Daily Archives: September 10, 2009

Dupont Circle Park

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My friend and I were sitting on a bench in Dupont Circle park chatting just after dark. Not too long after we sat down, two guys walked by and stopped to say “hello ladies.” We ignored them and they left, and we commented on them and the prevalence of street harassment in DC. Then, another man walked by with headphones on, but also stopped to say “how YOU doin’,” Joey-from-Friends style. We continued sitting and chatting, and about 30 minutes later, a man riding slowly on his bike stopped in front of us. I looked up casually and was horrified to realize he was looking up my skirt! He looked straight at me and grinned as I hurriedly crossed my ankles. F*cker. He pedaled off before I could react.

I live near Dupont Circle and get harassed regularly there, by men from all walks of life and at all times of day. The nerve of some women, thinking we have the right to feel safe walking around our neighborhood unchaperoned.

Location: Dupont Circle Park

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Harassment in Bloomingdale

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We came across this blog post on street harassment on Blommingdale: A blog for the Bloomingdale neighborhood in Washington, DC:

“how do you deal with harassment on the street?”

A resident on the unit block of R Street NW has asked this message posted for public comment:

To the females of Bloomingdale:I was just wondering how other females from the neighborhood deal with this problem, because as a resident of the area for the past 2 1/2 years, it has taken its toll on me.

How do you deal with men (sometimes high or drunk) harassing you on the street?

I still don’t really know the best way to handle unwelcome comments or catcalls. I have tried just about everything. Ignoring them seems to make it worse, because usually they just get louder (and often cruder) to try to get your attention. Sometimes, if someone seems friendly (especially someone who lives on my block) I might smile and say hello, but many times this only provokes things further, as some take the hello as an invitation to say lewd things. And these things happen in the middle of the day and/or morning. I won’t even get into what happens at night.

I know one thing is to try not to walk alone, but sometimes for me it is unavoidable, as I need to get to the bus or metro or go to the coffee shop, which is just about 100 yards from my house. Should I say something more clear back to them (like “please stop saying things like that to me”) if it is someone who I recognize who is a recurring problem? I have a feeling that might just backfire and make walking down my street something I would dread even more.There are times when I just try to block it out, but there are other times when I hear certain things that certain men say (very nasty things sometimes) that literally just makes me want to pick up and move to Glover Park. And I hate Glover Park.

I know it is just a part of living in the city and living in our area that I have to deal with and I try to remember all the great things about our area when I start to think it is too much. But if anybody has some constructive feedback for me, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Read the full post and comments here.