street harassment Archives | Page 136 of 212

“I’m not your babygirl!”

April 6, 2010 By Contributor

It seems like the warm weather has brought these harassing-cretins out of hiding!

I was walking to pick up my lunch and I walk past this worker standing by a truck. This fool leans back on his truck and watches me walk! It was disgusting. He didn’t care that he was on the clock!

I decided to snap as many photos as possible—one of the “How’s my driving?” tracking number, one of his truck’s license plate, and another of him (and he actually posed for the photo—LOSER!).

And now that I know about the new YouTube channel, I decided to get a video of him as well.

The quality of the video’s not great and you can hear me more than you can hear him, but I pretty much tell him that what he did was tacky and that I was reporting him. He didn’t care! He said to go ahead and report him and he couldn’t stop smiling. Unbelievable. You can tell by my voice that I was incensed.

***

The second incident was after I picked up my lunch. I was heading back to work and this loser with three teeth in his mouth who was smoking a cigarette and walking his bike referred to me as “Babygirl” like it’s my damn name. When I told him “I’m not your babygirl!” he got aggressive.

“I don’t give a FUCK what your name is!” he snapped.
“And I don’t give a FUCK that you want to talk to me!” I snapped back.

I then decided to catch him on my cell phone with a video, and followed him as he continued to call me names and kept telling me to “go FUCK yourself! Fuck you, bitch!” People who watched this happening thought it was funny and laughed. Yeah, sure. It’s your entertainment but it’s my agony.

He then hops on his bike and rides off, with me yelling “Don’t worry, I got you on video!” Well, I had him on video. I pressed the “BACK” button on my phone instead of the “OK” button, which cancels the filming. So I erased that toothless harasser’s video, feeling completely stupid. The back-to-back harassment had me so riled up that I couldn’t think straight.

I’m shaking at my desk back at work as I type this, with no way to release the anger and stress I feel. (My co-workers are looking at me as if I’ve lost it. They don’t know what I constantly go through.)

I am tired of these men reducing me to an object to leer at. I’ve had it.

– Anonymous

Locations: Incident 1: Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC
Incident 2: Canal Street & Thomas Jefferson Street

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

“My name is not ‘Dreads’!”

April 6, 2010 By Contributor

Friday evening after work I decided to walk home. On the route home I bought a nice little cactus from a florist in Rosslyn.

On the street was a disheveled-looking guy. His hair was a mess and he had on a bright yellow shirt that looked covered in stains. He ignores everyone else but had to say “How ya doin’, baby?” to me. (Why me?) After what seemed to be a week free from any type of harassment or commentary, this annoyed me.

“I’m not your baby!” I snapped.

“Sorry, ‘Dreads’,” this loser then said, as if that were my name. I hate these men who reduce me to my hair and my body parts!

“My name is not ‘Dreads’!” I replied. “Leave women you don’t know alone! Don’t say a word to them!”

He mumbled something but I didn’t stop to find out what that was. I didn’t bother to take a photo either because I wasn’t in the mood. The nice weather somewhat kept me from losing it altogether, because if it didn’t I would’ve smashed that cactus in his ugly face!

– anonymous

Location: Wilson Blvd at N. Nash Street, Arlington, VA

Share your videos

April 5, 2010 By HKearl

There are a growing number of anti-street harassment vidoes and documentaries out there. They are powerful in showing the faces and voices of both perpetrators and targets of street harassment.

One of my friends and loyal blog readers set up a Stop Street Harassment YouTube channel over the weekend. She’s marked several street harassment video clips as “favorites” and did the leg work to make it look nice. (Thanks!)

Now, we’d love for you all to add your videos about street harassment. The video clip could be you sharing your thoughts/experiences about street harassment, it could be a harasser you captured on video, or it could be a clip of a documentary or PSA you’re creating on the topic. And if you know about any street harassment video clips not included in the favorite section, let me know!

Because I don’t want trolls and haters to be able to post videos, please contact me if you have one to post and I’ll give you the info on how.

Let’s articulate and show why street harassment is demeaning, disrespectful, annoying and scary!

“Yet again. It never f***ing stops.”

April 5, 2010 By Contributor

I was walking in the early evening in the east village of Manhattan, on an upscale, populated street. In my usual defensive street manner, I was walking quickly, I was not smiling, and I was not making eye contact with anyone on the street.

I passed a man who I didn’t look at and then heard from behind me, “Hey, you got a nice ass.” I stopped and turned around, I had enough that day. This happens everyday, sometimes twice or three times a day. This comment was particularly rude and blatantly disrespectful, and I didn’t want to ignore it anymore.

I yelled at him and told him to shut up and that he was being disrespectful, he yelled at me and called me a bitch, saying “I got a right to like a big fat ass.”

I took the high road on the fat ass comment, and said, “Some women may have been sexually assaulted or raped, and they don’t like being talked to like that.” (I have been sexually assaulted).

He said, “All you gotta do is tell me that.”

Oh, so my preemptive opener for any man should be, “I’ve been assaulted, do not talk to me.”

Yes, I was upset and yelling at him, but I was trying to explain something too, that he could have learned something from. Clearly I had no effect on him whatsoever, since when I turned around and walked away, he said, “You still got a nice ass though.”

He had to have the last word, didn’t he. One more time to assert his power, knowing that I was visibly upset and could not turn around again.

Evey day [I am harassed]. Every single day without fail. I’m so tired of it. I don’t know what I can do. I feel totally helpless and unable to enjoy being outside. I am afraid when I see men coming toward me on the street. I am afraid they are going to touch me or speak to me. When they’re walking toward me I am saying to myself “please don’t look at me, please don’t say anything.” This is no way to live! I am worried about how this is really affecting me. Any advice on how to deal with this or what I can do would be appreciated.

– Amie B.

Location: East Village, NYC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

Weekly Round Up April 4, 2010

April 4, 2010 By HKearl

Stories:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

On this blog, a woman in Kentucky told how a man tried to walk with her and her friends, a man in Bavaria, Germany, calls a woman a “fat cow,” a woman in London shares three street harassment recollections, and a woman in Virginia tells how a man harassed her while she was running.
On HollaBack NYC a woman shares how a man masturbated at her on the R subway train and she reported him to the police and a male ally spotted a man harassing women walking by while wearing his work uniform so the male ally is going to report him to his company.
On HollaBack DC! a man harasses a woman while she waits for the light to change, another man progresses from catcalling a woman on the street to stalking her in a store, and another woman got an apology from a harasser when she told him she didn’t like what he was saying.
On HollaBack Toronto, a woman tells how a man followed her after work.

In the News:

Rape reports on the Washington, DC, metro system got “lost in the shuffle”
“The nightmare of sexual harassment in Egypt“
“In Mideast countries, women feel safer in ‘pink taxis’“
AAUW’s blog Dialog has a guest post from HollaBack DC! about the history of street harassment activism in Washington, DC

Announcements:

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Here are 10 activism ideas for how you can raise awareness about this widespread problem and/or help raise funds for preventative programs and resources for survivors.
Take two street harassment surveys and help researchers studying this problem.
The submission deadline for an anthology on Queering Sexual Violence is extended until May 1, 2010.
The Safe Delhi Campaign is looking for volunteers and interns.
Blank Noise in India is looking for new logo submissions
If you’re interested in becoming a RightRides driving team volunteer, email volunteer@rightrides.org – orientations will be occuring throughout April.
HollaBack NYC is looking for volunteers with various skill sets to help them take their work to the next level.
Share why you “Holla Back” for the HollaBack NYC website.

Events:

If you’re in the Washington, DC, area, HollaBack DC! is hosting or participating in several events across the next few weeks, check out the info on their site.
Sign up for Washington, DC, based Defend Yourself’s annual class on dealing with street harassers, being held on May 22.

Resource of the Week:

SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape) for the amazing work they are doing to make campuses safe for everyone. They have resources for: college students, alumni, parents of college students, and faculty/staff. Check out their very informative blog, Change Happens.

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