I’ve always worked in male-dominated industries (20 years), whether it’s when I was working with boats or now, as a partner in a contracting company. Almost every day, whether it’s walking through a hardware store or walking through the parking lot to get there or maybe just walking in the boatyard, someone feels the need to make a comment or do that weird stop twisting stare at your butt as you walk by thing, most the time, it’s both.
I dress for comfort based on my job and I shouldn’t have to wear clothes that make me sweat or feel too uncomfortable to work in… I am now 35 with two daughters and I still get unwanted cat calls on a regular basis. It makes me feel unsafe and disrespected. It saddens me as my children get older that I’m noticing people starting to look at them in the wrong way as they walk past.
I’ve noticed a drastic difference if I am walking with my husband – there are little to no comments but as soon as I turn a corner alone it’s like I’m a target. I don’t know what these people are trying to accomplish. I can’t imagine anyone would ever decide to go and introduce their self or maybe even go to lunch after being treated in that way.
I am pretty thick skinned, but today I had two different situations that upset me. One involved three gentleman, and I thought, “What should I do instead of pretending I can’t hear them? What if I were to tell them that it’s not OK?”
And then I realize as much as I want to, if these people don’t have enough sense of boundaries to keep their mouth closed, then they may not have enough boundaries to not hurt me. It’s sad that women feel so uncomfortable so many times a day. It would be nice to be able to walk somewhere alone and not have to worry about who is watching me.
Sometimes going through construction sites or when I worked at the boat manufacturing facility, I felt like I was walking through a prison and I was a sheep amongst hundreds of wolves. I hope for change in the future for myself, my daughters and all women. People need to teach their sons what is and what is not OK and set an example that we are not toys – we are people.
I saw that New York they have no cat calling signs I don’t know how effective they are but maybe a little food for thought would help?
~ KM
Location:
Summerville, South Carolina — Lowe’s parking lot, stores everywhere
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