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.

What's intereseting is what happens when as a 14 year old in school uniform, who has been harrased by builders on her route to school everyday, starts yelling "nice arse!" at the top of her lungs back at them . I almost miss the days when I got whistled at just for the sight of a group of older men nervously checking their backsides

Well I sent my e-mail to ITV so I will wait and see.

Thanks for putting that clip up Turnips. Even worse than i first thought now ive seen the way he emphasized his point. Laura was fantastic though.

Is there a campaign like the 'call this number if I am driving badly' one for sexual harassment on building sites? If not can we have one please, thank you.

Essentially he's been promoted beyond his abilities. He knows about gardening, should stick to TV shows focused on that and not be let loose on any other subject matter.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention op. I've just watched the YouTube video of it someone posted earlier and I'm going to email ITV as well. Disgusting man. It was strange how aggressive his tone of voice got there.

Laura Bates is brilliant, so intelligent and articulate. I haven't heard of Kathy Lette before but I thought her job interview story was great!

Haven't read the entire thread, but to the people that say that young girls shouldn't dress like that, I agree but the trouble is that at thirteen it is really important to a girl to dress fashionably. I've been the worst slob for most of my adult life, but even I had to wear mini-skirts when I was thirteen.

Like some other posters, I got hassled the most as a teen and pre-teen when wearing my school uniform. And I've always looked young for my age.l

I suppose it was a bit unreasonable for me to have walked to and from school though.. The poor, adult men obviously couldn't control their hormones... They must have all been on their period or something.

Either that or they mistook 11-16 year old me, in my ugly, brown, loose-fitting uniform, for an Ann Summers "sexy school girl" model.

Just watched YouTube clip

I hear you AT loud and clear

vile man and wtf was Nick Ferrari talking about about it going to far the other way what is this fear of it going to far the other way that females may just be equal one day and not have to put up with shit

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

I stopped getting so much harassment when I was in my mid to late 20's funny that was when I stopped looking like a teenager

The last scary case of harrassment i encountered was in a corner shop. I was wearing black flat black boots, a red dress that came to my knees, with below the elbow sleeves and a slash neck. I was showing my face and forearms. In a s4hop, full of people, a man grabbed me and tried to kiss me. His reason? The sight of my shaved head and pink mohawk was clearly too tempting.

I told my 15 year-old niece on Sunday to go and change her denim hotpants as her arse was literally hanging out. If I had a nephew and he was wearing that absurd jeans-around-the-arse-with-undies-on-show look I would also tell him to go and rethink his wardrobe. If my DP suddenly lost his marbles and went to the shop topless I would quite possibly leave him.

Freudian, if you had ever been to a Pride march you would see plenty of lecherous men shouting sexual obscenities at teenage lads.

I have been to pride events not something I have witnessed that is not to say that I do not beeline you

My point is that society has accepted that men can make sexual remarks to females even young teenagers without being frowned on its just what some do if a young teenage boy were to pass a group of men and receive sexual comments shouted at them it would be very much frowned on they would be considered perverts because a young teenage boy would not be asking for that sort of attention

Do you think AT would reply in the same way or manner if these comments were made about boys and young men

Believe you .....

I love getting whistled at - makes my day :-)

I cringe when women say this.

How hard up for compliments are you, that a wolf while from a faceless random 'makes your day'?

Being surreptitiously checked out by a good looking man makes my day. Being whistled at by a knuckle-dragger and his oafish mates, who've also whistled at every other woman and girl that's walked past ... not so much.

AT, as it goes, is a complete and utter arse.

What baffles me is the reaction I've had when I've shoued "fuck off" or similar to a cat caller.

A few had the cheek to look affronted and say "there's no need to be rude love"

Hypocritical much?

Anyway, there's every need to be rude IMO

All this focus on what a woman is wearing...Interesting how my husband manages to walk to and from work every day without harrassing or assaulting girls. Anyone would think it's got something to do with the type of man....

'No need to be rude love' - dear me! Hard of thinking much?! Just shows what sort of muppets we're dealing with here

Daisy chain, I'm afraid I cringe for you too.

BeattieBow: "It doesn't take much to draw unwanted attention to yourself. In fact, all it takes is to be female and in a public place."

Haven't read the whole thread but this sums it up for me. When I was a teenager, I used to get whistled at regardless of what I was wearing - and this was the 70s, so generally what I was wearing was jeans and a top. Or maybe a skirt and a top. Men use wolf-whistling and catcalling as a way of humiliating and controlling women. It's nothing to do with what they're wearing.

I've never seen that happen to children at pride either but the point is, if it did, AT wouldn't be saying they deserved it, and worse, because of their clothes. It happens to girls all the fucking time, not at some annual event that they could avoid and it happens in their school uniforms or jeans or shorts and vest tops and they are told it's their fault for provoking it by adult men who should know better. Nobody ever tells boys that they should expect to be catcalled if they go out 'dressed like that'.

I have always dressed appropriately in public - I had ultra conservative parents and I'm very shy and a bit self concious.

In my teen I wore very baggy clothes - to try and hide.

I still got inappropriate comments - and wool whistles.

My crime was large breasts from an early age - nothing I could do about that.

I wasn't the only one freaked out by the attention - my parents were too - as clothing covers didn't work then next stop was to keep me at home as much as possible. My brother and younger sister who didn't have same body shape as me - were given so much more freedom. Meant I really wasn't at all street wise at 18 at University and it did imply in my mind that there was something wrong with me.

While some outfits are very revealing - teens and women should be able to walk around unmolested - because it's not a huge step from going from there to then body shape - and then it burkas or not going out.

This behaviour has gotten much less as I have aged ( though I still got it togged up in suits that played down my body shape in my late 20's ) - likely because I've aged but I can't help thinking it's also partly because I look less vulnerable.

I also think there is a huge difference with discretely checking someone out very possible meaning person of interest is unaware or can ignore and woof whistling and lewd comments that intimidate a passer by.

So YANBU

Off on a tangent here and completely irrelevant but...

There is criticism of AT on here for his ill informed, judgemental views. Some of it is personal (I know because I posted some).

There was criticism of Kirstie Allsop a few days ago for ill informed, judgemental views. That also contained personal criticism. It was pulled instantly.

Why the difference? The KA thread criticised her views on older mother, careers, homework etc, all of which are relavnt to the MN demographic. This thread is obviously also relevant. Both contained personal criticisms.

I did experience in in my school uniform - as well - and I've seen it happen to young teens in their school uniforms.

Haven't RTFT or had my morning coffee yet so this may get ranty - but I will say that the most I have ever been sexually harrassed was whilst wearing my (very frumpy) school uniform aged 11-16. And these days, I get the most unwanted attention when wearing a suit going to and from work. So this has happened when I'm not dressing to 'attract sexual attention' and in both situations it's clearly about power: to intimidate and embarrass me as a child and now, to intimidate and 'put me in my place' as a business woman.
A young teen wearing shorts and a crop top should NOT have to just accept this, and most likely is not trying to attract sexual attention. The transition from child into teenager can be awkward and painful enough, why should part of that be because they now have to modify their clothing choices to prevent male attention? Attention which will happen regardless of what they wear!
Anyway, I've gone on. It just irritates me so much that women and girls are still forced to make decisions and considerations about their safety every day, which men and boys by and large do not! Whether tiny skirts and crop tops look good or not is a completely separate issue to whether wearing them means you should expect sexual harrassment! I'm a comfy maxi skirt kinda girl but I will defend to the death every female's right to wear a bum-skimmer!

Oh gosh that post really did go on. (Slinks off to get much-needed coffee)

The AT comments are so dated and shocking that I can't quite believe this is real ITV viewing in 2014. I half expect him to say, 'AHA!'....