Recently, I made a post where women shared their stories of inappropriate times they were hit on by men, and the situations were upsetting, to say the least.
The comments were full of people urging men to do better and begging parents to raise their sons with a healthy concept of boundaries and respect for women.
Most of the responses, though, were from women sharing their own experiences of men hitting on them at extremely inappropriate times. Here are just some of the situations they shared:
1. "I was once hit on in the parking lot of a pet crematory, carrying my deceased dog inside."
2. "When I was in my 20s, I rear-ended this guy's precious Corvette. He was yelling and throwing his arms all about as if I had damaged his car beyond repair. I apologized profusely and started pulling out my insurance. Then, without skipping a beat, this egotistical prick had the audacity to ask me out!"
3. "I was at a funeral home talking with the funeral director about the obituary for my grandpa, who was like a father to me. We started discussing what, and who, would be mentioned in the obituary as remaining family. He asked me if I was married, and I said no. After that, he subtly hit on me in between questions before full-on asking me out."
4. "I was at the car wash vacuuming out my car. I was literally vacuuming crumbs out of my kid's car seat with sunglasses and a hoodie on. He asked me for my number because I was 'cute.' 🙄🤮"
5. "I was at a bar with my boyfriend. As soon as he went to the bathroom, some dude came up to me trying to get my number. He also had his friend try to ask for him first."
6. "In high school, a classmate (who had a girlfriend!) would not stop hitting on me and making gross comments no matter how many times I told him, loudly and clearly, 'NO WAY.' It frequently happened right in front of our sixtysomething male teacher, too, who did absolutely nothing. Can a 17-year-old girl even go to school in peace?"
7. "I was at a bar, clearly with this guy, and he happened to run into someone he knew from an old job. The guy kept hitting on me in front of the guy I was clearly with. Dude, get a clue!"
8. "My aunt told me a story once about how she had a fight with her son while he had a friend over. She got upset, and her son walked out angry. Meanwhile, the friend pretended to comfort my aunt while he made a move on her. The audacity! My aunt kicked him out and told her son, and he ended the friendship with this guy immediately."
9. "I've only ever really said hi and bye to my neighbor, but he knocked on my door to ask me out. I said no, but he still finds random reasons to knock on my door from time to time. I feel like my safe space is forever tainted now. I’m nonconfrontational to a fault, so I can’t even muster the courage to tell him to stop."
10. "I had a passport control police officer ask me out. He was still holding on to my passport when he asked if I wanted to go out on a date with him when I came back to the country. I had to lie and say I had a boyfriend."
11. "At my dad's wake, while I was standing next to my boyfriend (now husband), my brother's high school best friend said, 'You look good, real good.'"
12. "Once, I got pizza delivered while I was wearing a low-cut shirt. The pizza guy then texted me and said he wanted to come back upstairs because he thought my low-cut shirt was an 'invitation.'"
13. "I was with my newborn baby at a mall food court. I got a sudden case of heartburn that was so bad, I had to quickly clear out a shopping bag and barf in it. I tried to be discreet, but some dude saw it happen. He came over to ask if I was okay. I thought it was nice, until he offered to let me 'recover' at his place right around the corner. When I said no, he wanted to drive me home. He then followed us around the mall smiling and waving until I got security to escort us to the car."
14. "I was on a dinner date with my girlfriend when a guy sat down next to me at our table. He literally had to walk behind me and wedge himself in against the wall. He then asked if he could buy me a drink and maybe get my number. When my girlfriend and I both very clearly told him that, no, he could not and he was interrupting a date, he told me I was unfriendly. Damn shame, that is."
15. "I was shopping at CVS and trying to go as quickly as I could because I had a foot injury. A guy decided to use my injury as an excuse to hit on me. He said, 'You make that boot look good.' I just said no and walked away. Sir, do not use my pain and suffering to try to get your dick wet. That's a hard pass every single time."
16. "I was in a GameStop with my teenagers, WEARING MY *NASTY WOMAN* PLANNED PARENTHOOD TEE, and this guy started hitting on me in front of my kids, saying how he liked my shirt. I was laughing at him, but it didn't matter. He actually wrote his number on a receipt and handed it to me anyway."
17. "While I was moving, the movers and my family were making snide comments about my stuff as it was being packed. I lost my temper in the movers' presence and spent the rest of the time upstairs, where I could be alone. But one of the movers took a shine to me and kept trying to get on my good side. On their last day at the house, he kept saying flirty things and asking me personal questions to get me to open up. Just before they left, he came rushing back into the house with a folded-up paper from a legal pad. He had written a note alongside his phone number, saying that he knew he wasn't my 'type,' but I should hit him up when I got the chance."
18. "When I was 16, I worked at a movie theater. The new Highlander movie had just come out, and this man, well into his 20s and dressed up in his cosplay, hit on me while I was working concessions. It made me very uncomfortable, so I made an excuse to go to the back room while a coworker told him my age and to leave me alone. He still hung around trying to talk to me, so the manager let me stay in the back room until his movie ended. Afterward, he popped by concessions one more time looking for me."
19. "I actually stopped going to a Safeway near my apartment because the two security guards kept hitting on me. They would shake my cart and block me from going down aisles. I would always ignore them or tell them no, but it didn't work. Take a hint, dudes!"
Have you ever been hit on at a really inappropriate time or place? Share your story in the comments.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.