OK, so this video has been making the rounds. And it's been criticized for perhaps being racially biased (i.e., they edited out the white guys).
And here is a typical manospherian response:
Matt Forney retweeted
Being
called a slut is a compliment. American feminists need to take a trip
to the Middle East to see how bad women really have it.
OK, Mr. KirillWasHere, I am an American woman who spent ten fucking years in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen), and guess what? It was pretty much the same damn thing.
One day I was strolling down the streets of Teheran with a male colleague. All along the route, we heard the hiss of "coos... coos... coos..." (= cunt... cunt... cunt...)
"My gawd, Cinzia," my colleague said. "Is it like this every time you walk down the street?"
Well, yup, it was, which is why I took to wearing a chador when I went out. If I could have managed to pass as a man (as another British teacher did with her anorak and slim hips) I would have done that instead, but presenting myself as a pious Muslim woman was the best I could do. Disguising myself in a swath of black nylon didn't eliminate the harassment entirely, but it kept it down to a dull, manageable roar.
Now that I'm identifiably post-menopausal, I am no longerthe victim of this kind of walking nightmare forced to walk a gauntlet every time I venture forth in public. And no, I don't "miss" being cat-called in the street. Being ignored in public is one of the few consolations of becoming a crone ( = invisible to the Masculine Gaze). Having one's sexuality acknowledged by John Q. Public is not a compliment, it's simply harassment.
This iconic photo from the fifties speaks as powerfully as last week's video, doesn't it?
OK, Mr. KirillWasHere, I am an American woman who spent ten fucking years in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen), and guess what? It was pretty much the same damn thing.
One day I was strolling down the streets of Teheran with a male colleague. All along the route, we heard the hiss of "coos... coos... coos..." (= cunt... cunt... cunt...)
"My gawd, Cinzia," my colleague said. "Is it like this every time you walk down the street?"
Well, yup, it was, which is why I took to wearing a chador when I went out. If I could have managed to pass as a man (as another British teacher did with her anorak and slim hips) I would have done that instead, but presenting myself as a pious Muslim woman was the best I could do. Disguising myself in a swath of black nylon didn't eliminate the harassment entirely, but it kept it down to a dull, manageable roar.
Now that I'm identifiably post-menopausal, I am no longer
This iconic photo from the fifties speaks as powerfully as last week's video, doesn't it?
 |
| Nothing new here. And no, I don't think she's enjoying that attention one bit. |
the masculine gaze is an evil force of the patriarchy which oppresses women, the feminine gaze is instead light cheerful and beneficial.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75aX9mlipiY
He was asking for it in those tight jeans and T-shirt. :-P
Deletetotally!
DeleteDo you honestly feel that this is a 50/50 issue?
DeleteWhich is to say, have you frequently received unwanted female attention in your day to day life with women either making overtly sexual comments or insulting your appearance? When you see a large group of women does any part of you feel afraid because they might start hassling you even though it's broad daylight?
I don't intend these questions to be hostile or rhetorical, I'm genuinely asking if this has been your experience.
Only when Im particularly looking good and In environment where there are drunk groups of girls. Then they are pretty "harassey", touching, feeling, getting close, wanting to present me to a "friend"
DeleteI have a guy friend who's a model and girls hit on him all the time though, day, night, alcohol or not.
It absolutely is not a 50/50 thing: Guys hit on everything that moves. Girls hit on the very good looking guys only. Now that can be construed as unfair for either party depending on how you want to look at it.
"does any part of you feel afraid"
This is where the BS comes from. My "feelings" is not what determines the criminality of the action. If this was about my "feelings" then some of the trolls of this blog, for example, are guilty of harassment and should be prosecuted. I didnt feel "scared" when a few girls approached me, but I felt "annoyed" and it was unwanted, does it count?
Bottom line, I say this is where the bullshit comes because from the feminist angle, society is oppressing women so women are scared so rape, etc, therefore a man hitting on a woman in public has a different connotation from a woman hitting on a man in public. Since there's a different connotation, the SAME action has a different value depending on if you have a vagina or a penis, which results in sexual discrimination.
Look around in TV media and real life, and women are allowed to do things that would cause outrage if done by a man: because of a "leveling the field" that was not even uneven.
I'll take that street harassment is a thing when feminism says it's harassment when women do it, too. Then it's equality. If I can carry a pepper spray an hurt a woman for telling me nice day, then yeah, you go for it - not that I would do it, just pointing out the stupidity going on.
But feminists keep pulling the victim card - its different when I do it! Well if it's different for you then it's not "equal" is it.
@Yohami,
Deleteyou've just illustrated Margaret Atwood's famous finding that "men are most afraid women will laugh at them; women are most afraid men will kill them" (paraphrased).
You equate a commenter exposing your thinking weaknesses with harassment (!), showing how unduly sensitive you are to threats of public ridicule, i.e., "women will laugh at them."
And you completely dismiss the stark reality of real dangers to life that genuine harassment poses for women http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/09/3578215/street-harassment-escalates/, i.e. "men will kill them."
It is stunning to see you draw this incomprehensible equation -- between threats of ridicule and threats to life -- and thus dismiss the latter as something inconsequential, while wallowing in self-pity. Atwood could not have asked for a better example to demonstrate her findings.
"Since there's a different connotation, the SAME action has a different value depending on if you have a vagina or a penis, which results in sexual discrimination."
The "same" action is not really the same, if its intent and consequences are different. Women being harassed by men have very real reasons to expect rape or murder; men harassed by women, not so much.
That said, harassment perpetrated by men or women has to stop.
Anon, you're wasting your time here, go back to bullying your loved ones.
DeleteProjection much?
DeletePointing out the flaws of your thinking -- on a blog on which you voluntarily participate -- does not constitute bullying. If you cannot handle reasoned criticisms of your arguments without resorting to vulgarity, histrionic accusations of "harassment," and juvenile taunts in response, it shows that you are not ready for adult conversation.
@Yohami,
Deleteit's interesting you should use being flamed on a blog as a comparison. On a blog you have the option to stop posting, ask a moderator to ban a troll, or block them if it's your own blog. On the street and elsewhere in real life you have no such options, people can interact with you whether you like it or not, which is what makes it an issue when they behave in an unpleasant way.
To say a woman can choose whether or not to be afraid is illogical, if someone physically larger than you, who is in a group of other people larger than you decides to give you a hard time that is a potentially dangerous situation; if those people are strangers you have no idea if they're just having fun at your expense or if they might hurt you.
I'm not talking about the guys in the video, most of whom seemed to be genuinely just passing the time of day, but harassment of the kind I and many other women have experienced, without walking around for ten hours accompanied by a camera crew. I've had a strange guy stand over me in a pub yelling at me because I pushed his hand off my knee, I've had teenagers call me an ugly piece of shit, I've been in all kinds of situations where I was scared, with justification. And I've friends who've had much worse than that.
If you feel victimized by women then fine, go campaign about it, but there's no reason why that should make you dismissive of women being harassed by men.
Anon,
Delete"If you cannot handle reasoned criticisms of your arguments"
Reasoned criticism is welcome, strawmen / adhominems / personal attacks are not. Simple.
@Snork,
Delete"it's interesting you should use being flamed on a blog as a comparison."
I am not. Please go back and read my comment. Im summary, Im calling bullshit on using "feelings" to determine what is harassment and what not. Using my own "feelings" to call "harassment" the flaming of a troll, would be, therefore, bullshit. Shorter: Im not saying it is harassment. Even shorter: Feelings dont determine what is harassment and what is not. The judgement should be based on actions, and the standard should be applied equally to everyone.
"On a blog you have the option to stop posting, ask a moderator to ban a troll, or block them if it's your own blog. On the street and elsewhere in real life you have no such options, people can interact with you whether you like it or not, which is what makes it an issue when they behave in an unpleasant way."
Agreed. I guess the situation feminism wants to reach though is that catcalling becomes a crime, like it is in the workplace, so they can punish the perpetrators.
Im not saying this is good or bad, Im just pointing at the issue. Is this what you think the goal is?
"To say a woman can choose whether or not to be afraid is illogical"
I didnt say it is a choice.
"if someone physically larger than you, who is in a group of other people larger than you decides to give you a hard time that is a potentially dangerous situation; if those people are strangers you have no idea if they're just having fun at your expense or if they might hurt you."
Agreed.
"I'm not talking about the guys in the video, most of whom seemed to be genuinely just passing the time of day"
Well, I AM talking about the guys in the video. Either that behavior is harassment on itself or it isnt. If the behavior is harassment then it should be controlled and punished, regardless of who does it - man, woman, child, trans, gay, whatever. If it's not then the video is vilifying something that is not harassment and making it such to play the victim and exploit the support group for cash and prizes. What's your take?
"I've had a strange guy stand over me in a pub yelling at me because I pushed his hand off my knee, I've had teenagers call me an ugly piece of shit, I've been in all kinds of situations where I was scared, with justification. And I've friends who've had much worse than that."
That's some serious shit and I wish that was capured in the video so we would all be in the same page. I'd advise every woman to have pepper spray, a teaser or a gun to punish these bastards. That behavior is not acceptable and nobody should put up with it.
A far, far cry from "Have a nice day", "Smile", "Damn" though, in my opinion.
"If you feel victimized by women then fine"
Im not victimized by women in any way.
"but there's no reason why that should make you dismissive of women being harassed by men."
I havent dont such.
*havent done such.
DeleteExcercises:
Delete- I am afraid of men because I've been told that men are bad, or I have personal experience with men. Walking on the street, a man says hi and I think he wants to have sex with me. Is it harassment?
- I am afraid of women because I've been told that women are bad, or I have personal experience with women. Walking on the street, a woman says hi and I think she wants to have sex with me. Is it harassment?
Replace with black, jews, white men, etc to check for your own biases. If the answer varies with the subject then you have a bias.
My position is that my "fear" is my own subjective lense, and even though I have every right in the world to be "afraid", that doesnt mean somebody of a group I hate/dislike/fear initiating contact means harassment - unless this person is doing something that is universally harassment. If harassment only applies to this group, then Im full of bullshit.
And from my understanding this catcalling video in particular is full of bullshit.
Another take.
DeleteSaying "nigger", "faggot" or even "slut" in some circles is considered so poor taste and anti PC it can cost people their jobs.
Should we expect that "hey sexy you're hot", "nice outfit", "you're a looker arent you" etc enter the list BAN list? should a man lose his job / reputation if it's proven he catcalls, used to catcall, is friends of catcaller, or is a catcall apologizer? how about a woman?
In Australia something like this is happening already. A guy jury from American Idol commented something on a skirt being too short and he was fired (slut shaming). In USA there's a strong opposition to being judgeamental about the sexual affairs of women. Women, in the other hand, are free to say "hey you're sexy" and ask the men to undress on TV and it's apparently all good an dandy - yet the men would be fired for a fraction of such behavior.
So am I right and this is pushing for a double standard, vilification vs empowerment, depending on sex?
If anyone is going to make the intersection that "it's different when I do it, because patriarchy" you're proving my point.
I think, when it comes to public / professional situations we all need to mind our P's & Q's these days. That means not sexually objectively others REGARDLESS of one's own gender. There should be no double standard either. Penalties greater when the offender is a superior.
Delete"In the USA, there's a strong opposition to being judgmental about the sexual affairs of women." That just hasn't been true in my experience. And BTW women themselves are the biggest "slut shamers" (in my experience).
@Yohami, forgive me if I don't address every point you raise, there's a lot there and I've limited time.
DeleteThanks for the vote of sympathy on my past bad experiences; however I don't think pepper spray is really the answer, though it's tempting.
'- I am afraid of men because I've been told that men are bad, or I have personal experience with men. Walking on the street, a man says hi and I think he wants to have sex with me. Is it harassment?
- I am afraid of women because I've been told that women are bad, or I have personal experience with women. Walking on the street, a woman says hi and I think she wants to have sex with me. Is it harassment?'
You're above exercise illustrates to me why it's best to leave strangers alone. When you make an approach to a stranger you have no idea how they will take it, you might well frighten them, so shouldn't you respect their space and only talk to them if you have a good reason to? After all, the woman you say 'hey beautiful' to might turn out to be a raging psycho like Aileen Wournos or Joanne Dennehey:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_ditch_murders
The thing about street harassment is it's strangers harassing strangers, whether through threats or apparently innocuous greetings. Now, if a woman is prepared to welcome a man's advances, she'll usually indicate by smiling back and probably stopping to speak to him, but if she's keeping her stride and avoiding eye contact she obviously wants to be left alone and he shouldn't take offense at that.
As for the work environment, those are people you're acquainted with so you should soon become aware of who likes a bit of banter and who puts up boundaries.
It sounds like you believe people are trying to make this kind of behavior against the law, I haven't seen evidence of that. I think this more about raising awareness about what is okay and what is not okay. It's still perfectly legal to cheat on your partner, but it's generally held to be unacceptable behavior. Likewise, intruding on other people's personal space should be seen as socially unacceptable.
A good synopsis of the catcalling issue:
Deletehttp://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/11/even-if-you-believe-women-should-like-cat-calling-thats-no-excuse-to-do-it/
"One day I was strolling down the streets of Teheran with a male colleague. All along the route, we heard the hiss of "coos... coos... coos..." (= cunt... cunt... cunt...)"
ReplyDeleteHow are men able to justify such behavior to themselves and others? I'm talking about both those who do this and the others who minimize it and brush it off.
I don't think, "Hey, what's up beautiful" or "How you doing? Have a nice day?" or "Smile" and such is anything like "cunt". I wouldn't really call what she's experiencing in that video a "walking nightmare" (with the exception of the dude who was kind of stalking walking next to her, she might have chosen a bad part of town).
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of polite to smile and nod when someone asks how you're doing. In Europe the men are far more forward than that, and the women are nice about it and take it as a compliment. On the flip side, I know people from European countries who refuse to go to the Middle East for that reason…they say men will grab their girlfriend's ass on the street in front of them like it's a dare.
Same anon here adding: Forney is a douche. It's hard to believe he actually exists…he's more like a parody. And the other guy named Krill? That's a very fitting handle.
DeleteI agree that "a walking nightmare" was hyperbolic on my part. And of course it's OK to smile or even greet strangers in passing; I do so myself.
DeleteI'm a European transplant living in the US, and in my experience American men are somewhat more forward than most Europeans (although my experiences may not be typical).
DeleteI live in a suburban environment, which offers limited opportunities for social interactions, at least in comparison with the large cities, but I've been approached and propositioned numerous times by American men just in the course of my daily life (running errands, shopping, etc. in public places, in broad daylight).
I'm not talking catcalls but direct approaches that usually start with some sort of a compliment and sometimes end there, and at other times (e.g., I'm stuck in a checkout line) progress to a friendly chat, even though the man's intent is usually not too hidden.
I'm married and am not interested in meeting men, but I don't find their approaches distressing. Curiously enough, I'm also way past the dreaded Wall that the spherians like to warn women against (lol), so, according to spherian wisdom, I should be invisible to men, but, unlike in my youth, I am not. Go figure.
But, to stress the most important (IMO) part again, these are polite approaches and not vulgar name calling, threats, or worse. A compliment / friendly comment / chat is always welcome in my world, as long as a man develops a quick understanding that this is where things end.
One of the many insidious aspects of street harassment is that in my youth it made me so defensive that I wasn't receptive to the more honest and friendly approaches that you describe.
DeleteI've reached a point in my life where I am comfortably invisible, but prior to that I had got to a point where I could return a man's greeting, smile at a compliment etc, but it took me a long time to get too that point, and I bet I've frozen out some potential dating prospects along the way. And by compliment I mean something pleasant like 'Nice outfit', as opposed to 'Nice tits'.
I'm not sure it's street harassment per se that makes a young lady defensive.
DeleteA woman might feel defensive even by a look. By contrast, a man wouldn't. If a man went out and got a dozen cat calls from women…or even a hundred, he'd feel on top of the world. They could be very aggressive cat calls too, "Nice ass! Home home with me baby!!"
I should add that on the flip side, in a prison scenario/situation where the man was approached very aggressively by other men of course they'd be concerned and feel threatened. It's just the nature of how things are. Men and women are different.
DeleteRather than expecting the law to interpret compliments as threats (a police state style tactic) it would be more productive to change one's own behavior if you don't want to hear compliments. Is it fair? No, but it's reality. It's not fair I have to be the one who has babies and deals with most of the birth control. OTOH, a lot of what men experience isn't fair either.
Steps off soapbox.
To the Anon above: How exactly would you suggest a woman change her behavior to avoid street harassment?
DeleteWear something that doesn't draw attention.
DeleteThat isn't to say a person CAN'T wear something that draws attention. But if you do, it will draw attention.
Please spare me the "my grandmother was catcalled in her wheelchair!" style bullcrap. We all know there are clothes that draw attention, and clothes that don't. Wear whatever you like but don't expect everyone else not to notice or understand that while you are wearing clothes that draw attention, you don't actually want attention.
I'll expand on the above. The woman in the video, for instance, knew when she packed herself into that tight outfit she would be noticed. I suspect she would have been a bit demoralized if no one noticed her or said anything at all. She wore that tight outfit for two reasons: so she could say she was "just wearing jeans and a tee shirt and also to get noticed and film it. I have a lot of tee shirts and jeans she could have worn and I guarantee it would have been a rare person who would have noticed her. I wear them to playgroups.
Delete@Anonymous 8:20&8:45, you're wrong on numerous counts:
Delete1. A woman can get hassled regardless of what she's wearing, as Cinzia relates above, in Tehran she still got hassled in a hijab, just slightly less than in Western clothes. I myself can recall an occasion many years ago when I was returning from work and a man followed me in the station saying 'Can I take you home to bed? Can I take you home to bed?', are you suggesting my thick shapeless Winter coat inflamed his passions?
2. What you're saying just throws all the responsibility onto women, as if it's up to us to mold our actions according to our environment and take the blame when things go wrong. While there's an element of common sense to that, I would certainly not advise anyone to walk around alone in fishnets and a bikini but at the end of the day what is revealing or attention grabbing is pretty subjective, see above point about women being harassed in countries where they conceal their bodies entirely. It's not up to women to manage the actions of men.
3. By suggesting that street harassment is a harsh fact of life along with childbirth (though I personally find being the one to have babies is an awesome part of being a woman) you're letting men off the hook but also doing them a massive disservice. Men are not innately hardwired to approach or insult women in public, I'll bet that most men don't do it, and the ones who do are making a choice. Admittedly that choice is influenced by living in a society where that kind of behavior in deemed acceptable, but what society deems acceptable can be changed.
While I don't think the specific video above is particularly helpful to the issues of street harassment and catcalling, I do think it's an issue that is worthy of discussion.
Really, anon 8:20? That's so stupid: do you see men being harrassed and catcalled on the streets, in skinny jeans and tight tees that show off great legs and abs and pecs?!
DeleteThat's why I liked #dudesgreetingdudes so much: a guy can walk down the street strutting his stuff and expect to be relatively unmolested: we understand implicitly it's not ok to leer or interrupt or basically make our arousal his problem while he is simply going about his business.
So what if he IS dressed to impress and draw attention? Do you go ahead and assume it is YOUR particular attention he's trying to draw? Do you somehow want to punish him for turning you on? Of course not, he's a man so he's a real human being who is allowed to present himself as sexy or fashionable according to his own lights, AND have his dignity respected.
So many things that are presented as an either/or proposition for women are completely ludicrous ideas, when applied to men.
See I always go out in very modest clothing - I'm talking about pantsuits on workdays and baggy clothes on casual days. I never show leg - it's just not my style. And I still get catcalled, stalked, and groped. So the Anon's comment above is complete bullshit. Dressing skimpily will draw "attention", but not dressing so sure as hell won't prevent it.
Delete"Really, anon 8:20? That's so stupid: do you see men being harrassed and catcalled on the streets, in skinny jeans and tight tees that show off great legs and abs and pecs?!"
DeleteYeah, men are traumatized when women catcall them. They hate it and would never dress to invite sexual attention. When a dude wears assless chaps out in public look at all the women who flock up to him offering their bodies! That's why he'd never wear that sort of thing. The psychological trauma.
"I'm talking about pantsuits on workdays and baggy clothes on casual days. I never show leg - it's just not my style. And I still get catcalled, stalked, and groped. So the Anon's comment above is complete bullshit."
Yeah, I'm sure you're catcalled stalked and groped endlessly while dressed as Martha Washington. All the time. There's no stopping it! There's no way to address these greivance issues…men just grope and stalk and catcall. Now THAT sort of thing would make an impression on tape. We all have cellphones these days. Mind recording it?
Anon 7:34,
Deleteyou're being silly, as if everyone has their camera phone instantly at the ready to capture themselves getting harassed? Should you ask the guy to repeat himself while you get your phone out, and just hope he doesn't decide to mug you while he's about it?
And it doesn't have to literally happen constantly to be a problem, one incident every couple of months is enough to make a person nervous about going out.
That said, if google glasses had been around back when I was young enough to get grief from guys on a regular basis I might have invested in a pair. Then again, what kind of asshole would demand recorded proof?
"Then again, what kind of asshole would demand recorded proof?"
DeleteThe onus of burden of proof lies with the person making an extraordinary claim.
If someone tells me they "get catcalled, stalked, and groped" wearing baggy clothes, that is an extraordinary claim. The woman on this video was stalked one time in 10 hours, not groped, and with the exception of one or two statements she wasn't even "catcalled". And this is a videotaped event purposely designed to do so.
But Anon 10:04 is not pressing charges or on a witness stand. And while you think it's an extraordinary claim, that's your opinion.
DeleteI don't think it's extraordinary. As Cinzia says in the OP, she still got commented on, even when she donned a chador. I've had plenty of grief from men when fully covered. Did you see my comment further up when I relate once being propositioned at night during Winter when I had a big heavy coat on? If a woman gets groped when she's out and about it has more to do with the attitudes of the men in her community than it does with what she wears. Anon 10:04 didn't say she was groped constantly, just that is does happen, contrary to what Anon 8:20 claiming.
The fact that the women wasn't groped in the video is hardly to be taken as proof that groping doesn't happen, it's not like the film crew was just going to have her keep walking until she happened to find a groper! Even though I don't think this is a particularly good video, I think the fact she got stalked twice in one day is quite a lot.
"If a woman gets groped when she's out and about it has more to do with the attitudes of the men in her community than it does with what she wears."
DeleteGroping is actually against the law. That is called battery. The fact that it is against the law would reflect the pulse of the public as an action considered to be unacceptable. By contrast, speaking is not against the law (unless it is in the form of a threat).
Excuse me, not battery, assault. Battery is unwanted touching. Groping/fondling in the street would be assault.
DeleteOh, wait it isn't Krill but Krill was here…so, something below Krill. Perhaps the names algae and plankton were taken. Or maybe the name is supposed to invoke an image of something that even krill will pass up? I'm drawing a blank. Maybe sea lice.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen #dudesgreetingdudes yet? Super funny
ReplyDeleteHi Cynthia - I really enjoy your site, your voice is a nice addition to the blogosphere! It's great to hear your experiences as a woman in the middle east, particularly back in the 70s. It must have been a unique, once in a lifetime experience.
ReplyDeleteI have to put in my two cents about this post, though. First, no one in the Hollaback video shouted obscenities at the woman. "Have a nice day" doesn't exactly equate to a threatening hiss of "cunt, cunt, cunt" in my book. If anything, you've just corroborated Kirill's statement, haven't you? Women in the middle east do seem to have it much, much worse by your account. As a woman, I neither court nor fear the male gaze, but I've never felt the need to don a chador in any major western city.
Second, the woman in the photo (Ruth Orkin's "American Girl in Italy") has gone on the record to state that contrary to popular belief, she actually did enjoy the attention she received walking down the street. In her own words:
“It’s not a symbol of harassment. It’s a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time! I clutched my shawl to me because that sheaths the body. It was my protection, my shield. I was walking through a sea of men. I was enjoying every minute of it.”
Too lazy to track down the primary source, but here is some more information about the fascinating photo's context, for general interest: http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/04/19/american-girl-in-italy-behind-the-iconic-photo/
The "American Girl in Italy" may indeed have enjoyed the experience of posing for this photo (it was a staged shot) but I'm pretty sure that's not how most viewers of the image interpret it. "I clutched my shawl... It was my protection, my shield [as] I was walking through a sea of men..." Yup, that's how I felt wearing a chador. And of course, it's worse for women in the middle east, but that doesn't mean it's hunky dory here. Some of the stuff on that video is innocuous, but some of it is crudely, baldly objectifying, and some of it is downright spooky (i.e., the guy falling into step next to her for minutes). I see it as a matter of degree of harassment. Glad it wouldn't bother you though!
DeleteThe "American Girl's" statements are mutually exclusive and incongruent with her body language.
DeleteA woman having "an absolutely wonderful time" does not need a "shield" and "protection" (unless... she's into that kind of thing).
In addition to protectively clutching her shawl, she's looking down, avoiding eye contact, and striding through that "sea of men" with a fearful expression on her face and a sense of defensive determination that belies her claim about "absolutely wonderful time."
Here is an interview with her (which does not shed any more light on this curious discrepancy between what she says she felt and what her body language tells us):
http://www.today.com/id/44182286/ns/today-today_news/t/subject-american-girl-italy-photo-speaks-out/#.VFxZszTF8Yk