user104658 |
17-06-2019 10:36 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ammi
(Post 10595201)
..it also happens less in the reverse for instance...if a woman were to touch a man with familiarity and intimacy ...and then if anything non consensual was attempted etc..?...did she not ‘lead him to misconstrue..’...it really is very difficult for a woman in some situations but the focus is taken back to ‘difficult for men’...it would be nice to address a woman’s perspective without deviating and digressing...
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The huge difference when these things are surveyed is well worth acknowledging too. Both men and women report having been touched without consent (especially places like bars and clubs). More women report it making them feel uncomfortable than men, though plenty of men report being uncomfortable. The huge difference comes in though when people are asked if they felt threatened or unsafe because of it - or if it decreased their general feelings of safety in public places - with men VERY rarely feeling actually unsafe and women OFTEN being made to feel unsafe. That can't be brushed off. There is a difference and, as uncomfortable as it may be for many men to admit, it simply is a worse situation for women than men.
I've been groped in clubs. I've thought "ffs go away!" on more than one occasion. I have literally never experienced fear or anxiety because of it because realistically, an adult male is not at anywhere near the level of real risk.
What really got me thinking about this was something that happened pretty recently. My wife was on a train back from London on her own that got into Glasgow at 11pm. On the final leg of her journey, there was a table of guys in their mid-20's drinking (probably heading for the clubs) who started trying to talk to her / chat her up / telling her she should come out with them / started getting a bit "jeering" when she politely said no thankyou... and she had to move train carriages / was on the phone to me genuinely scared about being harassed or followed when she got off the train. And she is NOT someone who is easily intimidated. And that got me thinking. Because I've again been in similar situations with groups of drunk women on trains talking to me, and yes there have been times when it's been irritating / unwanted, but again, I have never felt scared or intimidated in that situation for even a second. Because realistically, I'm not at risk. And it's not even that this group of lads is LIKELY to have decided to attack her but the point is that it does happen, it could happen, there is a realistic risk, and they were being blissfully unaware of that in deliberately making her uncomfortable OR even in just not bothering to take care to make sure people around them WEREN'T uncomfortable.
Another fairly recent example was a group of teenage girls asking if they could sit with me at the bus stop late at night (again something like 11pm) in town while I was waiting for the bus after work, because there was drunk middle aged man at the other stance trying to talk to them and generally being a weirdo, again probably not realising he was intimidating them but they were genuinely scared. AGAIN not something I ever experienced... having to feel anxious while just trying to wait for a bus :shrug:.
Anyway just a few things that helped me to realise that there are some massive differences in these everyday experiences for men and women and it's easy for men to saunter through blissfully unaware of these scenarios or declaring very valid fears as "unrealistic" or "over the top".
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