I am a 25 year old female living in Boston.
I’m 5'8" tall and weigh 132 lbs.
I have dark brown medium long hair and green/hazel eyes.
So now tell me, what do I deserve?
Last week I was going for a run before work to clock four miles for my half marathon training.
A thankless job, I smiled gave him a wave to thank him and kept running.
I took two steps before he yelled after me a “MM HMMMM”.
Like he was salivating over a steak.
Yesterday I was walking to the laundromat to drop off clothes before heading out to teach a class.
A man so kindly held the door open for me, I thanked him and walked inside.
I turned down the side walk and he crossed the street to follow me.
He even yelled at me to stop and wait for him.
So now you tell me, what do I deserve?
Because this is about 5 percent of the harassment I have been a victim of this year.
And this isn’t even the worst of it.
Don’t ask me what I was wearing.
That’s not the question.
If we stopped doing things that felt or seemed dangerous, we wouldn’t live.
Am I supposed to stop going to the park?
Am I supposed to not run in downtown Boston in the broad daylight?
Am I supposed to not go to 7Eleven or the laundromat at 6PM on a Wednesday night?
Am I supposed to not go to the gym?
I don’t go to dangerous places alone.
I don’t run in dodgy areas by myself.
I carry keys on me, and soon pepper spray to put my Moms mind at ease.
But that’s not the point.
What do I deserve?
And us women, what do we deserve?
We deserve not to feel silenced by your yells.
We deserve to feel empowered for bettering ourselves.
We deserve to feel sexy in our own skin without feeling like we’re here to bait you.
We deserve to speak out without the threat of you lingering on our minds.
We deserve to run outside.
We deserve to be judged on our merits, not our outfits.
A whole lot more.
I’ve told these stories to many friends.
And the more I shared the more my female friends shared too.
And so many of their stories are worse.
I want you to speak out.
I want you to break your silence.
I want to hear your stories.
Image Credit: Jenny Moloney
What do we deserve?More.
This post originally appeared onEBaileyFitness.com.
Read the originalpost here, and follow Erin on Instagram at@EBaileyFitness.