Discussion on Women's Hour about harrassment on the streets

[LadyBiscuit]

Did anyone hear this? I am absolutely furious. They had a woman from the London Anti Street Harassment campaign and a male journalist. He was saying that feminists were effectively trying to silence men and deny them a voice by campaigning against harassment.

Sorry I'm being very inarticulate but I was so cross.

I shall post a link when it's up on Listen Again.

Here's the link to have a listen.

I have filed my comment via the Woman's Hour website.

You'd have thunk she'd know about all this, wouldn't you?

Particularly as there is a large group of mysogynist nutters out there in internet land (and on the BBC discussion boards) who consider her a rabid feminist intent on the destruction of western civilisation in favour of an anti-man matriarchy.

I emailed Brendan O'Neill and sent, edited, the 4 or 5 comments (diatribes) from the other thread on the same subject (only just discovered this one)

He wrote back: "Kindly keep your self-pity to yourself. It is most unseemly." (!!!!!!!!)

I replied "The pity is people like you. Most unseemly!"

Self-pity?

What is he on about?

I really do think that we should follow him around like Dittany suggested and shout obscenities at him.

For twenty years.

See how he feels the freedom of speech to cat-call then.

Unseemly? And he was the one complaining about a return to 'Victorian values'?

And asking women if they fancy a fuck in the street is not unseemly?

He slipped up in it in that clip and did actually refer to it as "abuse" whilst simultaneously defending it.

"we shouldn't treat all women as wallflowers whenever they are abused in public"

05.50 on that clip.

Was reading this on the train earlier and was amazed (sort of) at the experiences of posters on here. Made a list of the posters and the type of abuse we've suffered on teh street (verbal, physical, flashing etc) - it's an eye opener when you see it all together. (Don't want to post in case people aren't comfortable with it)

While on the train I went to get a cup of tea, and had to stop to pass another woman. Heard a man behind me say "oh lovely" and thought nothing of it, then he started saying "hey hey!" etc, and realised he was commenting (to his friends sitting round the table) on my back view. Do I get some kind of special medal for being catcalled while reading a thread about catcalling?

I've just heard this via my Woman's Hour newsletter link and was just about to start a thread about it. I'm absolutely at the guy's responses. I am virtually speechless - he says it's ok for a guy to say to his mates 'look at the legs on that' because we have freedom of speech. What the fuckety fuckety fuckety FUCK????????? (sorry, I am really really riled about this).

Please Mumsnet, make this a thread of the day!

Oh elephants, don't be such a wallflower - you're a woman of the world, you should have taken it for the compliment that it was.

Shame on you Jenni Murray for not giving him a much harder time. He referred to verbal abuse as 'banter'. What woman hasn't felt uncomfortable and intimidated by 'banter' almost every day?

I was once looking at my A-Z cos I was a bit lost on my bike. Some guy came up and said 'you looking for me darling?' I said, 'In your dreams', and he responded with a completely vicious and aggressive torrent of abuse. Just banter though.

I find it really irritating that an otherwise excellent programme such as Woman's Hour should invite a nob on just to generate controversy. Why not get Boris on to debate the subject with LASH, for example, or have LASH discuss the issue with a bunch of builders?

that't it dittany, how can misogynists be so clever at the same time as being so fucking thick?

I have just listened to the interview again on weekend women's hour. His argument is shit, completely shit. It is not asking for a return to Victorian values, asking for women to have chaperones. It's asking men not to be such complete fucking wankers. Even heard of Reclaim the Streets Brendan?

And calling a group of men following a single woman in a car, shouting obscenities at her, flirting is like comparing putting a hand on a shoulder with a punch in the mouth.

Oh and the working class thing was such a fucking cheap shot. I don't think I've hated a man so much since the Pope.

LadyBiscuit, you have summed up my feelings precisely. Brendan O'Neill, for example, is a complete, utter and total twat.

I really wish Mumsnet would make this a discussion of the day so that people who wouldn't come on to the feminism forum can contribute. Someone like Brendan would probably dismiss the views expressed here as a bunch of humourless lesbian feminists who want to deny decent men their right to free speech (I hope you take that in the spirit in which it is meant - I mean no offence to anyone here who is a lesbian feminist).