Yesterday on my way to the bar a random guy shouted "hey shorty suck my fat dick" in my direction. I was too shocked to respond and hoped he hadn't been speaking to me, but looking back I think he was. Since I've had my "feminist" revelation I realize that this is not something that I should accept as normal and ignore. I wish I had said something to him. How would you react in this situation? — Asked by caishcaish

Ugh, I’m so sorry that happened to you. What an asshole. I think your response should really depend on a number of factors - how you’re feeling at the moment, what you’d like to get out of an interaction if there is one, and how safe you feel, among other things. I got a lot of street harassment growing up in NYC and my usual response was to curse them out or ask them how they would like it if someone said something similar to their sister, mother, etc. These days, a nasty look tends to do the trick. You should check out Hollaback for tips/stories from other people who have experienced street harassment.

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  1. witchbaby said: alternative options: pick your nose. start crying. hawk a loogie.
  2. annadoeskorea said: A few ideas: 1. Tell him to suck your dick. 2. Say that you’d love to but you don’t have your microscope handy. 3. Suggest that if he’s that bad with women, he should probably just give up now, go home and take care of himself.
  3. atheologist said: Unfortunately, some people don’t react the way you hope. I got catcalled the other day, and when I flipped him off, he just yelled “yeah, that’s what I’d like to do to you!” It made me feel even more gross than before.
  4. jessicavalenti posted this