malarko wrote:
Peaky Blinders wrote:
Huh?
“To men, when you see and hear these stories, please don’t ignore them because they make you uncomfortable. Help make the city a safe environment for women.” Richardson says.
There are simple things men can do on their runs to support female runners, such as giving them space when passing, or crossing the street in the dark to not make women feel uncomfortable.
What if the female runner is BIPOC? Am I insulting them by avoiding them? Can we assume they are a female runner based on their appearance? What if they are identifying as male that day? I would think the female runners appreciate male runners in their general vicinity because it makes them less likely to be attacked. Most of these attacks come from non-runners and are telegraphed in advance by the attacker.
There are too many rules for us toxicly masculine & oppressive runners. I just give a casual cool "sup" head bob and flash the peace sign when passing runners going the opposite direction. It is an expression of my recognition that they are grinding out the miles in the same, often crappy conditions, that I am.
You've pretty much got it. Things like "cross the street to make the woman feel safer" don't do anything of value, because of what they accomplish: make her "feel" safer. Don't be a dick, don't bump up against women, don't catcall, don't say stupid things. But it's no one's job to make anyone "feel" safe, especially since "feeling safe" won't save you from the attacker who doesn't care how you feel. Instead of insisting good men do extra to make women "feel" better, focus on stopping bad men from doing the things women are, quite sensibly, afraid of.
as a woman I agree! but recent 'liberal' ideology clearly values making people feel safer while accomplishing nothing very highly. That's how we got to everybody wearing masks for no useful reason except they think it's 'respectful' because it will make people 'feel safe'.