To tell you all what Alan Titchmarch thinks of 12-15 year old girls who dress 'inappropriately'

[RiffyWammal]

I'm so angry. On his show today in a discussion about sexual harassment and sexism he said something really vile. I will transcribe what he said exactly;

"A lot of 12, 13, 14, 15 year old girls are now walking down the street barely covered. I see crop tops on girls of 12 and skirts up here, in a way now I hate to say that thing which men say 'they are asking for it' but it strikes me that if a girl of 14 walks past a building site in a crop top and short skirt she's probably going to get whistled at and worse."

I'm disgusted as was Laura Bates from Everyday Sexism who stayed remarkably controlled as she countered this. The victim blaming, the implication that girls should jolly well cover up if they don't want to be harrassed, the attitude of 'how else do we expect men to react if they see a girl's legs and belly'? I could hardly believe my ears. The audience applauded him FFS

I think I am going to make a complaint to ITV. I just wanted to bring it to the attention of anyone else who might wish to do the same.

There is a clip of the late Kate O Mara on The Word (loved her) talking about her sexual assault at the hands of a producer or director (cant remember which. And the audience laughing. It was filmed in 1995.

Here we are now 19 years later and fuck all has changed attitude wise. Disappointing and incredibly disturbing.

darkesteyes WTF is wrong with people.

Was she saying it jokey / making light of it or was it just 1995 sexual assault = hilarious.?

Found the clip.

I'm surprised at nothing that happened on The Word, tbh.

It was a show where people would 'do anything to be on tv' - remember the guy who snogged a granny, practically shoving his tongue into her mouth? The one who ate pubes on a cracker?

Fucking disgusting.

Ugh Whisk Id forgotten that.

I've seen that Kate O'Mara clip many times.

The audience is not up for something serious and takes its cue from Terry Christian, who makes light of it.

He should have handled it better, but TBF to Christian, I think he was broadsided by it, was inexperienced and that wasn't the tenor of the show.

He's been traduced but I like him.

Like O'Mara was on that casting couch, he was baffled and did the best that he could.

"1995 sexual assault = hilarious"

The summer of 1995 was boiling. Crop tops ahoy.

I had to look traduced up

Who has been saying what about him then? I must have missed that but I am rubbish at sleb gossip.

"I have caught myself having to look twice at a group of girls and work out if they are school children or over 16 college students"

Because you were trying to sell them alcohol? Or judge whether they were an appropriate age to be sexually harassed?

LOL at "I have caught myself having to look twice at a group of girls and work out if they are school children or over 16 college students"

Were you trying to decide age-appropriate cat calls? Would you have yelled at them if they'd been over 16?

Oops, x-post - great minds think alike

...and if they are wearing make up how the hell are builders supposed to know how old they are from a distance.

The idea that men don't do it at all, really is completely unfathomable to some.

How do you change attitudes likes this?

"I wonder how society would view men that shouted sexually remarks to teenage boys "

I used a similar tact when discussing rape and sexual harassment with an older man I know. He was talking about how it was acceptable for the girls in his office to get the bums pinched/slapped etc. he seemed to think they liked it. I explained that they probably hated it but didn't know how to deal with it back then as they were young and the men were older and their superiors - it had honestly never occurred to him that they felt like this.

I also asked him how he would have felt to get his arse grabbed by another man (you know a sexual assault) - ah but this was different as it was a man and obviously it's not so bad to get your arse grabbed by a man if you are a girl. Never occurred to him that getting your arse grabbed is horrible, intimidating and humiliating no matter who is doing the grabbing. Hopefully I made him think a bit but not holding my breath.

Humans look at other humans and assess their potential as possible mates, that's natural and never going to change.

But there is no need to comment out loud, touch or whistle.

I wouldn't embarrass the very good looking (young enough to be my DS) lad in our off licence with some vulgar comment, why should a 45y bloke think it's OK to do that to a young woman?

YANBU OP. Hopefully most men don't actually fancy teenagers and preteens let alone want to sexually harrass them.

I'm not sure about the don't fancy.

Simple biology means that men have alway seeked out young, healthy, fertile mates. While a woman looks for a older strong man who can provide for her children.

So no, I don't think they have the same instant, far too young, reaction a woman might.

I can't see how older age in a man is a benefit biologically. They would have needed to run, and a 20 year old is faster than a 40 year old.

Experience and proven worth as a passer-on of genes and provider for the clan/family/pack/whatever?

Perhaps the older 'leader' male figure just gets to sit about smoking his pipe, figuratively speaking, while the younger fitter ones hunt and gather and guard him from danger.

Simple biology eh?

Girls get harassed in their uniforms, some not even old enough to get pregnant let alone carry one successfully. And even if they could, you don't need to leer at them

I manage to avoid sexually harassing all these older men who could so provide for my children.

Also doesn't sperm decline with age? even though we only tell older women about all the defects that come with age

Looking and harassing are a totally different matter.

It's impossible and daft to suggest that all of us don't look at other human beings and pass judgement on what we see.

Clearly men opening their big mouths and commenting is all kinds of wrong.

As soon as you make another human being aware you are looking at them, you have a duty to do so in a polite none threatening way.

Saying, Hi, good morning, exchanging a smile or a nod. These things oil our daily lives. They acknowledge we are all humans sharing the same space.

Stupid jokes, sexist comments etc. do not do not signal shared humanity, they indicate a man thinking of the women just as an object without feelings. Less than or, at least not the same, as them.

I don't believe for a second that men who harass women and girls on the street are doing it because they fancy them. They know it doesn't 'work' in the sense of getting them a date or a shag or anything. It just gives them a power trip.

I agree, MrSheen.

The best quote I ever read about rape (and applies to harassment too) was along the lines of
"if you are promoting changes to women's behaviour or clothing to "prevent rape" what you are really saying is rape the other girl"

It has stuck with me so much, and it's the same for harassment (change rape for harassment)

I'm sure this sensible advice on preventing rape could be extended to preventing sexual harassment somehow.