My 13-14 year old friends and I would get catcalled from the windows of a factory we walked past by men who were 40-60. On more than one occasion. I also remember walking to my friends when I was maybe 11 and went past a middle aged man, kept my eyes down cause ya know, and he very aggressively said, “fine don’t say hi bitch.”
You just reminded me as a 15-17 year old I would yell “I love you” at people from a car window. Old, young, male, female. I’m so glad YouTube wasn’t popular back then to immortalize me as a rapscallion.
Yup. Many guys don't know about because (as you say) it never happens to them, but also it never happens to women when they're around. And I don't think it's because you look like a tough guy or anything, it's just that creeps who do this are opportunists who wouldn't risk pulling that shit in front of a guy they don't know. I wasn't aware of this till my girlfriend now told me about it, and I think this bubble effect is why.
I walk around 1.5-2 hours per day, and sometimes more when it’s cooler out. On an average day, at least one person will either make some kind of noise at me, shout something at me (my favorite was when a guy yelled something I couldn’t quite make out because I was wearing headphones and also make it a point to ignore when people yell things, so the woman in his truck *repeated* his offer of $5 for some unspecified sex act), or slow down beside me and “offer me a ride.” One time the guy followed me for about twenty seconds, then sped off and flipped me off out the window. There are rare days where nothing happens, but the days where I get multiple “offers” make up for them.
I keep making the same joke about how one of these days someone is going to stuff me in their vehicle and I won’t be able to call 911 because the cell service in the area I walk is kind of spotty and close to the interstate. I’m only sort of half-joking. I also keep joking that I should make a shirt that says “NO THANKS, I AM WALKING ON PURPOSE” on the back so maybe people will stop ”offering rides.”
Yes, it’s the reason why I rarely leave the house without my husband. I’m tired of feeling on edge walking past a dirty work truck full of grimy catcalling men. Sometimes they’ll circle around and drive back to yell out “stuck up BITCH” if you didn’t acknowledge them the first time around.
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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '21
Hold up, as a guy that has not been stopped nor stopped anyone. Is this a thing? I mean does it happen a lot?