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More PSAs in Boston

November 2, 2009 By HKearl

A year and a half ago, Boston’s MTA started an anti-sexual harassment ad campaign on the subways and buses. The campaign has led to a 40 percent increase in the number of harassers police have arrested.

Now, MBTA is preparing to launch hundreds more anti-sexual harassment posters on buses and subway cars throughout Boston in an increased effort to curb such harassment and encourage more people to report it.

I applaud MBTA for taking sexual harassment on public transportation seriously. My main concern with their ads is that while it’s useful to have info informing women of their right to report harassers, it would be nice if there was also some message about respecting women and not harassing them!

UPDATE (11/4/09): I just read an article that talks more about the increased efforts by MBTA to fight groping etc on the subways and buses and there are some new ads aimed at harassers, notably this one, so now I support their efforts even  more!

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Filed Under: News stories, public harassment Tagged With: ad campaign, Boston, bus, MBTA, MTA, public transportation, sexual harassment, subway

Flashing in Film Festival's Ad: Funny or Not?

April 27, 2009 By HKearl

I found this post on SAFER’s blog by Sarah M. in response to the Tribeca Film Festival’s ad campaign.

Excerpt from Sarah M.’s post: “…This ad for the festival, which I saw for the first time yesterday when it ran before the festival screening I was attending, plays to the tagline: “Think You’ve Seen It All In New York? Think Again.” Two women are walking through a park when a naked man in a trenchcoat suddenly exposes himself to them. While one woman is disgusted, the other is enticed by his naked body, asking him to lift up his coat and turn around, and even asks the flasher for a date. Now, I understand that this is supposed to be funny precisely because it’s not funny. The conceit is that flashing is disgusting and the audience is supposed to laugh at the absurdity of a woman actually getting her flasher’s number for a date, especially considering that he’s not exactly a “hunk.” OK, I get it. But still, still I am really angered by this ad…I am angry that whoever made the ad doesn’t really understand that in order for the ad to be ironic, people have to understand how completely disgusting street harassment is, and I’m sorry but I don’t think that people, in general, do.

Screen shot from ad
Screen shot from ad

I’m angry because the night before I saw this ad, this happened to me: walking from the subway to a friend’s house on an empty, but what I would consider to be a safe street, an older teenager on a bike was riding ahead of me. As I learned long ago to do when walking alone, I kept my eyes pointed straight ahead, glancing at the kid from the corner of my eye now and then just to keep tabs on his movements and proximity. At some point I could swear that I saw him take his penis out of his pants and start touching himself while operating his bike with one hand, but I thought I must be crazy and ignored it. Then he pulled up his bike a few feet in front of me, off to the side of the sidewalk so he wasn’t exactly blocking my path, and just stayed there silently as I passed. Trying to move fast and not make eye contact I again was pretty positive that this guy was sitting on his bike masturbating but I didn’t really want to look hard enough to confirm this. At this point I was almost at my friend’s house and he slowly followed me down the street on his bike, keeping his distance but definitely following. Finally he stopped across the street from my destination and waited there, definitely jerking off, still silent, until I got into the house.

I don’t think I need to explain how scary and disgusting this situation was. I was still somewhat upset by it by the time I arrived at the movie the next day only to see that festival ad. Just writing this makes me flush with anxiety again. What happened to me wasn’t funny, and even less funny is the fact that this stuff happens a lot more than people think. Perhaps men in trenchcoats aren’t walking around flashing all the time, but what about the guy on the subway who openly masturbates while a young woman sits across from him? What about this guy on the bike? These aren’t isolated events. Forgive me if I can’t find the humor there.”

What do you think? Do you agree with her that the ad was in poor taste or do you think it is funny, ironic, or edgy?

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Filed Under: street harassment Tagged With: ad campaign, flashing, masturbator, naked man, SAFER, sexual assault, street harassment, Tribeca Film Festival

Flashing in Film Festival’s Ad: Funny or Not?

April 27, 2009 By HKearl

I found this post on SAFER’s blog by Sarah M. in response to the Tribeca Film Festival’s ad campaign.

Excerpt from Sarah M.’s post: “…This ad for the festival, which I saw for the first time yesterday when it ran before the festival screening I was attending, plays to the tagline: “Think You’ve Seen It All In New York? Think Again.” Two women are walking through a park when a naked man in a trenchcoat suddenly exposes himself to them. While one woman is disgusted, the other is enticed by his naked body, asking him to lift up his coat and turn around, and even asks the flasher for a date. Now, I understand that this is supposed to be funny precisely because it’s not funny. The conceit is that flashing is disgusting and the audience is supposed to laugh at the absurdity of a woman actually getting her flasher’s number for a date, especially considering that he’s not exactly a “hunk.” OK, I get it. But still, still I am really angered by this ad…I am angry that whoever made the ad doesn’t really understand that in order for the ad to be ironic, people have to understand how completely disgusting street harassment is, and I’m sorry but I don’t think that people, in general, do.

Screen shot from ad
Screen shot from ad

I’m angry because the night before I saw this ad, this happened to me: walking from the subway to a friend’s house on an empty, but what I would consider to be a safe street, an older teenager on a bike was riding ahead of me. As I learned long ago to do when walking alone, I kept my eyes pointed straight ahead, glancing at the kid from the corner of my eye now and then just to keep tabs on his movements and proximity. At some point I could swear that I saw him take his penis out of his pants and start touching himself while operating his bike with one hand, but I thought I must be crazy and ignored it. Then he pulled up his bike a few feet in front of me, off to the side of the sidewalk so he wasn’t exactly blocking my path, and just stayed there silently as I passed. Trying to move fast and not make eye contact I again was pretty positive that this guy was sitting on his bike masturbating but I didn’t really want to look hard enough to confirm this. At this point I was almost at my friend’s house and he slowly followed me down the street on his bike, keeping his distance but definitely following. Finally he stopped across the street from my destination and waited there, definitely jerking off, still silent, until I got into the house.

I don’t think I need to explain how scary and disgusting this situation was. I was still somewhat upset by it by the time I arrived at the movie the next day only to see that festival ad. Just writing this makes me flush with anxiety again. What happened to me wasn’t funny, and even less funny is the fact that this stuff happens a lot more than people think. Perhaps men in trenchcoats aren’t walking around flashing all the time, but what about the guy on the subway who openly masturbates while a young woman sits across from him? What about this guy on the bike? These aren’t isolated events. Forgive me if I can’t find the humor there.”

What do you think? Do you agree with her that the ad was in poor taste or do you think it is funny, ironic, or edgy?

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Filed Under: street harassment Tagged With: ad campaign, flashing, masturbator, naked man, SAFER, sexual assault, street harassment, Tribeca Film Festival

Anti-Groping Subway Campaign on Hold

July 21, 2008 By HKearl

The wonderful ladies of HollaBackNYC wrote a great piece in the New York Daily News about the MTA’s anti-groping campaign going on hold apparently for fear of inadvertently encouraging more groping…

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“Someone at the MTA seems worried about exposing the dirty underbelly of the city’s transportation network. They’d rather ignore it – and hope that it’ll go away. That’s a little like hoping the rats on the tracks will vanish if we avert our eyes every time they rear their beady little eyes.

Subway ads will work. First and most importantly, they will formalize the idea that subway groping is unacceptable. That will lead New York City women, like their Boston counterparts, to feel comfortable in calling out lewd pervs on their behavior. A likely rise in the number of incidents reported will be something to celebrate – because it’ll mean a rise in the number of men caught in the act.”

Definitely read the full article, it’s a good one and if you live in NYC, have ever visited NYC and taken the subway, or are just passionate about ending street harassment, write to the MTA and ask that they run the subway ad campaign.

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Filed Under: Administrator Tagged With: ad campaign, Boston, hollaback, MTA, New York City, public transporatation, sexual asasult, sexual harassment, street harassment, subway, subway groping

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