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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 21, 2022

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I can count on two hands the number of times I have ever seen a man sexually harass or proposition a woman on the trolley. Supposedly it is happening to every young woman I’ve ever spoken to about public transit, yet it is so vanishingly rare in anything I’ve personally observed that I am always left absolutely baffled at how this could be happening right under my nose, all around me, escaping my notice.

Is it possible that you give off tough-guy vibes, and so men are less inclined to harass women around you? In general, I think that sexual harassment would be more prone to happen to a woman during a time when there are few people on the train, particularly no upstanding young man who might notice or be a possible a white knight. Or it might happen more quietly out of your view or noticing?

I can very, very confidently say that I do not give off tough-guy vibes. I’m 5’7”, about 130 pounds, and have never been in a fight in my life.