TW sexual assault and harassment

a thread of every single time (that i can remember) i've had a "men aint shit" moment before the age of 18

this thread isn't meant as "look at how much i've been hurt and made unsafe in my life feel so bad for me >:((" but more as a way to come to terms with the things that have happened to me as it took nearly a decade for me to realize for some of them

not all of these will be abt SA or SH and it will include every time a man has made me feel unsafe or uncomfortable by doing things they KNOW they shouldn't be doing. the ages might not be 100% accurate but theyre all p close

age 8

a boy in my class gropes me, makes comments abt my body, and constantly gives me porn site names to go to over the course of a year before transferring schools

age 9

2 boys in a school bus yell out the window for me to lift my shirt up as i'm walking home

age 14

i'm walking out of the grocery store at sunset with cookie dough about to go to my friend's house when a man catcalls me in the parking lot

age 16

i'm with a friend on halloween, a man has been following us for the past 15 minutes

age 16

im walking to a friend's in broad daylight when im stopped by a man. he gets close to me saying im beautiful but i would look better if i smiled. he does not leave me alone until i smile at him

age 17

im downtown walking to the streetcar stop at night w a friend. a man follows us yelling and asking if we want to smoke with him

age 17

im walking downtown in a crowded street in shorts when a man gets close to me to walk the opposite way. i see his phone camera pointed towards my lower half and i hear a camera shutter. by the time i realize he's already long gone

age 17

a guy at work randomly calls me babe when he's 25 and knew i was a minor

the way im incapable of feeling 100% safe around men bc im afraid of them