tw: sexual harassment

Throughout the duration of this class, I’ve become increasingly aware of the ways I/my body occupy public spaces and interact with other bodies in these spaces. I’ve thought about the times I’ve contorted my body in an attempt to become a smaller form of myself on public transport while men around me take a seat and spread themselves out with seemingly little care for others around them. I’ve thought about the embodied fear that I am always walking around with, knowing that I’m a target for harassment simply because I’m a woman. I’ve thought about the internalized distrust I have for the bodies of strangers. I’ve thought about every unsolicited name or whistle that’s been hurled my way. Most of these encounters are impersonal. A stranger calling me a name or purposely and intensely invading my space probably means nothing to them and they’re probably never going to think about it again. While there is never a good time or place for verbal or physical harassment, I’m mostly used to the prospect of it occurring when I am in public places. (This is not to say that I think it’s acceptable, or that I’m okay with it, or that I’m not fighting it, but that it isn’t necessarily shocking anymore.) But what do you do if this kind of harassment is happening in places you considered safe spaces?

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