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I went to the supermarket and there happened to be four men and a lady working for a children's charity. They were talking to people about signing up with them to make donations. I made the mistake of talking to the guy who seemed very keen to finish his conversation with a lady, as he sidestepped her to come to me.
Instantly, he starts his spiel: he stares at me and says that I look familiar; like someone he knows. I'm very good with faces and say that I don't know him and have never met him. He then asks me if I work in the media industry or if I'm on TV to which I say no. I'm wondering, if you claim to know me, won't you know what I do? He then goes on to say that he's sure he knows me and asks how old I am.
He goes on to talk about the charity he works for and asks if I'd like to make a donation. I tell him that I already donate to another charity so I won't be making a donation this time to his charity. He proceeds to ask me my name, what I do for work and if I live locally. What do these questions have to do with anything? I was as vague as possible and pretended to get a call on my phone. I then said, that I won't be signing up with his charity and he said that maybe he "wasn't good enough", in terms of trying to sell me the idea. I said that he tried but he would have to get someone else to sign up. Before I walked off, he asked if I was on Instagram and wanted my handle so he could "send me something". I told him that I don't have Instagram.
I made the mistake of not doing my usual thing of pretending I didn't see the person and walking off or just saying "Sorry!" and walking off. Interacting with this clown allowed him the opportunity to want to dig for information from me. Him and men like him annoy me to no end because they ALWAYS veer away from the situation at hand to see if they can pick up a woman. Uber drivers flirt with women, delivery men flirt with women, a plumber will come to your house and try to flirt with you, your male friend will suddenly try to kiss you while word-vomiting how he's "loved you for the last 5 years". It's bloody annoying! The joke is, men say that we need them and try to act like they're doing us a favour by bestowing themselves onto us but it's men I hear and read about that obsessively harass, need and want women.
Omg, the “male friend tries to kiss you” example brought back so many awkward memories of being a college student with a car. I had “okay that’s nice, but it’s time to get out of my car” moments every other week! My favorite one was a theater club guy (who I didn’t even know that well) who sat there awkwardly after we pulled up to his friend’s place, and made not one, but TWO aborted lunge attempts at me. I pretended like I didn’t notice, and deliberately rummaged in my purse (this was before smart phones), looking out the drivers’ side window while he said “um… so…” until I couldn’t take in anymore, and said “yeah, so I guess I’ll see you at rehearsal. Bye!”
I can’t tell you how annoying it was to go out of my way to drop off a classmate, and then have him waste five minutes of my time sitting in the passenger seat going “yeah… so…” like WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN, SIR? DO YOUR MALE FRIENDS KISS YOU GOODNIGHT WHEN THEY DRIVE YOU HOME?? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WILL??? UNLESS YOU ARE EXPLAINING HOW YOU INTEND TO PAY ME GAS MONEY TOMORROW, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT HAVE CASH ON YOU TODAY, THEN GET THE FUCK OUT MY CAR!
And that’s why I don’t drive men places anymore. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Openly shame them in public as they deserve. Men harrass us all the time, everyone in the vicinity should know it shouldn’t be socially acceptable at all
It’s also quite fun when you stick up for yourself or other women esp in public. For instance, I cussed out some freak ass smelly dude who wouldn’t stop sexually harrassing a woman behind me in line at a tourist spot and she joined in and we both told him off and to leave her tf alone until he screeched “bitches!!!” and scurried away lol. It was satisfying
You know, and it's funny, because men have forever brainwashed us into thinking that it's us women who are so obsessed with romance, love, relationships, marriage, the whole shazzam, and that we are so clingy and weird and overemotional and annoying about this.
Meanwhile, it's men who act like the world is ending because single childless women are quickly becoming the norm and more and more women every day are opting out of dating altogether. It's men who act like they're going to commit suicide if you don't accept their compliments or them asking you out during the most inappropriate situations, such as what happened to you. It's men who don't thrive at all while single, especially if it's been a very long dry spell for them, while single women by and large tend to live incredibly enriching lives.
I would take men more seriously with their "I'm not ready for commitment/Marriage is just a piece of paper/I don't know why I should settle down" spiels, if they don't act so pathetic in public when I'm just doing my own thing and don't want to entertain them or see them as viable romantic options at all. Can't have it both ways.
It's sickening feeling like prey any time I leave the safety of my home. It's unbelievable the audacity, the nerve , the gawl these douchebags have.
I had a funny story. I was invited to a corporate party and afterwards, at about 1:00 a.m. I call a cab. It started raining and no one wanted to go. But about an hour later a cab driver came and took me home. Because of the rain he stopped and refused to go, I persuaded him to take me home because it was raining and I was scared to get out of the car at night in the center of the city. He made me nervous, but he drove me home. And in the end he decided to ask me out on a date! Really? After all he wanted to do for me, or rather not do, he decided that I would want to see him again.
that’s a whole lotta weird, intrusive questions. sir, you can ask all of those questions IF and AFTER she agrees to sign up for your charity.