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Feminism: sex and gender

Original poster

Woman attacked by man for swimming "too fast".

90 replies

acatcalledjohn · 30/06/2021 16:38

Another woman attacked by a man for simply existing. I'm glad she's spoken out about it but it's depressing she has to. Previously she was punched in the stomach because apparently swimming faster than a man is "bullying behaviour".

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/swimming-pool-west-london-attack-b1875453.html

OP posts:
CMOTDibbler · 30/06/2021 21:53

I'm middle aged and disabled (can only swim with one arm), but I do OK and am fine in the medium lane doing crawl. Frequently a tosser of a bloke will get all threatened by this and insist on swimming agressively to prove they are faster than me - though they can only do it for a length and I'm keeping on. I don't give a toss, and on the occasion someone has thumped me I'm happy to confront them and a couple of times have got out and asked the lifeguard to have words.

Hoppinggreen · 30/06/2021 22:07

I am a short fat woman in her late 40s. I am also an ex county swimmer
I can confirm men really don’t like it when you swim faster than them
Fortunately I have never been assaulted but I have had quite a few almost kill themselves trying to overtake them

Hoppinggreen · 30/06/2021 22:09

I mean trying to overtake ME

Anystarinthesky · 30/06/2021 22:15

This is an interview with Josie on BBC Woman's Hour about what happened.

Her interview starts at 16.34.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000xd20

PastyMuncher · 30/06/2021 22:25

This happened to me. Guy stopped me in pool and shouted that I was 'swimming too fast and kicking too hard'. Female lifeguard did nothing. I couldn't face going back to that pool and still kick myself for not standing up to him

accessorizequeen · 30/06/2021 22:36

Jesus wept ShockAngry

EmbarrassingAdmissions · 30/06/2021 22:37

We had stupid problems in a pool where the men would spread themselves along the wall of the fast lane, now swimming, so you couldn't touch the wall or tumble turn.

Staff did nothing to stop them despite the complaints.

BirdsandBeesmakinghay · 30/06/2021 22:38

I was listening to something on the radio about this the other day. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I have never experienced this but it’s shocking that it is happening.

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall · 30/06/2021 22:45

Well I'm crap at swimming so had no idea this sort of thing happened. Wtf is wrong with some men 😬

MzHz · 30/06/2021 22:54

@CMOTDibbler

I'm middle aged and disabled (can only swim with one arm), but I do OK and am fine in the medium lane doing crawl. Frequently a tosser of a bloke will get all threatened by this and insist on swimming agressively to prove they are faster than me - though they can only do it for a length and I'm keeping on. I don't give a toss, and on the occasion someone has thumped me I'm happy to confront them and a couple of times have got out and asked the lifeguard to have words.
Good for you!

I have to say, I’ve had the same, but they expire after 25m and I take great pleasure in turning and carrying on

Or sometimes they’re swimming at double the stroke cadence and I’m kinda looking at them in wonder and do my swim and keep going when they splutter to a halt

For a fat 50-odd year old like me, it’s quite entertaining

But this event at Chiswick is outrageous indeed what a vile specimen! I hope the police do get him

OvaHere · 30/06/2021 23:14

I'm not a regular swimmer so had no idea it was quite this bad. It's outrageous that the woman in the article was the one who had to leave.

I keep thinking about returning to regular swimming for fitness but these stories are really off-putting. No idea if women only sessions still exist in my area but there's clearly a need for them.

Original poster
acatcalledjohn · 01/07/2021 00:54

I'm so very sorry to read so many of you have been subjected to the wrath of these incredibly fragile male egos. It makes me angry and even more determined to fight/challenge this behaviour if I ever happen to come across it.

OP posts:
Clymene · 01/07/2021 05:24

@FasterthanBolt

Slightly different but I was cycling one morning. I overtook a man who then caught up with me further on and said 'don't overtake me you bitch' with absolute fury on his face. It was the most bizarre thing ever, we were on a public road for a start.
I don't swim or cycle but I e noticed that men always glance over to see who is driving the car when you overtake them. A fair few of them will then speed up so they can overtake you.

I used to think I was imagining it but it's definitely a thing

ItsLateHumpty · 01/07/2021 06:32

… incredibly fragile male egos.

Yep, fragile, like a bomb.

Unescorted · 01/07/2021 06:35

I had this over several weeks when I was pregnant with DD. A dick used to try and race me every single session. I wasn't too bothered to overtake him so would just bob along behind and get past him when he tired from trying to keep in front. When he couldn't fail to notice that I was pregnant he complained about me swimming in the same area as him to the life guards. Apparently he couldn't be held responsible for harming my baby.🙄

To their credit they laned off 2 lanes for me ( it was quite and he was in full on red faced rant) Mr Grumpy swaped into the laned off area because it was his right to swim by the edge and not be forced into the middle. So they moved the laned off area next to the dive pool, the area normally reserved for the divers cooling off. The divers were more than happy to share. The lifeguards then designated the area for divers and pregnant women.
I told my mid wife who told all her patients and colleagues.... We ended up with a lovely group of pregnant swimmers every Wednesday afternoon for 2 hours.

Mr Grumpy stopped turning up.... The sight of a gaggle of women bobbing along chatting with the professional divers while he swam a lonely furrow at the other side of the pool was too much for him.

SwanShaped · 01/07/2021 06:42

I’ve had it with male cyclists, thankfully never attacked. But where I’ve overtaken them and then at the next traffic lights when we stop, they go in front of me again. We all at start going at the green light and I overtake again. Next red light, he stops in front of me. I was also on a running fb group where loads of people were laughing at an image of a man hitting a woman in the face because she was about to cross the finish line before him.

TabbyStar · 01/07/2021 06:51

I keep thinking about returning to regular swimming for fitness but these stories are really off-putting. No idea if women only sessions still exist in my area but there's clearly a need for them.

Don't be put off, swimming is still good, though I do go to a private gym pool where it's quieter so I rarely get problems now.

FindingMeno · 01/07/2021 06:53

The problem is that some lane swimmers think they are far far better swimmers than they are. They cannot see their arms are slapping way out to the side, or they aren't going in a straight line, or they clearly haven't got their eyes open underwater, or that other people might have the audacity to want to share the lane with them and ruin their Olympian dream.
I was once the lifeguard for many sessions like this. I did take my job very seriously but to intervene with absolutely everyone not observing lane etiquette wasn't possible.
It can get very heated though, I know that.

drspouse · 01/07/2021 06:58

An elderly man at the pool recently kept swimming backstroke but not leaving enough room i.e. I'd start off and he'd follow immediately so he'd plough into me. I Had Words about 3 times but I didn't think to tell the lifeguards until it was too late.

InvincibleInvisibility · 01/07/2021 07:44

I've never been hit swimming but I regularly have men thinking they can swim faster than me and being surprised when I sail past them. They often speed up as I'm overtaking but then I do too and beat them Grin

The fast male swimmers have decent lane etiquette. I let them go in front when they're sprinting but they let me go when they're doing a slower stroke than my crawl - less ego when they know they're good!

I found it more annoying at karate. I'm a black belt. When sparring I found that the worst were men who were yellow - green belt. They would take offense at my black belt and attack me really viciously. Fortunately my male black belt mates would notice and intervene, correcting them on their (poor) technique.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 01/07/2021 07:58

I used to enjoy overtaking the splashy men, especially the ones who had no idea of technique or who started off fast and rapidly ran out of puff. I used to sail past doing breaststroke with barely a ripple. I guess I’m lucky I never got thumped...

Women could never use the mixed-sex sauna though because of the harassment. Complaining did nothing.

CardinalLolzy · 01/07/2021 08:08

God, this thread is eye- opening and depressing! I don't swim much any more but how difficult can it be for people to reach the absolute bare minimum human decency of acting in a way that doesn't stop women turning up to swim? Arseholes.

WorriedWishingWell · 01/07/2021 08:08

I love that Covid means we have, pretty much, one lane each at my local pool. I swim more now than I used to. I'll be sad to go back to the old free for all.

ScreamingMeMe · 01/07/2021 10:02

@Northernlurker

Some men really hate women. It's as simple as that. So whatever you do is hateful too. Very glad this is being pursued.
Especially if you're better at something than them.
PronounssheRa · 01/07/2021 10:26

I don't know why I'm surprised about the extent of this. It's something I have encountered too. Never been thumped, but kicked on more than one occasion.