Womanizers

Hurrah! The trend of negativity that has been plaguing my posts will meet its end today. I concluded my previous entry by highlighting the line between a respectful introduction when a woman catches a man's eye and blatant harassment. Again, I do not think that this issue is unique to Windsor and I know this does not include every man you will encounter here, but I think you all deserve a forewarning of what being an underage girl often entails in this city.

To begin, I am sure you all have induced that I love to ride my bike. If you didn't know, now you know. Typically, my cycling remains in proximity to the Downtown or Walkerville areas. My bicycle tendencies are only relevant because, needless to say, one does not wear pants whilst cycling in our humidity. I don't know what it is about these men needing to hurl obscenities as bare legs cruise past them, but it is deeply disturbing for the bearer of said legs. Such perverted things that I dare not mention have been screamed to me or to girls that I know for the simple reason that we are female. These men are not limited by language or whistling either, oh no! There have been cases during which I've been barked at following these remarks. I don't get what is so rewarding about doing this. No female in their right mind would turn around after they've been blatantly objectified and invite the orator to make their acquaintance. It is not fair that no matter how modestly one tries to dress, no matter how one attempts to avoid the situation, the attention is hardly minimized. It frightens me that I actually need to sit here and select which anecdotes to share because there have been countless instances during which social boundaries were not respected.

A picture from the E-Bike man day.
My friend and I had cycled to the Peace Fountain,
taking advantage of the fresh warmth of the air.

I was cycling at my leisure up Riverside Drive during one of the first days of spring last year. A man who could not have been any less than thrice my age passed me on his E-Bike, with some accent told me that "on dis bike, I can go like dis so easy," and gesticulated as if he was hitting someone's bottom repetitively. It was repulsive.

A more intimate example of this behavior took place in front of the Milk Coffee Bar. It must have been a Monday in September, because the jazz improvisation band was playing and I couldn't listen to its entirety because I cherish sleep on school nights. Details aside, I was unlocking my bike when a man of perhaps my father's generation approached me and began teasing me about "stealing his bike" and asking me where I found his key. I halfheartedly chuckled before he proceeded to ask me if I knew any bars suitable for such Monday evenings. I told him about the jazz band that was playing and, evidently lacking his interest in that department, pointed down the street towards Phog. He then did the unthinkable: offered to buy me drinks if I were to tag along with him. I kindly refused with the excuse that I had high school the next morning, putting emphasis on the age reference. He did not seem in the least perturbed and wondered at my hesitation, trying to persuade me with "just one won't hurt!" and such. Thankfully, since he did not attempt to stop me by physical means, I was able to hop on my Nishiki and, with pseudo-apologetic salutations, make it out in one piece. Surely it wasn't my brain that enticed him to come and say Hello.

You now see that these things don't just happen to voluptuous or under-dressed girls, though they likely face it more often. I can honestly say that I cannot think of one female whom I've had the conversation with that has not been harassed in such a way in Windsor. Imagine how horribly creepy it is when things like this happen! Physical harassment is a whole other discussion - luckily this one is much less common, as far as I am aware.

Nanda Dimitrov,
University of Western Ontario

In order to understand how this situation differs in other places on the globe, I did some research and came
across an article by Nanda Dimitrov on Eastern European women and their views on the battle of the sexes in American culture. She stated that European women take such interest of men as a validation of their femininity and not as sexism. In her opinion, the root of the problem exists because American men are so accustomed to hostility from the surrounding female population that at the slightest sign of warmth or sexual opportunity they cannot restrain their excitement. In my opinion, American women would be far more flattered by this attention if it were of the respectful sort, and the hostility is but a defense mechanism because these men have painted a picture of what their priorities are.

However, it is never fair to generalize: not all men's intentions are impure. With that said, I rest my case. I give you my word, dearest reader, that you can expect far more pleasant observations in posts to come!!