From a discussion elsewhere:

<link> [...] "Although a sexxxy lady walking down the street is clearly asking for it, piling on pious yards of cloth doesn’t appear to protect Egyptian women from jeering, ogling, and weener-wagging; the study says most of the women reported being “dressed conservatively“ when their harassment ocurred.

Egypt, the US, wherever; a woman in public, the world over, is either a prostituted woman, or is trespassing on traditional male territory, and is fair game either way. Street harassment is a convenient method by which men can enjoy participating in rape culture, whenever the urge strikes, without going to too much trouble."

<link> "Yep. I felt the leering eyes of a couple of men the other day while walking across campus. It was creepy and I didn’t like it much. Guys and many women would say that since I am no longer in the age of hotness (since I’m 38) I should like the attention. Me, I don’t like the power game that leering and other street harassment represents. Leave me the fuck alone and keep your eyes to yourself.

<link> "Yeah, god forbid a man should keep his opinions to himself as to whether or not he finds a woman sexually pleasing to his eye. Where would the world be without that freedom?"

<link> "No amount of hair cutting or non-sexxay clothing can help avoid that kind of behaviour. Take my word for it. The other day, on the train home from work (it was crowded), two middle-aged men noticed me because of my short hair and - I suppose - the way my clothes failed to place me in the ‘fuckable’ category at first glance (jeans and a jacket. How subversive).

They loudly commented on my being “a tomboy”, then attempted to force me back into my natural position of inferiority within the human hierarchy by staring at me and making grotesque pseudo-seductive faces (eyebrow-wiggling, sticking [out] their tongue, etc). Clearly, I didn’t look vulnerable/sexually available (i.e. female) enough according to their standards, and that was just as good a reason to harass me as if I’d been wearing stilettos and a miniskirt."

"Street harassment is a convenient method by which men can enjoy participating in rape culture, whenever the urge strikes, without going to too much trouble."

I for my part, consider neither street harassment or other public participation rape culture to be the sorts of pastimes that emotionally mature adults engage in.

I understand that it is somewhat self-serving of me to look down my nose at jeering construction workers or lecherous businessmen, but I will do so anyway. Not because I'm a lily-white prude who'd never need to confess to "impure thoughts," but because I like to think of myself (correctly, I would hope) as someone who doesn't need to put others in a place below mine to validate myself.

Don't feel bad about feeling superior to the jeering construction workers or the lecherous businessmen, Lyger, 'cause I think the point of the original poster is that you're not. We are all - all of us with testicles - participating in the Rape Culture. I had no idea, of course, but there it is. All this time I thought I was leading an honorable life, considerate of my fellow man and woman, but nah. Now excuse me, I have to get to my secret Patriarchy meeting, where we drop our facades, swing our dicks out on the table, and bask in our dominance. Hope I see some ladies on the way that I can subject to a good "eye-rape."

Well, yeah. Civilized people like you and I learn to contain ourselves in much the same way children learn not to pick their noses. But it goes on, regardless. It's an extremely persistent and effective method of keeping women on their toes.