do you think that’s ok?”
Seriously, what world do we live in when even my own father can’t see the problem with someone objectifying and demeaning his daughter like that?
– Sophia
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
