"oi slag! you wanna shag?"

SINCE WHEN has it been okay for a man to lean out of his car window and shout "Slag!" at a girl walking down the street? I had to blog about this because I get more than my fair share of abuse from blokes who think it's okay to shout, wink, whistle or make some comment at a woman passing by, but this guy today shouting "oi slag, Slag, SLAG! D'ya wanna shag? slag? SLAG!!" took it to a whole new level. The worst thing was, it was even some boys having a joke and messing around with their mates, (which still doesn't make it okay) but it was one or two (clearly very desperate) grown men, angrily hurling abuse at me out of their car window, and who then proceeded to get angrier when I ignored them and kept walking on. Can they actually not understand why I didn't fall to my knees with overwhelming flattery and jump in the car?! COME ON! And it wasn't even as if I was hanging around in the street with a itsy-bitsy mini skirt and wearing a low-cut top, I was wearing jeans and a big ol' coat and scarf, looking in no way like a "slag".

Illustration by Louisa Taylor - http://louisataylorillustration.blogspot.com

THEN on the walk home, I was just thinking about how it seems that any guy who you look at or happen to catch the eye of, takes it as a sign that you want to shag him, when I accidentally caught the eye of a man who came out of his house just as I was walking past his door. I knew by the way he looked at me that he was going to make some comment, and soon enough, as predicted, he caught up with me and said something along the lines of "you're very sexy, do you know that?". He too, got pissed at me when I ignroed his letchy comment and kept walking, even more determined to come home and rant about the whole thing.

WHAT is wrong with these men?? Why do they think it's okay to harass women who are inncocently minding their own business, and in no-way asking to be hit-on. The amount of times I get whistled, beeped or shouted at when walking down the street has got ridiculous, and I swear it's getting worse. Has the economic crisis turned these letchy, desperate men who used to be able to pay for sex, into angry, abusive men who have resorted to other metods to try and get laid? Like shouting at young girls from their car windows?! Yes, since the dawn of time men and women have shouted the odd "oioi!" at someone they find attractive, this is not the issue. The issue is with the derogatory and abusive words they are using to make their thoughts known.

WHY do so many men have such a low opinion of women? And why aren't there any derogatory words to describe a man who sleeps around? Say "player" or "pimp" to a man as an insult, and he'd take it as a compliment. However, NO woman in their right mind would consider being called such derogatory terms as "slag", "whore", "slut", "slapper" or "tart" in anyway, a compliment.

OK. Feminist rant done.