painting by Johnny Morant
Science says that we’re the smartest animals on Earth because we can think critically and rationally and stuff. But because of cases about sexual harassment, rape, and other similar things, I’m kind of starting to think otherwise.
After watching Heneral Luna tonight, my sister and I decided to get coffee at 7eleven. When we were by the coffee machine, one employee stood behind me and I saw from the reflection of the coffee machine that he was checking me out.
(I don’t usually like to swear in my posts but)
What the fuck, man?
I can’t see why some men would do that. I wasn’t even wearing anything flattering — I had gym shorts on and a white, baggy printed crew neck shirt. I wasn’t worth oggling. I kind of think that if this guy saw a lamp post that had long hair, he’d check out the lamp as well. To make things worse, this guy at the counter was trying to trying to make small-talk-slash-subtly-flirt with me. If it wasn’t late and I wasn’t exhausted, I would have looked at the guy as if I was gonna punch him in the mouth or something. Maybe you’d think I was acting or walking as if I want to be noticed. Nope. Nopity nope. I was slouching. I walked as boyish as I can so I’d lose their interest. I even did my “grumpy cat face” to show my disinterest to be “seen”.
I already feel so stressed after going through that; how much more would other women (who went through so much) feel?
I’m honestly so sick of having to be cautious around men, of being treated like this.
If it were their sisters, their mothers, or their aunts that were given odd looks or catcalled, how would they have responed? I’d think they’d react negatively. I’d think some would even act violently; they might threaten to throw a punch or something, depending on how the ‘random perv’ did the thing. So why would they even dare do it to other women? What makes us different?
Men, do know that not every woman wants to get a boyfriend or get laid.
No, we don’t feel flattered when you call us pretty while we’re walking in the street or if you look at us while doing the most mundane jobs. Stop looking at us like you’re imagining us naked. It makes us feel threatened. It makes feel like we’re somehow being violated. And if one us lashes out at you for doing that, don’t tell us that we should thank you because why should we, when you made us feel unsafe?
Some people tell us to dress “appropriately” so we won’t get treated this way, though, who gave you the right to impose such a thing? Since when did you have a say on the clothes we wear? Do you own our bodies? No. Do we owe you? No.
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I’d like to be alive in the era where women won’t have to be careful about the clothes they wear because of the fear that they’d get harassed or raped. I’d like to see what it’s like for man to overcome the part of themselves that cause them to be like uncontrollable, impulsive animals that’ll hump anything that has boobs or a vagina. We’re living in the 21st century, dammit. By now, we should be more “evolved”; we shouldn’t let primal instincts take over especially in public, around total strangers. I mean, okay, there are clubs and stuff to do whatever the heck you want but a convenient store isn’t one of them.
Fact + Fiction 