Helloooooo ladies, I know my posts are becoming few and far between, but the summer is coming so that means that soon, you will not be able to get rid of me. I've got something to say....
It was fourth period, I was tired as hell and slightly irritable, and was being forced to endure a dreary English lesson - never a good thing when you are so close yet so far from the end of the week. So you can imagine my immense feeling of "urghhhhh" when my teacher asked me to do her a favour and get some pencils from an upstairs classroom, but nevertheless, I agreed, because I like my English teacher and I'm a helpful sorta gal. Silly me for thinking I'd be back in a minute or less. I knocked on the door and saw a group of around twenty five boys who I recognised to be members of my year group (just about) through the small glass window. I swear, you would think they had never seen a girl in their entire lives. I was greeted by the same amount of wolf-whistles as there were people present, and the teacher on duty told me "boys will be boys". Yes, boys are boys, but why does that mean they can whistle at girls like they are animals? But the thing is, I wasn't scared or intimidated, I just thought it was so pathetic. It actually made me feel pity that they do not have the knowledge of how to communicate with people. But it got me thinking, are we really safe in our own schools/workplaces?
And because I am prone to overthinking things, I overthought, and I was reminded of something that happened to me last week which will probably enrage me to speak about. I was walking through what is generally considered to be a pretty nice area, which I know practically like the back of my hand, in broad daylight despite it being evening (but even so, what does that have to do with anything?) when I was followed, yet again. Two middle-aged men began blowing kisses at me and walking behind me, so I walked faster, and they walked faster, and faster, and faster, until eventually I ran halfway to my destination and ended up at a bus stop, desperate to get away. The bus drove past me when he saw me crying. He drove straight past me as he looked me in the eyes. So I had to call the only person I could rely on to not be a complete prick, when I was so scared my hands were shaking. And I paced back and forth, refusing to stay in one place until he got there in the fear that the two guys would find me again.
This is probably one of the worst experiences I have had, but it is definitely not the only one. A similar thing happened when I was twelve, on my way home from a musical rehearsal. I get cat-called almost everyday on my way home, whilst in my school uniform. And sleazy teenagers from my boyfriend's school just stare, with the occasional whistle. And there is a man who I don't know who puts his arm around me every time he sees me for some reason, and I'm tired of it. But no, I should "take it as a compliment" - who the hell takes 'get your tits out' as a compliment? And as for "boys will be boys" - well boys need to grow the hell up then if it means they have an excuse to practise misogyny in the 21st century. And forty year old men are not boys either. And when things of this sort are reported, it doesn't matter, because it always manages to be your fault.
"You shouldn't have worn this",
"You shouldn't have gone out at that time",
"You shouldn't walk through that area",
Well why not, because I can't walk through the city I was born in without being harassed? You got it.
But don't let this deter you from dressing how you like, going out and doing things you usually do. Don't let anyone take that away from you.
Why would 25 boys be out of lesson? And when is there ever 25 boys in the same class?
ReplyDelete