To be disappointed with how soft play handled this man

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I reported an inappropriate sexual comment made by another parent at a soft play area yesterday.

I was climbing down from one of the raised areas with my DS and didn’t realise he was climbing up. I said a polite sorry and he replied not to worry and that if he knew his £10 entry included him getting an arse in his face he would have visited months ago. I challenged him and then reported to staff.

The staff approached me 10/15 minutes later to say they’d spoken to him and he had admitted saying that but was ‘obviously joking’ and he relayed his apologies, so they considered the matter sorted.

Personally, I think he should have been asked to leave. He made me feel extremely uncomfortable and could have gone on to say similar to other parents present.

The mental gymnastics are outstanding!

He would have suffocated if he bumped into my bum going down as he was coming up😂

The key word in all of that was ‘micro’ - mountain out of a mole hill. It was a joke.

I’d have laughed and I’m all for calling out men behaving like dicks.

He apologised, I’d have moved on and not thought any more of it.

I agree. Whilst I wouldn’t have wanted my DH to make the comment directed at the OP, I found it harmless compared to the comment made to @SnappyQuoter. I’m not completely sure why I find them so different but I do.

I’m sure I’ve seen exactly this scenario on here before, but I dare not google mumsnet softlpay arse for fear of what will come up.

I wouldn't find it funny but it would be ridiculous to tell him to leave. He's apologised. Get a grip.

When you say you’re in fear of what will come up, It’s that a double entendre?

”goes and sits on naughty step”

I'm embarrassed for you, I really am

Honestly you are the one who sat on his face, if anything you should have been asked to leave for being inappropriate with him. Poor chap must have been embarrassed and tried to make light of the situation. In poor taste on your part to go complain. What if it had been the other way around?! You should have apologised and then moved on.

Its clearly a joke but perhaps inappropriate with a women who is a stranger to the joke teller. A female friend or colleague, who had a relationship with the man already, might have found it funny.

You’re right! The poor man! He could have just said ‘no problem’ but he felt he needed to make a sexual joke about op’s arse in his face just to be able to cope. Who will think of the men in the world

Bloody hell it wasn't out of blue .op didn't look where she was going stuck her arse in the man's face.he made a stupid joke she runs crying to staff like a 6 year old telling tales .it was her fault for not looking .not everyman is a pervert you know talk about ott
post christ who burned your toast

I don't know why everyone is saying that the OP 'shoved her arse' in the man's face. I suggest you reread the OP. She says she was climbing down backwards while the man was climbing up. It's not an unusual or embarrassing situation in itself and happens all the time at soft play. There was absolutely no reason at all for him to make a joke to 'lighten the tension' or whatever people are saying. He had been perving on her arse and made an inappropriate sexual comment.

If the OP had slipped and landed on the man's face then I can understand a jokey comment of this type, but that's not what happened.

I’m with you OP. It’s not funny and it’s not appropriate.
Would he have said the same to a man?

Bonkers to faff about. Sorry.

Me too. Why are people so lacking in humour these days? (actually it's not people so much as MNers, who are oh so boring serious.

I find it strange you wanted to report this. Yabu.

Presumably (hopefully) the man was accompanying a child or children, so the staff were probably aware that removing him would have caused upset for them too - imagine being little and your dad explaining that you've got to put your shoes on and leave the soft play early because he's made an inappropriate comment to someone, it would be awful so the justification for staff doing that would need to be strong.

If the comment had been more serious then that might well have been proportionate, but in this case it sounds like a clumsy attempt to diffuse the tension and the fact he's been spoken to and apologised might make him think twice next time.

Can you stretch any further!

Oh it gets worse: we are "tradwife handmaiden Tatelicking ‘boys will be boys’ bots" because we don't hate men. We must immediately assume everything that comes out of a man's mouth has the worst possible motivation. Even when it is a humorous response to an awkward situation.

The "Karen" meme is also misogynistic but the report it to the manager types are certainly trying to live up to it.

Agree, and furthermore, things like this are why people in the real world don't take women seriously when they report actual harassment.

It’s no more acceptable to make an unwanted and uninvited sexual comment to a woman who is a stranger than it is to a child.