6.25.2008

Overheard

(Guy sits next to perfect stranger {on the subway})
Guy: Are you dating someone?
Girl: No.
Guy: Can I have your number?
Girl: No.
Guy: Is it because I'm black?
Girl: Of course not.
Guy: Is it because you're a lesbian?

[source]

Also this week, Boston Rantida got holla'd at by some lewd ass cab driver. Please, folks. Warm weather ain't no excuse for your behavior, 'cause we sure as hell don't ask for it by existing.

And, this wildly offensive commercial suggests that any man who keeps his eyes on his wife and doesn't ogle unknown women deserves a treat. Thanks, asshat advertising execs at Klondike.

6.18.2008

Notebook: Sexual harassment and an index



Get it done, Ms. Couric. She has little ones too, you know.















We also dig this cartoon from indexed, via HollaBack CHICAGO.

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6.13.2008

Guys at the gym, a gat, and the North End

We're late this week, though not for lack of news...for lack of words. Sometimes it can be hard to know what to say in face of all this madness in our world.

We either visit ladies-only gyms or not at all (just a personal choice), but we've heard stories about this before. Check out this video from Slate.com about being harassed at the gym. We're relieved the advice isn't "ignore it," at least not in total. Ignoring - nee ignorance - has never gotten us anywhere.

In our own city this week, police have learned more about the string of assaults in the North End. These sketches, released by the BPD, depict the potential attacker. Women are being encouraged not to walk alone, and the police are also offering free self-defense courses. We don't want to hate on efforts to keep us safe, but wouldn't the money be better spent on more fuzz out there working the streets so that we don't have to take this on ourselves? If we're going to live in a police state, it should at least work to our advantage once in a while.

And in what is also the most disturbing incident of street harassment to date, a woman was shot and killed after refusing to hand over her phone number to an unknown man. We see guys get aggressive about digits on the subway here in Boston, but murder? She didn't write for that.

Like we said, hard to find the words. But we keep having hope.

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6.04.2008

Hands up

All kinds of cool is the newly launched Stop Street Harassment! resource website and companion blog. Submit your stories or practical solutions for fighting harassment.

Also out this week is another Guardian Comment Is Free article about street harassment. The lovely ladies at The F Word followed up with an excellent short piece that once again had women confessing their experiences in droves.

Is it just us or do people want to talk about their experiences and get a little validation?

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