Just been to an exercise class with a male instructor who made me feel very on edge and I thought was a bit inappropriate. I actually froze at one point.
Every time this sort of thing comes up on MN, I always tell people two things:
- Trust your gut instinct. It's shouting at you that something is wrong, so listen.
- If you feel unsafe but can't quite explain why, don't sit around waiting for a scientific explanation to prove something. The very fact that you feel something's wrong should be enough for you to decide to get away.
But afterwards, I somehow had to ask other women for their validation. I still had to start my sentence with "Maybe I'm overreacting, but..." The first woman said she hadn't felt at all unsafe and there was nothing to worry about. The second woman said she didn't think so at the time, but now that I'd mentioned it, she could see what I meant.
You know what? I felt uncomfortable in the class, and just because other people didn't, that doesn't mean I had nothing to worry about. I had the heebie-jeebies throughout the class and that should be enough.