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Feminism - more of it


TerraPrime

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That's how I define it too.

But apparently "God bless you" is also harassment now.

Are you fucking kidding me ? People are complaining about that guy because he was FOLLOWING HER FOR FIVE MINUTES. And most of the dudes in the video saying god bless and good morning were staring at her ass when they did it.
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eyenon - I agree all street harassment is bad and men get stuff said to them too but that should't detract from this video. The message behind this video is still a good one even if it doesn't encompass everyone who has been shouted at or threatened. And the same guys who harass women are probably likely to harass and pick fights with guys too.

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Why is it so hard to leave people alone? It's not that this happens *once* but that it is continuous and that as a woman, you have very few options on how to react. Like the woman in the video, you can just keep walking, at which point the person initiating may consider it rude, or the woman may have to force a smile and say "thank you", at which point she has invited further conversation with this random person.

Further, if you said "God bless you" randomly to me while passing me in the street, I would think you were either a. insane, b. on meds c. trying to be "funny" d. a Jehovas witness. This can be a cultural thing. Consider not judging every place as being exactly as where you live. If you indeed live in Belarus, you'd probably find that most of Western Europe and the US are far more progressive on social issues, for instance.

I lived in Canada for many years. And while attitudes on this forums aren't expressive of western world as a whole, I get what you're talking about.

But no, shaming people for talking to strangers is not progress.

So, let me clarify,

Why is it so hard to leave people alone?

You are basically saying that 2 strangers should not communicate.

Am I understanding you correctly?

Are you fucking kidding me ? People are complaining about that guy because he was FOLLOWING HER FOR FIVE MINUTES. And most of the dudes in the video saying god bless and good morning were staring at her ass when they did it.

Pretty sure noone's arguing that stalking is not a problem and there should be safety on streets from physical harassment.

edit: ok cool, also shame people for looking anywhere except ground or sky.

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That's how I define it too.

But apparently "God bless you" is also harassment now.

Did you not notice that the dude who says "God bless you" is the same fucker that walks next to her for five minutes?!

Sorry, invoking the lord for an excuse to say something to someone does not get you a free pass out of Creepville.

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Did you not notice that the dude who says "God bless you" is the same fucker that walks next to her for five minutes?!

Sorry, invoking the lord for an excuse to say something to someone does not get you a free pass out of Creepville.

Sure, and if a guy punched me while saying god bless you, he'd be charged for assault (punching), not saying god bless you.

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What I want and do to help feminism is action. Shit like this video is not action, it's attention that does (questionable) x amount of help and y amount of harm.

So making a video that highlights an experience common to women is not action? What, then qualifies as action, by your lights?

I also don't understand the "harm" done by this video. Maybe it will lead to a world in which men stop making comments to women who pass them on the street -- horrors!

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So making a video that highlights an experience common to women is not action? What, then qualifies as action, by your lights?

I also don't understand the "harm" done by this video. Maybe it will lead to a world in which men stop making comments to women who pass them on the street -- horrors!

I duno, maybe it will lead to a world where talking to strangers is considered harassment, where interaction is discouraged, where women are afraid of men being rapists and men are afraid of women accusing them as rapists

This video doesnt highlight shit. It's attention grabbing clickbait.

The only result of this is more men vs women oil into the flames.

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I duno, maybe it will lead to a world where talking to strangers is considered harassment, where interaction is discouraged, where women are afraid of men being rapists and men are afraid of women accusing them as rapists

Ah...I wondered when the specter of false rape accusations would arise. Personally, I don't see a connection between encouraging polite and emotionally aware behavior and phony accusations of sexual assault, but maybe there's something I missed.

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But no, shaming people for talking to strangers is not progress.

That isn't what's happening. What happened in that video was that a bunch of men eyed up a woman like a piece of meat, then made her exceptionally uncomfortable.

This wasn't two people on an equal footing having a conversation out of the blue - which I occasionally do, on public transport or any other situation where it helps while the time away (yes, I'm one of THOSE. Apologies to everybody on trains in the south of England.). This was a woman clearly going about her day and unwilling to engage in conversation being catcalled.

"Damn", "Oh Lord that ass" or "Hey girl, you looking fine" are not the opening conversational gambits of somebody who's really interested in knowing you as a person.

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This is just me, and certainly not scientific, but being catcalled like that makes me feel all of the below:



Uncomfortable


Vulnerable


Conspicuous


Queasy


Wary


Nervous


Angry


Annoyed



I don't think I'm alone. I'm no shy shrinking violet. I LIKE people. But catcalling like that is all about exploiting a power imbalance. I don't think it's "appreciative" or any of that bs. It's all about an assertion of power and it's just crappy, crappy behavior. Rather than making my day, it does the opposite. It is different than a genuine compliment. Those make my day. Funnily enough, I can tell the difference.



And, just to bring this back full circle to allay the fears of those who claim this isn't part of the feminism discussion, as I said above, I believe catcalling is an expression of the power imbalance between men and women that exists, at least in the society I live in. Therefore I think it is wholly relevant to this discussion.


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And, just to bring this back full circle to allay the fears of those who claim this isn't part of the feminism discussion, as I said above, I believe catcalling is an expression of the power imbalance between men and women that exists, at least in the society I live in. Therefore I think it is wholly relevant to this discussion.

Indeed.

I completely agree with your description of how it feels to be catcalled in that way, which makes it even more incomprehensible when men insist this type of commentary is actually compliments. They are not compliments to the recipient at all. Which makes you wonder who these "compliments" are for. It certainly doesn't seem to be for the intended recipient of said "compliments". A power imbalance is a far better description of that type of situation.

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Indeed.

I completely agree with your description of how it feels to be catcalled in that way, which makes it even more incomprehensible when men insist this type of commentary is actually compliments. They are not compliments to the recipient at all. Which makes you wonder who these "compliments" are for. It certainly doesn't seem to be for the intended recipient of said "compliments". A power imbalance is a far better description of that type of situation.

And I've noticed that a woman walking confidently is more likely to get catcalled. Why? I'd say BECAUSE she is confident - that the confidence is somehow threatening.

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