The entire parking lot was staring…
While standing at redbox looking for movies with my small children, a 30ish man walked out of the grocery store and said “Hey, mommy, can I get some of that?” while eyeing me like a perv. RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY DAUGHTERS. I typically ignore, but at that moment, the mother lion came out. I chose to respond. “What in the world makes you think it is okay to, one, talk to me like that, and two, in front of my daughters. Do you have children? How would you feel if someone harassed them in the street the way you just did to me? Does this even work for you? Has any woman ever responded by saying, oh, sure, you can have some of this. Keep walking jerk.” When I looked around, the entire parking lot was staring and the troop leader of the girl scouts selling cookies outside started applauding.
When even the usual tactics don’t work.
9AM-ish. I decided not to bike because, well, it was cold.
There was only me and this young man on the platform. I was employing my usual tactics: podcasts, phone game, and of course the don’t-talk-to-me face.
The man walked up to me, stroked my arm, pulled one of my earbuds out and told me I was “beautiful” and “did anyone ever tell you that before?” asking me where I was going, if he could come too.
I froze.
The train was still 6 minutes away, and I said nothing, just put my earbud back in, and focused on This American Life.
The train got there. He followed me, and sat in front of me, just staring. The next stop I hopped out and got onto another car.
He didn’t follow me onto the other car.
Rage develops…
I’ve gotten it from all sides in the last two days. F*n street harassment. Because I have kids (and also, my mom would cut up in public, even if she was dead ass wrong, and embarrass me when I was a kid) I TRY not to have the gloves come off with other adults when there are children around. I’m not trying to traumatize anybody. Anyway, my voice was neutral and I asked two direct questions “Are you in line?” to the man’s wife, and “Is anyone working the register?” to the shopkeeper down the aisle in a store yesterday and this 6’3″ white dude made the “cat fight” sound. I assessed: a wife and kids. Then, I asked myself, should these people pay for the fact that their father is an idiot? TRUST ME, I had to PONDER it with intent…cuz, he stepped outside of the shop ahead of his family and was alone for like 2 minutes. I had three grocery bags and was truly strategizing how to get out of line and go outside. Then, I pictured jail because I was fired up. I also know that nobody would understand why I kicked a man in the balls after a cat noise. After all, it seems like a simple, harmless thing, doesn’t it? Rage develops in layers, ya’ll. AND I am always, ALWAYS amazed at how people never consider the possibility that I might be crazyasamfknbedbug.
Neighborhood slur
I just got called a faggot by my next door neighbor
no commentsI’m a 13 year old girl…
I’m a 13 year old girl. I was attacked and assaulted on Walnut Avenue. I was scared to death. I was waiting on my parents after a movie/date with a boy that I really liked. As I waited, the boy showed back up with 6 of his friends…the grabbed me and took me on the side of the building..they each proceeded to touch me and talk to me like I didn’t have feeling like I was nothing. It took everything in me to get away. I am so happy now though that they are locked up. I’m just terrified that it may happen again.
no commentsI love going downtown, but…
I’ve lived in Atlanta, Georgia for pretty much all of my life. I am originally from New York City. I love going downtown because I love to just hang out shop and eat, but in the summertime I really try to avoid going to the Underground Atlanta, as much as I love it. I just hate that you can’t shop in relax or eat in peace due to the men outside on the street selling drugs and trying to talk to you and grope you up…. trying to front in front of their friends….. Then certain ones get mad at you just because you don’t want to talk to them and they wanna call you all types of bitches and hoes. Or make you feel like they didn’t want you anyway.
no comments“Nobody can make me feel inferior without my permission.”
The first time I experienced institutionalized gender roles I was in elementary school, where the boys should have woodwork while girls should have hand work and learn to sew. This was obviously a relatively harmless segregation but it was still stupid.
I remember one of the teachers at my school. She was an old woman and a Christian-conservative. Once she held a moral preaching against gays and lesbians. Her argument was that homosexuality was against God’s will. Thus we pubescent children were stigmatized by an old hetero sexist idiot. But again – this was also relatively harmless. I knew I was bisexual and I knew I should not be ashamed.
When I was in high school I was often in town. I had a Queer Punk lifestyle. EVERY night I was in town to party and have fun with my friends, there were one or more idiots who laughed and yelled scornfully of me. I had a high Mohawk haircut, but it was not that, the idiots mocked. It was my eyeliner, mascara, or my tight pants. I was called “fucking gay, ugly homo” and asked: “Do you like anal sex”?
Well, hallooo! Do we know each other, since you are asking me about such a private thing? Fucking jerks!
Often I ignored them, but sometimes I replied “Yes, I love to fuck boys in their asses!” or started to kiss one of my male friends.
An evening some of my friends and I walked through the city, three peers (20 years) yelled “omg, you’re ugly!” Calmly I went to them and asked what their problem was. They commented on my make-up, called me ugly thing. One of them spat on the ground in front of me. I said, “Screw you!” I turned around and was about to go. One of the idiots hit me in the back of my head. I ignored it and wanted to get away from there. Some of my friends (who were gays) did see it. Immediately they went towards the idiots and got them chased away.
I think it’s funny when people claim that all gays are wimpy and can’t fight. These gays COULD fight, and the condescending violent hetero-sexist bastards ran away when they saw my gay friends come against them. After that we just laughed, went to a bar and had fun the rest of the night.
Take care of each other!
Let never an idiot tell you you’re ugly, wrong, immoral, disgusting or abnormal.
Nobody can make me feel inferior without my permission.
“I couldn’t even report back to work because I couldn’t focus.”
Like a month an a half ago I was at H E Holmes train station. I was coming from my mother’s house on the way to my home. The #3 bus is the bus I usually take to get home and the bus was sitting at the train station. I didn’t have a bus schedule so I asked the bus driver how long do he have before he pulls off. He replied in a very rude way, “I have 9 inches” and grabbed his private part. I felt so violated and scared. I replied, “Sir what’s wrong with you? Are you drunk or something?” He replied, “You said How long do I have, I said 9 inches.” I was so embarrassed and shocked that a Marta bus driver would say such a thing. I reported him to a supervisor and she said she’s going to take action. Then about a week later I got a call from Marta telling me that the situation was handled. The bus driver is now no longer a employee there. I felt relieved but still violated. Why did they even hire a person like that anyway? Me being so embarrassed and hurt, I couldn’t even report back to work cause I couldn’t focus. The only thing that was in my head was that the bus driver told me something real rude and i cant get over it.
