Last Tuesday, I popped out on my lunch break at work to pick
up a gorgeous pair of shoes I had ordered from Next. As I work in the centre of
Manchester, this is something I have the freedom to do regularly and
I love getting out to refresh my mind from the morning’s activities.
However, upon my return to my office, I was met by a car
full of men who decided to pull up at the crossing I was on in the middle of a
dual carriageway and proceed to tell me a few things about myself. I couldn’t
move; I was completely blocked in. Behind me, there were two lanes of traffic;
in front of me, there were two lanes of traffic - two lanes with the green
light that the driver was holding up to speak to me, by the way. Sadly, this isn’t
the first time this has happened to me, not even the second, not even the fifth…
I don’t want to dedicate too much time to this creature so I’ll
summarise his main point for you: I was “too nice to be walking around here
alone”. Now, this is something I’ve had said to me before so I’m guessing it’s
on page one of ‘How to be a Moron for Dummies’ but it’s a statement I’ll never understand.
His next comment was also one I hear a lot and will additionally never understand
but, ladies, stand by - this is a good one!
As I told him to move on and pointed him in the direction
his car was supposed to be going, he quickly became embarrassed in front of his
friends (poor guy!) and yelled “IT’S A COMPLIMENT!” There it is – that classic
line you’ve heard a million times that allows certain men to say whatever they
want under a cloak of benevolence.
Over the years, I have, lamentably, come to accept this
behaviour, but this occasion was particularly poignant for me because it was my
first day back to work after losing my amazing Granny; a feeling of enough
is enough swarmed over me and so I simply had to share my experience with you.
At a time when it feels like our freedom as females is
walking an ever finer tightrope (Brexit may spell the abolition of some European
equality laws, the country with which we have a “special relationship” is being
run by someone who says horrendous things about women and the gender pay gap still hasn't been eliminated), I fear that we are being stripped of our individual identities.
Well, I’m here to say that I AM NOT MOST GIRLS. That doesn’t
mean I'm better; that doesn’t mean I’m worse, but I am different to the next
girl you see and she is different to the following girl and so on. Although one thing is true of us all: we're totally and utterly fed up with you trying to holler at us from your (best friend's) ride.
Take care,
Jacqueline xx
Sunglasses: old (similar here)
Choker: Etsy
T-shirt: Noisy May