Rabbitwoman
So why don't they implicitly say this? This is what they want. However it is dressed up as 'we just want to live our lives' 'we are being excluded from public life and public spaces' 'you tell us we don't exist' etc which all sound dreadful at face value.
Exactly, if they actually say what they really want, which is to colonise women's spaces for their own validation and gratification, it doesn't sound great to the general public, least of all women - who know only too well how many men view women as commodities anyway.
It helps when demanding accommodations from others, to come to the table as a victim, thereby increasing your chance of gaining some sort of compromise.
It reminds me a bit of the 'sick role' in psychology - we accept that a sick person is exempt from normal social responsibilities, and given accommodations. However they also have a responsibility to try and get better if possible, and I would argue, another responsibility to to limit the affect their condition has on others. But of course, many people use the 'sick role' in a malingering capacity to gain sympathy other perks. Think of Harvey Weinstein hobbling into court on crutches trying to look like an old vulnerable man. They use the sympathy gained to try and manipulate.