*Please note: This is not directed towards all men*
What makes certain men think that it’s alright to talk to a woman in a disrespectful manner? What makes them think that it’s ok to ignore her personal boundaries and to touch her without her permission?
I’m sick and tired of hearing “men” make rude or overtly sexual comments towards me and think that it’s ok to do that. One man once told me that he’d like to slice my neck and “f—- the s—-” out of me. (He also said some more things, but they were actually much more explicit). The other day a man physically grabbed me, spun me around, and demanded that I call him.
I was going to argue that I’m “accustomed” to slight abrasive comments, but I shouldn’t have to get used to anything of the sort. Who taught men that it was okay to approach a woman like that? Did they feel like the regular approach was not successful? Have we classically conditioned men to treat women this way? It almost makes me want to stop and have a conversation with the men who do respectfully approach me, just so that they don’t think that their approach is fruitless.
That’s not to say that someone can’t be assertive in approaching someone, it’s just that there are limits. Why do people purposefully push past these limits? Is it because they just don’t realize what they’re doing or, more likely, that they enjoy forcing a reaction from women. Are they trying to show off their “manliness” to their peers? Has the approach worked in the past? Do they do it because no one has ever confronted them about it? Because they can?
I’m going to do my best to find out. Feel free to enlighten me, otherwise I WILL be confronting the next guy who chooses to do this to me.
