A man just shouted at me in the street

[Dallia]

“Why are you wearing a curtain?”

I kind of smiled awkwardly and carried on crossing the road to him shouting “oi, you, I’m talking to you!”

I was absolutely mortified, lots of people were watching but no one said anything.

Why do people do this? He seemed like a “normal person” and it was really intimidating. He turned back to look and I thought he was going to start following me. Has anyone ever had weird random things shouted at them in the street, or is it just me

For the record I was wearing a stripy maxi dress as I was on my way to get a spray tan. Really wish I’d had a witty comeback.

I once had a guy lean out of a car and shout "nice tits!" At me.... I was seriously pissed off already that day and without skipping a beat I shouted back "Same to you mate!"
His mates roared with laughter.
I was both proud and scared...

kevinkeeganlovesme: "Yes I have to say I've never experienced anything even approaching the anger, disgust, ridicule and sexual harassment in the US that I did in the UK"
Exactly the same here: except it's Ireland not the US.

haha just read the willy willy willy thread - trying to keep a straight face at work (open plan). I'm going to have to google john travolta now! haha

I only got through the first few pages and it seems to be only men shouting abuse at women. I have had my fair share of ‘nice tits’ ‘smile luv’ and so on but my most bizarre one was from a woman! On holiday walking along a beach this girl shouts at me if I’m a man. Wtf ? Jealousy or a dare, I don’t know but I know it was bs as I’ve always being told I was pretty but still, it was upsetting. Women can be idiots too.

*@VladmirsPoutine Sorry for the late reply.

New recruits: Many new people of both sexes have already had experience in this matter so It's nothing new to them, sadly. But yes, they need to have rhino skin. We ring the police every time to report, then follow up with an incident report.

I was at a trade show (largely male industry) and stopped in the hotel bar for a nightcap after dinner out. A man wearing his company's polo shirt recognized me from the trade organization I represent and waved me over to his table. He ordered me a glass of wine, we chatted a bit, then he suggested we continue upstairs in his room. I stared at him, gobsmacked, and said absolutely not.He kept pushing the issue, getting louder, so I, at full volume, invited him to leave the establishment and keep going, or I would have him escorted out. Dropped a few names of upper management at his company. He persisted, so I went to the bartender, who was aware of the situation by then, and asked him to have security escort me to my room. Idiot guy was still rambling on at his table about what a bitch I was. On my way out, I told him if I ever saw him again and if he ever spoke to me again I would report him to his superiors. Security took me to my room, where I promptly lost it. What if I'd been drunk/less in control? Fortunately I had my wits about me, but what a stupid git to try something like that with someone who is fairly well known in the industry that employs him! Probably has a tiny little knob.

Want to do something about this? Here is your opportunity.

The House of Commons' Women's and Equalities Committee is holding an inquiry into the sexual harassment of women and girls in public places. Submissions need to be made by 5 March 2018.

Google Womens and Equalities Committee and you will get their web page.

Try to put it behind you.

More than anything don't let it knock your self confidence.

He is probably ill or suffering from a mental health condition.

I'm interested to know which mental health condition is causing this epidemic of men to treat women like shit..

He is probably ill or suffering from a mental health condition.
Some such men MAY be suffering from mental illness, but the probability lies firmly in the camp of them just being moronic men.

I've worked with these men, I know such men. They aren't suffering from any mental illness other than being completely oblivious to the effect this has on women, how stupid they look, and how desperate for attention they can get when resorting to this stuff - usually to impress their peers with their wit and charm (of which they exhibit none).

Sometimes, men are just so utterly crass and ape-like.

Ignoring it is certainly a solution I can sympathise with for a woman, but the more other men stand by and let it happen, the more they are part of the problem.

www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/women-and-equalities-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/sexual-harassment-public-places-17-19/

Submit here

Want to do something about this? Here is your opportunity.
*
The House of Commons' Women's and Equalities Committee is holding an inquiry into the sexual harassment of women and girls in public places. Submissions need to be made by 5 March 2018.

Google Womens and Equalities Committee and you will get their web page*

All of this ^^

Never had too much of whats described - though lots of angry male tailgaters/drivers (occasionally women). I really do with they would fuck off.

The only time in UK something similar happened to me was Brighton sea front. I was walking along the kerb with my toddler in his pram. And some vile young men either threw something out of the window at me (water?) or just screamed at me. It was really shocking, as I didn't know them, and they had just done it for "kicks".

In Tunisia a few years later, two Tunisian men verbally attacked me in the street in the most vicious and appalling way. I was alone with my 6 year old boy walking to the shop. It was very, very nasty and very, very scary, completely out of the blue and irrational, total bastards.

do wish

In my teens and 20's I frequently got the "cheer up love, it might never happen", cos obviously I was only walking in public as an adornment for men and my scowl personally offended them.
And once a man shouted at me "you're gonna get raped tonight" when I was on my way home from an office job.
Can't recall a woman ever shouting at me.

Lots of tit comments I am short, blonde with large breasts. One of the worst comments though was when I was 17 going home from college I got on the bus and found an empty seat next to a woman in her twenties the next minute her boyfriend got on the bus he'd got off to get some money from the cash machine and got back on. She hadn't said anyone was sitting in the seat, he stood really close next to me as I was next to the aisle. Her boyfriend started to say things about my appearance called me names and saying is it a boy or girl I can't tell it's a boy the girlfriend laughed I sat there not saying anything just quietly dieing inside. The bus was packed which made it worse plus her laughing made it seem true. It really affected my confidence and self esteem and I still remember it now 27 years later.

Last year I was walking back from my stable yard to train station. Rural, very naice part of Kent, nobody around, poorly lit road at night. A white van pulled up beside me with two men in it and driver wound down window. I stopped, assuming they were going to ask directions. The driver then went to me "excuse me, could you tell us the way to the nearest brothel?" They then sped off laughing.

I've had my fair share of horrible, sexist comments over the years, but that one really REALLY got to me. I shook all the way back to London. There was something about the sheer nastiness of targeting a woman walking on her own at night like that that really got to me. The mentality of men that would do that just made me so angry!

I also had a classic "cheer up, it might never happen" from a man in the street not long ago. The look on his face when I responded with "go fuck yourself" was priceless. He was just completely gobsmacked. He tried to respond, but he was so outraged the words wouldn't even come out properly

I have two three particularly awful ones.

At uni I was walking home through the city centre in daylight listening to iPod. Busy high street, two men coming my way, did that thing where you aren't sure which side to pass, but then they started laughing & blocked my path. I panicked as I couldn't hear what they were saying and tried to push past them, at which point one of them put his hand on my boob! Without even thinking a single thought I hit him around the side of his face harder than I've ever hit anything in my life. He went purple and scuttled off, I was shaking all the way to police station- who didn't take me seriously at all btw!

The other one was on lunch break at work I was walking down the street daydreaming and it was sunny and a lovely day, I must've been smiling in the street (big mistake!). A man walking behind me started to make lewd comments (at first I didn't hear what or realise he was talking to me) and I obviously ignored him but then he started to say things like " I know you can hear me " and saying that because I had been smiling I had a "filthy smirk and you like it" he continued to walk behind me like this for a while, it was horrific

The third was when I was fifteen and I was actually followed and grabbed by a man in Waterloo station. I pretended to agree to go for coffee with him and then ran away and told the police. He had gotten the same train as me for a week and stared at me very intrusively, kept trying to talk to me, then this happened.

When I was 14 I woke up one morning and it was as a flashing sign had been put above my head... Literally overnight I started getting hassled by men constantly. I've been flashed at, groped on buses, followed, and shouted at. It was terrifying and confusing and then quickly became normal. Many of my female friends at school experienced similar and we would swap stories, but I seemed to have a particularly bad time of it.

Now I'm nearly 40 I am pretty much invisible . I look back in horror at how many men felt the impulse to publically harass and occasionally even assault a schoolgirl. It was endemic.

I think from reading this thread there are somethings we could be doing to protect ourselves from theses men. If we want to be safer we should not - go jogging, ride a bike, bend over, have breasts, walk in the street, wear clothes, not wear clothes, walk by ourselves at any time of the day in any place, be attractive, be unattractive, listen to music, drive a car, walk near white van or in a path or next to roads, be on busses, look in any way that a man does not/ does want us to look, be near any man. I think if we don’t follow this advice we have to take some responsibility for what happens to us and accept we probably wanted it.

I had it the worst age 13-30. Now I think I give off too many angry feminist vibes I'm much more confident and don't care about being polite (a lot of these men get away with this because females are conditioned to be polite & helpful). No way do I stop to talk to any man in the street, yes they might be asking for directions, but they are probably just being an arsehole.

Or maybe because I don't look that "young" anymore. Men (most of them, blah blah) are just gross really aren't they.

Sorry, it’s not just men. I was running and passed a woman who laughed to her mates and asked them did they see my ‘camel toe’. Mortified doesn’t come close. I was with a friend at the time and we just carried on. As soon as we were out of view I (we) checked and there was absolutely no sign of any camel toe...though even if there was what kind of person would point it out?!

DH got a comment from a woman last night when he was out running with a friend. He thus concludes that women are every bit as bad as men and that men are equally hassled.