I found most of that article to be nonsensical. It's basically saying "you don't have the right to talk to strangers", which is nothing short of stupid. It's a very lazy way to deal with what's wrong with a sexist society, by stripping it from some of its core principles.farrellgirl99 wrote:This explains things in a better way then I can so I'm going to be lazy. I encourage people who still think "compliments" aren't street harassment to read this please.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/46527-6- ... we-need-to
And if you're going to argue that saying "how are you" to a random woman is fine then I hope you say "how are you" to every single person on the street. It's one thing to say Hi to people you know, people in your neighborhood you see often, etc. This is not a small town/community dynamic I am talking about. This is someone you do not know, will not know, who is trying to walk down a street and simply exist.
Okay I'm done with this topic on here. Please read the article, it's written simply and it's quick.
Person A saying to Person B "I'd fuck you 'til your dead grandma ask us to stop" = harassment.
Person A saying to Person B "Can I get your phone number" = too forward. Might be a bit aggressive, but it's not harassment if Person A lets go after being told "no" one time.
Person A saying to Person B "bless you" or whatever they say in their country when some else sneezes = definitely not harassment! Person A is just trying to be polite. It might be unnecessary and awkward.
Person A saying trying to strike a normal conversation with Person B when they're waiting for the train/the doctor/whatever = not harassment. Awkward, maybe. If Person A can't take a hint and can't take a direct comment such as "you're making me uncomfortable", then it could be harassment if they don't leave you alone.
Other people doing stuff you don't like it's not harassment by default. If people look a bit lost in the subway, I approach them and offer my help, regardless of their gender or nationality or how poor/rich they look. It'd be absolutely stupid if they thought I was harassing them by saying "can I help?" If I approached them grabbing my crotch, that's a whole different matter. But otherwise, it's just people either trying to be helpful or polite or people trying to get into a conversation with someone they find interesting or attractive at first sight. You can ignore them or reject them, of course. You can pretend to be talking on the phone or whatever. But again, not everyone who approaches you is a threat. Obtaining the skills to identify who is a threat and who isn't might take time and be difficult, but that's just the way life is. Proclaiming that everything is harassment is lazy, simplistic and not even worthy of debate.