Walking while female

Hey you. 

Yeah, you. That guy from outside the Rose of Australia pub on Erskineville Rd, Erskineville, on the afternoon of Saturday, July 14. The ginger guy with the beard and the husky puppy. I went over to you and said, “Hey, that's a nice puppy.” And you responded, “You've got some nice puppies there,” staring at my chest. 

That's right, remember me? The blonde woman? 

What you said was way out of line and beyond unacceptable. Seriously, what on earth was your motivation for making a comment like that? Did you not want me to pat your dog? Because if that's the case, you should have just bloody well said so. Did you think I would react favourably? That I'd giggle and say, “Aw, shucks, mister, you mean these?” and give you a better view? Get fucking real. Does this look like a Carry On movie to you?  Or, hey, maybe you thought you were doing me a favour by commenting on my appearance  in front of all those people? Let's be clear. “Nice puppies,” with reference to a stranger's breasts is never a compliment. As far as justifications go, that is nothing more than a thin, brown streak of shite, and you know it.

What happened was that you tried to reduce me to an object, rather than the human being that I am. You decided to treat me with contempt and derision because you thought it was cool. 

Stunned, I froze and did nothing. I thought, “That did not just happen.” I rewrote the encounter in my mind minus the sexist put down. Turns out this is something of a common reaction when women are faced with sexist attacks like this, and many of the people who engage in this sort of aggression rely on this delayed reaction. I guess you're one of 'em, aren't you? Does it make you feel special, like an honoured member of a fraternity of arseholes?

I gotta say, I'm curious - would you talk like this to your mother, to your grandmother? Your sister or, if such an unlucky soul exists, your daughter? How'd you like it if some random mouth-breathing gobshite went up and  treated them with such disrespect? And how would they appreciate such dubious attention? Do you think they'd LIKE it, that they'd think it was FUNNY? Do you think they'd be moved to hysterics by the sheer magnitude of your incisive wit? You absolute moron.

So what's my message, then, you shit-blithering bottom-crawler? It's this: Grow the hell up and stop being such a creep because the next person you put down might not react so nicely. The next person you refer to in a derogatory manner might take matters into her own hands and “nice puppies,” might be the last thing you say for quite some time. Personally, I'd like to set you on fire and watch.