My male coworker complained that my bra straps were showing, he called it “distracting” and said the male equivalent would be a woman seeing a man walking around with his penis out. I just looked at him and asked if he genuinely understood what a bra is. A bra is underwear. Genitals are not. The actual equivalent would be a guy wearing his pants low enough that his boxers are showing….which plenty of men do without anyone acting like it’s obscene. The fact that some men can’t tell the difference between underwear and genitalia says everything. And somehow, they’re still trusted to legislate women’s reproductive rights.
Not to be that person, but our literary/visual understanding of romantic expressions as Africans are very much defined by white standards. Yes, even in love, we are colonised.
Otherwise what concerns an African woman with hair tucking? Her Afro (or braids) don’t move that way 😭
A lot of you don’t see a problem with these rape cases or issues because you have molested your cousins, your friends, your house maids.
Coercing and forcing them to sleep with you, some eventually surrender and just let you, you think that consensual?? You raped them. Idiots
Outreaches are interesting, cos where else will you see someone with BP 258/123mmHg and they're insisting it's only high because they didn't sleep last night 🙃
You’ll do all the gymnastics to make sure you’re not being followed, your house is unknown and someone will pay to have you tracked, to assault you
It’s not life we’re living as women
This happened to me on Sunday.
On my way back from church, I stopped at a POS stand to withdraw cash for transportation. While I was there, a man approached me and said he had been calling me, but I honestly didn’t even realize anyone was. He said I looked pretty and wanted to get to know me. He asked for my number, and I gave it to him.
For context, I have two lines. One is the number I give out in situations like that, especially when someone is persistent. I make sure they call immediately so I can block the number once I’m safely away. It’s even on a small button phone for that exact reason.
After I made my withdrawal and left, his call came in and I blocked him right away.
Sometimes, women do things like this purely for safety. Ignoring men in public can escalate quickly, insults, aggression, or even worse. So you calculate in the moment and choose the option that’s safest.
I’m also very cautious in other ways. For example, I won’t enter a public transport if I’m the only woman inside. These decisions are survival instincts shaped from experience (my eldest sister’s. this one is a story for another day).
The bigger issue is the culture that normalizes these harassments. If I ever have sons, I hope to raise them to understand boundaries, respect, and self control!
Women should not have to strategize just to exist safely in public and even private spaces.
“If you knew you won’t reply him, why did you now give him your number?”
The only people who ask this are men, because as a woman, you already know why.
Content creators don't understand how dangerous it is to, consciously or unconsciously, groom their audience into feeling like they're a part of their actual family. An influencer talked about going grocery shopping with her child when one of her followers saw them. She picked