Tag Archives: street harassment

Frisky Rant: You Are Not My Dad, So I Am Not Your ‘Sweetie’

Mary OdellJune 13, 2013 //

Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »

I Was Sexually Harassed

I was sexually harassed at my corner store. Read More »

Hasidic Harassment

A girl's guide to Hasidic street harassment. Read More »

Frisky Sexism

All of The Frisky's posts about sexism. Read More »

Nope nope nope

I hear a lot of weird shit on the street. Many people, apparently, feel that they have license to say whatever they so please to me. Generally, it doesn’t bother me, but “sweetie”’ is where I draw the line.

The other day I walked to grab a coffee and held the door for a respectable-looking gentleman who was also leaving the building. “Thank you, sweetie!” He replied. I know he was just trying to be nice, but I am an adult leaving my place of work for a coffee break. In what way did it strike this man as appropriate to call me his “sweetie”? Keep reading »

True Story: I Was Sexually Harassed At The Corner Store

Abigail CollazoMay 17, 2013 //

Serial Groper

... gets off scot-free, because that's how we do. Read More »

Stop Telling Me To "Smile"

Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »

Gun Pulled On Flasher

Woman pulls gun on flasher, flasher puts penis away and runs. Read More »

Legs Filmed On Subway

Some creep is filming videos of your legs on the subway for YouTube. Read More »

true story

Ten minutes. I was hitting the 10-minute mark of just standing in front of the freezers, seemingly debating whether to buy a quart or a gallon of milk. Or perhaps unsure of which kind I wanted. Skim or whole? Maybe 2 percent? I had a pensive look on my face.

It’s the look I get when I’m frozen inside. Generally from shock. Often from fear. Almost always after a harrowing experience that’s left me momentarily paralyzed.

My allergies had been just horrific, but I’d decided to brave the run across the street to the little bodega anyway because I’d been out of dishwasher soap and milk and coffee filters for three days. As I walked up the steps to the entrance, two men walked out. Because I’m a woman who’s been trained by society not to look strange men in the eye when its dark out and they look potentially threatening, I didn’t. But they stopped in the doorway and came up close to me, speaking far louder than was necessary. “Whoa mama, look at those tits.” “Daaaaamn. Naw like really dog, daaaaaaamn.” One started masturbating and pushed up close to my face as I stared at the ground, trying to navigate around them. He rubbed himself and licked his lips as he undressed me with his eyes and loudly proclaimed what he’d do to me. Keep reading »

Serial Groper Gets Off Scot-Free, Because That’s How We Do

Jessica WakemanMay 3, 2013 //

Gun Pulled On Flasher

Woman pulls gun on flasher, flasher puts penis away and runs. Read More »

Legs Filmed On Subway

Some creep is filming videos of your legs on the subway for YouTube. Read More »

BareMinerals Fail

They had frat boys hold signs reading "You look beautiful sweaty." Read More »

Oh, FFS, America. Last year, New York City was captivated by the tale of the good-looking, really well-dressed, white man — totally the kind of guy who want to bring home to your bubbe — who was sexually assaulting women in public. The man the tabloids called the “Gentleman Groper” was later fingered as a lawyer named Paul Kraft, who plead guilty to groping or taking crotch shots of numerous women in wealthy neighborhoods like the Upper East Side or the Financial District. Here are some creepy examples of stuff he did. Gross, right? Well, you’ll be … surprised … to hear he’s gotten off without jail time. Keep reading »

UPDATE: Today’s Lady News: BareMinerals Has Men Carry Creepy “You Look Beautiful Sweaty” Signs At Marathon

Jessica WakemanMay 1, 2013 //

Catcalling LEGOs

catcalling construction worker LEGO Sticker

Now we're teaching kids construction workers yell "Hey, babe!" Read More »

Street Harassment

How do you respond? Read More »

Stop Telling Me To "Smile"

Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »

[UPDATE, May 2: BareMinerals has apologized for the signs, saying they did not "translate" well, and adding "Please rest assured that these signs will not be used going forward on the Go Bare tour." — CollectiveAction DC] Now here’s a corporate stunt that failed to land: the makeup brand BareMinerals had “DC fraternity boys” (their own phrasing) hold signs at this weekend’s Nike Women Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. Sounds innocuous, right? Well, the signs read stuff like “You look beautiful sweaty” (creepy!) and “Cute running shoes!” (Um, thanks?) If what they wanted was encouragement, they could have chosen slogans that don’t focus on how you look — especially since “You look beautiful sweaty” totally sounds like some creepy comment a dude would make catcalling you. Getting people to cheer on runners would have been a sweet idea. But “frat boys” telling you how attractive you look while running a marathon? FAIL. We must always make the frat boys happy, mustn’t we? Who planned this event, Rebecca Martinson? [Collective Action DC, Facebook.com/BareMinerals]
A conservative group is calling up voters in South Carolina and asking, “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch [the Democratic contender] if I told you she had an abortion?” SLEAZY. [Think Progress]
A brief history of “women aren’t funny.” [Bitch Magazine] Keep reading »

LEGO Construction Worker Stickers That Build Sexism!

Sarah GrayApril 30, 2013 //

Little Girls & LEGOs

LEGOs are the perfect gender neutral toy. Why make them "girly"? Read More »

President Barbie

Meet "I Can Be President" Barbie! Read More »

Wonder Woman LEGO

A Wonder Woman LEGO lady is coming! Read More »

Last week the blog Talking To Strangers posted about a LEGO sticker showing a construction worker figurines catcalling, “Hey Babe!” LEGO issued a response, where they said, “To communicate the LEGO experience to children we typically use humor and we are sorry that you were unhappy with the way a minifigure was portrayed here.” I’m still scratching my head. What is funny about the normalizing of street harassment? [Talking To Strangers]
A 15-year-old New Jersey teen named Saheela Ibraheem is headed to Harvard next year after being accepted to 13 other prestigious schools including, MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, Brown and Williams College. [Clutch Magazine]
More in outstanding women, Jennie Lamere, was not only the only female entered in the TVNext Hack Event, but she was also one of three to be titled “best in breed” and win prizes from sponsors. Her creation, Twivo, would allow you to block tweets about certain shows to avoid spoilers! She’s a clear reason why we need more girls in tech! [Evolver.fm] Keep reading »

Hollaback Philly Debuts Rad New Anti-Street Harassment PSAs

Jessica WakemanApril 15, 2013 //

Catcalling Works?

Men explain why they think catcalling works. Read More »

Chesca Gets Catcalled

Comedienne Chescaleigh takes on dudes who catcall. Read More »

Hasidic Harassment

A girl's guide to Hasidic street harassment. Read More »

Kitten on Catcalling

Listen to this adorable baby kitten, because he's right. Read More »

quick pic

It’s sad that we live in a society that needs freakin’ public service announcements to tell men not to sexually harass women. (Ask me about the man at Starbucks last night who would. Not. Leave. Me. Alone.) But HollabackPHILLY — anti-street harassment crusaders extraordinaire — have made some of the best posters against unwanted perving that we’ve seen. You can check ‘em all out at HollabackPHILLY’s website. [HollabackPHILLY via Bitch Magazine]

This “Bitch Face” Graphic Is The Story Of My Life

Julie GersteinMarch 11, 2013 //

After that mild controversy we stirred up over strangers telling us to smile, this graphic, from illustrator Kris Atomic perfectly illuminates my feelings on the subject. If you feel like this applies to you, Ms. Atomic even offers this illustration as a poster – one which could be easily stapled to your forehead, or worn as a hat. Click through to see the poster enlarged.

Keep reading »

Don't Tell Me To Smile

Posters address strangers who tell us to "smile." Read More »

Annoying Plane Behavior

These 10 things should probably be illegal. Read More »

Street Harassment

How do you respond? Read More »

Man Gropes Woman, Promptly Falls Into A Manhole

Sarah GrayMarch 5, 2013 //

Stop Telling Me To "Smile"

Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »

Catcaller Form

Here's a handy form for you to give to catcallers. Read More »

Street Harassment

How do you respond? Read More »

Karma’s a bitch.

Last night outside my apartment in New York City, the street was flooded with lights, sirens and a cherry-picker? Yes. A cherry-picker, along with a host of emergency personnel, surrounded a gaping hole familiar (and clearly marked, for the record) to this stretch of sidewalk. Firefighters kept gawkers at bay and I asked other bystanders, “What the hell happened?” It was explained that somebody had fallen into the aforementioned sidewalk orifice. Come to find out, the man who took the tumble was fleeing after having groped a woman on the street. Keep reading »

Stop Telling Me To Smile, Already

Julie GersteinFebruary 27, 2013 //

How many zillions of times in you life have you been told by a random stranger on the street to “smile”? While the sentiment may at first seem harmless, the implication is that women only exist to be objectified by men — that by not smiling, we’re not fulfilling our end of the bargain. It’s a subtler form of street harassment, but no less a reminder that some men feel entitled to dictate what women do with their bodies. I mean, have you ever, ever walked up to a random man and told him to smile? Didn’t think so.

With that in mind, some anonymous anti-smile harassment vigilante has been putting up these awesome posters in the Bed-Sty neighborhood of Brooklyn. Thanks, stranger, for saying what I’m thinking but never remember to actually voice in the moment.

What do you do when someone tells you to smile?

Update: The artist behind the posters has been identified. Her name is Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, and she also sells the drawings as tee-shirts.

Street Harassment

How do you respond? Read More »

Chesca Gets Catcalled

Comedienne Chescaleigh takes on dudes who catcall. Read More »

Street Harassment App

A new iPhone app tracks where street harassment occurs. Read More »

Woman Pulls Gun On Flasher, Flasher Puts Penis Away And Runs

Jessica WakemanNovember 18, 2012 //

Catcalling Works?

Men explain why they think catcalling works. Read More »

Open Letter

An open letter to the stranger on the street who propositioned me for sex. Read More »

Legs Filmed On Subway

Some creep is filming videos of your legs on the subway for YouTube. Read More »

Creep Shaming

Why whining about "creep shaming" is total BS. Read More »

I’m never really sure how I feel about concealed weapons, but in this case, I have to just laugh: A woman in Longview, Washington, was walking at Lake Sacajawea on Wednesday evening when a man “aggressively”came up to her while masturbating and “suggested she should watch him,” the Seattle Times reports. That’s when this woman whipped out her gun. Dudebro tucked his dick back in his pants and ran away. He wasn’t suspecting that, now was he?

Of course the sad part is that a woman shouldn’t have to produce a firearm to be safe from street harassment or sexual assault. But in this instance, it didn’t hurt. [Seattle Times]