[Sheri]

I have to object to the generalizations that are flying around in this discussion. Anytime you say, ‘white women are…’ or ‘Latino men are…’ this is not taking into account that those people who promote whatever behavior you are referring to do not represent the entire group. There are vast differences and diversity within any one group. Case in point: how many times have you heard that bisexuals are all sex-crazed, promiscuous sluts who can’t commit to a relationship? Maybe you’ve even met one like that, so of course it confirmed your opinion. But would you believe there are as many ways of expressing your bisexuality as there are minds and hearts out there?

We have to be willing to open our minds here if we want to have an intelligent discussion about street harassment. And by the way, it is awful, and it is not only ‘weak white women’ who object to it. Once again, women of different races, sexualities and classes find it offensive. And just as with other groups that you can’t generalize about, there are many different types of harassers and reasons why they harass. Some tell you to smile, or they say something ‘nice,’ like you’ve got a pretty face! Some do it to show off for their buddies, to show them who is in charge and that they can make the woman respond. But here is the major difference and the reason women find it threatening: there are documented cases of men ‘rape-testing’ women, meaning they start out harassing them on the street, all the while testing their responses. If the woman smiled and didn’t say anything, if she ‘just ignored it,’ these rapists followed the woman home and violated her. These were serial rapists who raped several women before finally being caught.

Most violent attacks against women start out with harassment. It is a fact. No one is saying all harassment is the same, because it’s not. But whether it’s just an unwelcome comment or is downright dangerous, it’s wrong. No one should have to spend time every day analyzing whether the guy saying things to you on the street wants to rape you, will hit you if you respond, or if he’s just ‘bored’. Because harassment carries the threat of rape, of which all women in this world are so conscious every day, it should be stopped. You should tell your guy friends to stop harassing women. We don’t like it.

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Name : Sheri, Gender : F, Age : 29, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, 

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