Men DO NOT have right of way!

[CalmDownCats]

Has anyone else noticed this?

Since around my mid-40s I've noticed that, in particular older men my age or above, just barge straight towards me and expect me to get out of their way.

Since realising this seemed to actually be a thing, I now just hold my ground and keep going. I sometimes even get silly, smirky looks from them as they go around me, as if they know exactly what they are doing.

It's usually older guys, never really younger ones.

Is this just me or does it happen to others too? Is it something that's always happened to middle aged ladies or just a sign of the times?

I used to do that but now I’m more inclined to accelerate a bit and take the lead - it also makes it clearer all round I think who should pass which side if you move in a (sensibly) assertive way.

It's definitely a thing in London, but not here in Oxford. Where have you noticed it?

I just stop dead if someone is coming towards me and looks like they will bump into me.

Of course you don't get it, you're a bloke ffs. Jesus, are you really here telling all these women that they're wrong somehow 🙈

My favourite example was me running down the stairs at the train station as I was desperate to not miss my train. Some bloke who was coming up the stairs wouldn't get out of the way, (despite technically being on the wrong side.) As this was 2016 and I was in my 20s, it's definitely not the preserve of older women, or older men as he looked like he was in his 30s. I've got more bolshy as I've got older. Now I have a pram as well. I will run you over. I've had people trying to walk through said pram as well. You can't exactly miss it! It's a Cosatto one (my friend gave it to me) with a nice pattern on it.

Sounds like a sharp “accidental” tap on the ankle with your stick would go down a treat

Always called it 'pavement chicken' after reading this very good blog.

Revolutionary and so true!

mathbabe.org/2015/06/24/i-play-chicken-with-men-on-the-street/

Oh yes. It is endemic I'm afraid.

I employ the Stop And Suddenly Search technique. Or SASS for short.

You just come to an abrupt halt in their path as if unaware of their presence. You can then choose from a list of imaginary things you are pretending to do, such as consult your watch or phone, gaze in a shop window, tie a shoelace or rummage in your bag.

They can't mow you down, so they have to go round you.

SASS - yes, I do that too. Also useful when someone's following too closely, or they decide to walk along beside you.

@Foolsgold74 ,

Well, yes, I am.

But not because I am a man or because I am ‘mansplaining’ , but because I have made a logical argument. Anyone can do that, in the same way as a female doctor is not femmesplaining when she talks about prostate cancer or penile issues (or any other woman for that matter if she can logically explain it to me in a way that makes sense).

I hate this identity stuff. Anyone can make a logic and evidence based argument about anything, regardless of lived experience.

And as for ‘all these women’, many women have also disagreed with your opinion on here saying that your observations don’t concur with their observations and that women are just as bad.

Is confirmation bias real? What actual objective evidence do you have that men get out of the way less than women?

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/jan/12/manslamming-men-more-likely-to-bump-into-people

A female doctor is not 'femmesplaining' if they know more about something than someone else does. Which in the case of a doctor / patient consultation is blindingly obvious.

This is a forum occupied almost entirely by women who are quite happily agreeing or disagreeing amongst themselves. Nobody needs a man to come along and tell us whether we are right or wrong.

The actual evidence I have of men getting out of the way less than women do is not from confirmation bias, but from my lived experience as a woman. No man can experience that. So please kindly bugger off and leave the topic to women who actually do know what we are talking about.

I see it more with women. Young women especially

@BeNiceWhenItsFinished ,

Try not to ignore what I wrote in brackets, ‘or any other woman for that matter if she can logically explain it to me in a way that makes sense’ ,or the linked article, written by a woman, which supports what I read.

It is a parents’ forum and I am a parent who has been on in excess of a decade, so my comment has equal value to anyone else’s.

YAWN. The clue is in the name.

Amen to that.

It's not "mansplaining" if you are an expert on it any more than it is "femmesplaining"

If you are going to try and mansplain mansplaining to us, at least make sure you have a basic grasp of the concept.

Although I guess we can thank you for demonstrating how it works so perfectly

I am too old now to take a hit, so I gallop around town with my walking pole making a lot of clattering noise and keeping to a straight line with a thousand yard stare. I don’t get barged any more.

years ago. I was walking with my dog, wall hugging. A young bloke charged round the corner and tried to barge me. Instead, he barged my German shepherd - his fucking face.

Your comment has zero value when it's women discussing their experience as a woman. I'm not sure how that's such a difficult concept to grasp.

In Oxford they just run you over with their bicycle's.

🤣 there are a lot of bikes and scooters in Oxford, stick to the pavements is my advice.

And those cars are quite annoying too

Men do have a tendency to assume everyone will make way for them but couples/groups are also good at pavement hogging. Oh and children obviously.

Grrr, humans

I remember my mum calling me one day incensed as a man had swum OVER her in a lane

I did put a thread up on why men post on mumsnet. It's a good bun fight. Worth a read if you're bored😅

My phone is not letting me link it.