I was wearing plain jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a long winter jacket.
What women wear should not solicit sexual comments made by strangers in public. No matter how small, big, or lude a comment a man might make toward a woman, it is not a compliment, nor does it make anyone feel good.
In fact, it makes you feel downright icky on the inside. That small, nagging comment made by a complete stranger makes you doubt your safety and even your self-worth. Immediately after a car full of men approached me and rolled down the window as I waited for the bus, I immediately thought to myself “this is why I don’t go out.”
But why should a stranger calling over, “What’s up sexy?” stop me from going out? It confused me, and made me wonder why I felt so uncomfortable.
Maybe because this happens so regularly to women that some people don’t even find it offensive.
It’s just a joke.
It’s just a compliment.
But I didn’t laugh, nor did I feel flattered. This wasn’t a guy I knew that I could joke around with, this was a stranger who went out of his way to approach me at 10:30 at night based on my appearance. I felt really uncomfortable.
A couple months ago, a New York City woman wrote in a facebook about how she, too, was aggressively cat-called in a busy subway station. What was she wearing? A winter parka that covered 90% of her body.
She didn’t feel flattered, either.
