Driving down the highway late at night, it is common to see an unfortunate soul stranded on the side of the road with their hazards on. I have a functioning car, a fully charged cell phone, and a desire to help, yet I continue down the road. I feel for the stuck person's situation, but in our society, it has become a genuine safety concern for me, a college-age, kind of cute, nice girl to assist in these sort of predicaments. As much as I would hope for some help if I were the stranded one, I’ve watched way too many episodes of "Law and Order" to risk that.
Sure, odds are it’s a perfectly respectful person who would be grateful for a little help, but the fact is that there is also a chance something completely horrible could happen to me. It’s disheartening that my blessings (yeah, being a girl is a blessing, girls rule, boys drool) have lead me to feel like a target for the sick humans out there preying on women everywhere. As much fun as it is being a girl, I often wish I could be a guy who doesn't have to worry about such things. Either that or to be a celebrity with a 6"9' aspiring wrestler to follow me around and ward off weirdos.
If you see me in a parking garage when it’s dark out (hell, even sometimes when it’s light out), chances are my shoulders are tense, my keys are between my knuckles, and I’m booking it to my car as quickly as possible. Yes, I have probably seen one too many cop shows where creepy things happen on the regular, but the sad truth is that those creepy things are happening constantly in real life too; we are just not always aware of it. Many cases of abuse go undocumented because a woman is afraid and ashamed of what has happened to her. Even though it is 100 percent undoubtedly not her fault, some people out there still choose to shame the victim.
It’s honestly sad that this is where our society is. Many normal boys may not realize this, but girls are constantly on high alert when walking places at night. It’s not uncommon for us to have pink mace in our purses that our overprotective daddies gave us before we jetted off to college. It’s not a rarity for you to receive a late night phone call just so she won't feel completely alone and freaked out on a walk home from the library. It’s not irrational that those fears are there. The fears we have are rooted from reality and are not to be shunned or dismissed.
So, to all you normal boys out there, walk your female friends to their cars, answer their late night phone calls just in case, and don’t put down their fears just because you have the privilege of not having them. And to all you non-normal boys out there, stop being creepy. Just stop.
