Recently, we rounded up the regular things women feel uncomfortable doing in public, and the BuzzFeed Community had a lot of experiences of their own to share in the comments. Here were some of the disheartening responses:
1. "Saying good morning to strangers. My parents taught me to always greet everyone I come across, and as a young adult, I continued doing that. I always said good morning to the bus driver, and one day he handed me a transit card with his name and number. I felt so uncomfortable afterward that now I don’t greet anyone outside of work."
2. "Walking up stairs in front of men. I’m a hostess, and I feel so weird leading men to tables upstairs because I can literally feel them staring at my ass."
3. "Eating a corn dog at school. My friend once commented on how I eat them 'weird' and would always stare at me. It shouldn’t be that way. We should just feel fine eating what we want, when we want, without stares and judgment."
4. "Buying Plan B or picking up your birth control at the pharmacy. People look at me like they have an open stake to burn me on."
5. "Going to the gym. I used to go every night, but I would be the only woman there. It made me so uncomfortable, so now I just use a workout streaming service at home. It’s not the same, but I don’t have that fear."
6. "Literally just having boobs. I have a fairly large chest, so even if I wear shirts that cover up my cleavage, my top inevitably slips down or gapes open. As a result, I always get told, 'Don’t cause men to lust after you,' so now I feel guilty and gross if it happens."
7. "Being friendly and bubbly. Not only do men assume I’m dumb, but they also think I’m flirting. I’ve had to leave multiple jobs because my managers didn't take me seriously, even though I was able to show that I was capable of doing my job."
8. "Just sitting down. I always wear shorts under my skirts, but I still worry people are staring up my skirt. I’m also curvy, and I worry that people will look at my stomach rolls when I sit."
9. "Saying hello to a new man. I've built a habit of greeting men with, 'Hey, what’s up, man?' because I feel like if I smile and throw a cute 'Hi' or 'Nice to meet you,' it’s going to get interpreted the wrong way."
10. "Going to a hardware store. I can't tell you the number of men who assume I know nothing about the part or tool I'm buying and ask where my husband is. Same with having a plumber at home. They always ask if my husband is around, even though my husband is not the one who knows how to flush out the water heater, take out the drain in the washer, or reconnect the hose. I DO."
11. "Literally eating. I get paranoid eating in public because I’ve had far too many men tell me, 'You shouldn’t be eating that.' When did it become okay for a man to tell me what I should and shouldn’t be eating?"
12. "Being nice to people in my customer service job. A lot of men have taken it the wrong way and will ask or say things that make me very uncomfortable. Now I wear a fake wedding ring to make turning down their advances easier."
13. "Eating an ice cream cone. When I was 14, I was walking with my friend and enjoying an ice cream cone when some men started catcalling us and miming blowjobs. I haven't eaten an ice cream cone in public since."
14. "Going up an escalator in a dress."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.