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Dealing with men invading my personal space - getting fed up

1 reply

Requinblanc · 26/08/2020 16:24

Maybe I am being unreasonable, but I am getting seriously annoyed at men constantly invading my personal space and ignoring social distancing. I am also thinking that I am not dealing with it very well when it happens.

Yesterday, my first gym session since lock-down (I have a health condition and exercise helps keeping me mobile) ended in an argument because a guy invaded my space and came too close (almost touching) because he could not wait 2 minutes for me to finish cleaning up the machine I had just been on and wanted to grab the cleaning spray I was using .... I asked him to step back and respect social distancing and let me finish what I was doing and pointed that the gym had several sprays that he could use around the room, and that ended in a shouting match...

I had the same thing in a shopping centre and in the street this week when I was loaded with multiple bags with guys literally going out of their way to bump into me and block my way from the point of touching and then expect ME to move even if they see I am struggling with the stuff I am carrying.

Before that it was a drunk, mask-less, sweaty guy seating himself next to me on the London tube although I purposely asked him not to come that close. There was plenty of space for him to go somewhere else.

Then the reaction is the same when I object, a mouthful of abuse or threats...

I am really losing patience with men not only ignoring social distancing but somehow thinking that women have no right to personal space in public places.

I am a small, skinny woman and that happens when I am on my own so I think there is an element of them I am fair game to 'bully'.

How do you deal with this, because frankly I am at a point where I am simply going to avoid shops, gym and trains forever...or I am really doing something wrong to attract all those cavemen...

OP posts:
LumiPear · 26/08/2020 16:56

I did see a tshirt the other day that said something like Social Distancing and then underneath : if you can see this you're too close. It actually looked reasonably stylish and I was tempted!
You could go for a line of loud back off type t-shirts?!
You seem to be quite assertive if you've stood your ground and actually spoken up because many people would just back off anyway (me included).

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