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Sexual street harassment in Brixton

trashpony said:
Is 'the clash between those comfortable on the street and those not so' the clash between men and women?

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Innit. As I have said elsewhere a woman in public is not public property.
 
Kizmet said:
I think part of the problem, putting aside incidents of genuine nastiness of which there are many, is the clash between those comfortable on the street and those not so.

With the inevitable result of making those uncomfortable people even more uncomfortable.
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I must remember this little gem next time someone's harassed in the workplace. "Of course part of the problem is the clash between those comfortable in the office and those not so.."
 
trashpony said:
Is 'the clash between those comfortable on the street and those not so' the clash between men and women?
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Not entirely. I think the level of self-consciousness or vulnerability you are feeling "can be "read" in your clothes, gait and manner" as Trabuquera says. I reckon a man who's looking for entertainment will throw a line out to a woman he thinks he'll get a reaction out of and sadly, some men aggressively pick on a woman who's looking vulnerable. Conversely, I see highly attractive young women walk completely unmolested. Usually if you front it out and project invulnerability and mild boredom with their antics you won't get unduly bothered.
 
I get hello sexy, beautiful etc a lot - way more than in central London. And I've been kerb-crawled a few times, and had, frankly, CHILDREN say vile, shocking things to me. The former is water off a duck's back these days, although I never know how I'm supposed to react. I'm conditioned to be polite so i usually smile vaguely like an idiot thenI just scuttle off feeling faintly uncomfortable. I stopped wearing red lipstick for a while years ago because I always got comments about my lips whenever I did.

What I don't mind is genuine compliments like "nice dress" or "that colour looks good on you", both of which I've had recently.
 
Effrasurfer said:
Not entirely. I think the level of self-consciousness or vulnerability you are feeling "can be "read" in your clothes, gait and manner" as Trabuquera says. I reckon a man who's looking for entertainment will throw a line out to a woman he thinks he'll get a reaction out of and sadly, some men aggressively pick on a woman who's looking vulnerable. Conversely, I see highly attractive young women walk completely unmolested. Usually if you front it out and project invulnerability and mild boredom with their antics you won't get unduly bothered.
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I don't think that's true... I don't think you have to look vulnerable to get harassed on the street. Also this sounds a bit like victim blaming to me.
 
S A Villarino said:
Have you experienced it? Have you seen it happen to others? How does Brixton square with other areas?
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It happens. It is no worse or better than the home counties. It is certainly better than central London.
 
I thought twice about posting that because I know it sounds like victim blaming, but it's my own experience. And I did say 'usually', not 'always'.
 
Effrasurfer said:
Not entirely. I think the level of self-consciousness or vulnerability you are feeling "can be "read" in your clothes, gait and manner" as Trabuquera says. I reckon a man who's looking for entertainment will throw a line out to a woman he thinks he'll get a reaction out of and sadly, some men aggressively pick on a woman who's looking vulnerable. Conversely, I see highly attractive young women walk completely unmolested. Usually if you front it out and project invulnerability and mild boredom with their antics you won't get unduly bothered.
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The other people whose vulnerability leads to harassment is the beggars.

There are a couple I see in West End now. I asked one why he comes to West End. He said in Brixton he would get harassed and any money he got taken off him. I suppose his "gait and manner" was at fault.:rolleyes:

imo picking on someone who looks vulnerable- whether male of female- is bullying.

I recently intervened to stop two teenagers rob a smaller kid of his mobile phone. Clearly the kid had not yet learned how to project invulnerability.:rolleyes:
 
I didn't like looking attractive for a long time because of the attention it got. I'd dress down and cover up. Many of my stories are from years ago so I don't know how relevant they are to situations today. However if young men have seen their older friends and relatives behave that way and get away with it in the past, then perhaps these stories of harassment need to be mentioned to let them know that it's not appropriate.

Seven Sisters was worse for this. I got followed into three shops before the man got the hint that I wasn't a prostitute. (someone must have told him the streets were paved with whores.) I've also been propositioned at Stamford Hill and Brick Lane but interestingly never Brixton.
 
Gramsci said:
imo picking on someone who looks vulnerable- whether male of female- is bullying.

I recently intervened to stop two teenagers rob a smaller kid of his mobile phone. Clearly the kid had not yet learned how to project invulnerability.:rolleyes:
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I totally agree.
 
The shocking thing is how young some of the perpetrators are. A boy of about 12 waved a tenner in my face once near Bethnal Green and asked for a blow job. I know it was bravado in front of his mate but still. A lot of men really don't realise how prevalent low-level harassment is for women.
 
My favorite not quite harassment story:

I was on my way home and a guy came to chat me up. He was from Jamaica and was a poet and told me about his life. So I was waiting for him to ask when I could see him which he did. My reply was that I had a boyfriend who wouldn't be happy with me meeting other men. I expected him to tell me that the boyfriend "don't need to know". Instead, the gentleman said that he wouldn't want to cause any problems with my relationship and had enjoyed talking to me. he wished me good day and went on his way. :D
 
boohoo said:
I've also been propositioned at Stamford Hill and Brick Lane but interestingly never Brixton.
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I've been propositioned quite politely on Brixton Hill late at night a few years back but that was a case of mistaken identity. No harm no foul.
 
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