A Must Read

I just came across this very interesting post about street harassment and how men can avoid doing it. It is called "Schrödinger's Rapist: Or a Guy's Guide to Approaching Strange Women Without Being Maced." It is smart and funny and a must read.

Street Humiliator Gets a Taste of Public Humiliation

This guy outside of Mcdonald's on Milwaukee in Logan Square yelled something at me regarding my ass, so instead of doing what I usually do (be in a bad mood all day, cuss under
my breath, scowl at everyone, regret not doing anything), I took out my
camera and started snapping photos. I then started yelling, "Say something
now! Say something now! You man enough now? What? You can't say anything
now?" and he cowered in fear.



Soon everyone on the street noticed the scene I was making and they were
all laughing along at the poor sucker. A troupe of girls in Catholic
school uniforms were especially amused. A passerby exclaimed, "So now he's
camera-shy!?" It felt wonderful to turn the tables of humiliation onto the
humiliator.

Cell Phone Film Maker on the Red Line

I was riding the Red Line northbound last night; we were around Sheridan when I noticed that the guy sitting in front of me was taking videos with his phone of a dozing teenage boy. The guy was very obvious about it, holding his phone out and shooting the boy's from his face to his crotch to his calves. When each 60-second clip would end, he would start a new one. I leaned forward and said to him loudly enough for all to hear that he was being creepy. He ignored me completely, so I repeated, louder, "Excuse me. YOU ARE BEING CREEPY." He ignored me and continued to film, so I stood up and pulled out my camera phone and took his picture. At this point he pretended he was talking on his phone. I took several pictures of him, getting close to his face and asking him how he liked it. He continued to pretend he was talking on his phone and at one point muttered something that sounded like "shut up." I kept my eyes on him to make sure he see if he was going to try to follow me as I got off the train at Argyle, but he continued to hold the phone to his ear.


~Submitted by Jesse

Think B4 You Speak!

This is not a personal story, but one of thousands and thousands of innocents that I am speaking out for. Every day, there are far too many people bullied due to their sexual orientation. What's worse? In addition to bullying, they are subjected to the abuse of the word "gay", a word which these individuals take great pride in.

Hearing slurs like, "That's so gay!" Or even, "Don't be a fag," can horribly break a person down. Most people agree and acknowledge this fact, however, they all continue to abuse these terms.

The reason I am speaking up is because there is a group that is stepping up to STOP the abuse of the word "gay" (and others like it) and to help curb the bullying inflicted on homosexuals, both old and (perhaps more tragically) sad.

This group is named, GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network). Earlier this year they held the "Think B4 You Speak" event, urging people to "find another word" to use instead of "gay" or "fag".

Now, with the help of you, thousands of people have stepped up and vowed to stop the abuse of these words...and we're encouraging all of you who have felt the pain of these (and other) types of attacks on the streets of your own home cities/towns, to step-up and make a vow of your own.

Visit www.GLSEN.org or www.ThinkB4youSpeak.com to find out more and help put an end to this horribly painful, ignorant behavior. With your help, we CAN make a difference.

Thank you for your time...

Sean Carroll

Ukrainian Village Street Harasser with a Camera

I was walking home to Ukrainian Village after going for a jog in Humbolt Park. I was wearing some black leggings from American Apparel, the same thing I always wear when I run. But this wasn't like normal. This time, I was trailed by a man driving a 90s Chrysler minivan, champagne colored. I turned around and realized he was using his camera phone to take a picture of my butt. I yelled, "What are you doing?" and he yells back, "Trying to take a picture of your sexy pants." I said, "What?" because I was having trouble comprehending what was going on... he yells, "I am trying to take a picture of your see-through pants." So I yelled back, "You are fucking disgusting, leave me alone!" and he responds, "You're the fucking pervert! You're wearing see-through pants!" He continued to call me a pervert as he drove away... First, my pants were not see through. They were basically yoga pants. Second, regardless of how form-fitting they were, dude had no right to photograph my ass for his spank material. And then to call me a pervert? Projection, yes? I wanted to throw up. So ladies... if you see this guy in the van with long, greasy grey hair and glasses, get his license number in case he harasses you. Because by the time I realized he was trying to take pictures of my butt, I was too frazzled to get his plate number.

~submitted by Emily

Message from a Reader

Sexual harassment is around us everywhere we go and ignoring it will not make it go away. Neither will brushing it under a rug. Lawmakers and employers are not doing enough to stop this nauseating behavior so most incidents go unreported giving the harasser a false sense their behavior and harassment is acceptable. What is even worse is when someone actually does speak up and reports harassment they often face retaliatory actions from their harasser, employer and others. These retaliatory actions range from personal threats and stalking to the victim losing their job for reporting the behavior and legal actions against them. Feeling the need to help change these issues, I recently started a grass-roots non-profit organization (The Dogwood Project) that provides aid and support to individuals, both men and women alike, who have reported sexual harassment and now face retaliatory actions. I have also just created a facebook page for the organization. Please come join us in the fight against sexual harassment and for women's rights!!

Thanks,

Lucky

Check Out this Piece at Salon.com

Porn in a flash:A troubling surge in creepy "upskirt" photography has lawmakers in a twist -- and the body parts of women posted all over the Internet.

By Tracy Clark-Flory