For all the men out there asking why we women are so hesitant to engage in “friendly conversation” or why we can’t just “be polite” or “acknowledge compliments,” here’s why:
I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work the other day, around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I was perusing the freezer aisle trying to determine which variety of French fries to buy. My three-year-old daughter was with me, riding in the cart.
A man next to me was also looking through the various offerings of frozen fries, and asked me the difference between steak cut and thick cut. I said I wasn’t sure. He mentioned something about how he was a horrible cook and didn’t know how to make anything. I told him it wasn’t that hard and that I’d found lots of good, easy recipes online. (For f*ck’s sake dude, they’re frozen fries. You dump out the bag on a tray and put it in the oven; it’s not rocket science.)
He asked if I liked cooking. I replied I did; it’s fun to be creative with food & ingredients.
Then he asked if I was married. I said no, I wasn’t, but that I didn’t see how that had to do with anything. He proceeds to tell me how he owns 18 different international properties, is worth millions, and something about how well he’d take care of me and how I wouldn’t have to work anymore. Wow. WITH AN OFFER LIKE THAT FROM A TOTAL STRANGER, WHO COULD REFUSE?!?!!!!! Then he expressed his frustration about how hard it was to get dates these days. I told him to work on that skill called “feeding oneself independently,” and got the f*ck out of there with my fries.
I’d really like my daughter to grow up in a world where she can make grocery-store small talk without getting badgered about marital status in front of her kids someday. Here’s to hoping.
– Greta
Location: Food City supermarket, Phoenix Arizona
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