Honestly, I cannot believe that I even need to write about this, but the evidence that this happens is all over the place, even my daughter’s face. And it is truly disappointing. However, this is the platform that I have and I feel that I need to use it and speak up. The harassment of women runners MUST stop. Unfortunately, I will address the obvious, men harassing women, AND the not so obvious, women harassing women.
Doing what I do, I am all over social media, I get e-mails from followers, and I see comments on my blog and other blogs all of the time. Recently I have noticed a disturbing trend, and that is women commenting on being cat called, stared at, and even confronted or assaulted by men, while they are out on their runs. This MUST stop. As a man, I am imploring other men to just keep their mouths shut when they see a women runner. These women are out there trying to get their workout in and the last thing they want or need is a stranger distracting them. At best, you are just being a nuisance, and at worst you are making the runner feel intimidated and scared.
Obviously, if you are disturbed enough to assault a woman, this message won’t matter, but if you are a guy who thinks he is being funny by whistling or shouting, just don’t! These women runners are dressed the same way as their male counterparts, and they are dressed so that they can run without chaffing, feeling constricted, or overheating. They are not dressed this way because they want your attention. Leave them alone. If you want to impress and meet women runners, go vegan, buy a pair of running shoes, and go run a couple of miles. Not only will you improve your chances of meeting some of these wonderful people in a constructive way, you’ll gain a hell of a lot of respect for them and what they do. Because running is no joke and it is certainly not easy.
Now, women harassing women. Really? Based on what I just wrote above, isn’t it obvious that women runners need all the support they can get and that other women should be their biggest supporters? This was a comment that was on Fitbit, “While I was out for my run today, a woman yelled out of a moving car at me to put some clothes on.” There was more to it, but that is how it started. It blew me away. A woman harassing a woman runner! I wonder if that lady ever tried running 5 miles in 90-degree heat and 80% humidity? I wonder if she had seen a shirtless male runner if she would have yelled the same thing? Here’s an idea, shut up and keep your opinion to yourself.
I hope that I didn’t offend any women by writing this, because obviously, I am not a woman and cannot put myself truly in their shoes. Being a man however, I can say that I am embarrassed that there are still men out there that are treating women this way. And as a father of four women, I realize that this is a serious issue. Things like this do not get better unless people are willing to talk about them, so I joined in the conversation. For what it’s worth…
One last thing, if I am ever witness to this type of behavior, I will confront it, and I am encouraging everyone else to do the same. Things don’t change unless you’re willing to change them.
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Hi Joe.
An absolute disgrace that shit like this still occurs, I mean honestly it’s 2017 people and this still occurs ????
Really ???? ( this issue also still prevalent in South Africa – however I think this issue can still be found in most countries around the globe )
Just want to tell you, I count myself lucky that I know you Joe, people have a tendancy to see something like this happen and then just walk past or flip the page like it never happened.
Good on you for speaking out as we all rightly should do, this issue is not one of those issues where you “mind your own business”, it’s an issue that needs to be confronted head on every time without fail.
It’s letting things like this slide that eventually leads to the degradation of a society at large.
And as always the best way to kill off behavior like this, is to start at home with your own children educating them so they fully understand how unacceptable such behavior is and equally how unacceptable it is not to stand up for someone who is being belittled and disrespected in such a manner. ( we men should lead the way and set the example here without a doubt )
Let’s face it, Someone rolling down the window to scream at someone else to go put more clothes on did not conjure up that thought process just there and then. Such actions springs from a thought process formulated and taught a long time ago, the way you raise your kids and the way you conduct yourself in their presence and the way you make them see what you deem to be acceptable or not will define their actions as to what they in turn will find acceptable in life.
I could not ever conceive of behaving in such a manner and I know it’s only because of how my mother taught me how I should conduct myself as a gentleman. ( as she always puts it; “Remember Herman your conduct instantly reflects who you are as a person, be mindful of your actions in life they have a tendency to follow you forever ) – this statement from my mom was drilled into me from a young age – thank god. ??
Many thanks for this post Joe, definitely a post to take note of.
You the man for blogging about this subject, seriously awesome ! ?
Regards
Herman
Herman, thanks for the feedback and support. I agree that this stuff is a learned behavior, and we as adults and parents simply need to do better. The future should be bright, we shouldn’t be regressing as a society! PEACE Joe the Runner
Amen Joe.thank you for saying something.it is a problem that should be addressed every time it happen.I run and encourage daughters to be healthy as well and while I’m a big girl and pay no mind to such things I would be mortified if it happened to my daughters
Megann, you are welcome, but it is sad that I need to speak out like this. Regardless, I hope that enough people start to raise this issue in a positive way, so that we can make an impact and women can run freely without this nonsense. PEACE Joe the Runner
Joe,
THANK YOU!!! Thank you for being courageous enough to speak up! This is disgusting, disrespectful, and a true disgrace to mankind. As a woman, I just want to be respected. I am thankful there are men out there like yourself willing to address it, and brave enough to stand up to it. THANK YOU!
Amelia, you are very welcome, it’s just unfortunate that it is necessary at all. Hopefully, one day, you ladies will be able to just go out and do your thing without worrying about this kind of ignorance. PEACE Joe the Runner
Thanks Joe! Thanks for speaking up and for speaking out against harassment. It is nice to know there are such supportive people in the world. You are right that running is hard work. You describe how we feel when such “distractions” occur. We all want to do our best. It definitely makes it easier when we know that others will speak out for us and confront such behavior. Many thanks.
Rose, at some point, if I didn’t speak out I am responsible as well. It’s something that I really would like to see improve! PEACE Joe the Runner
Thank you JOE
It is a surprise to me that here also such things are happening. I am from India and I am a runner at San Jose.
Really I am thankful to Joe for raising such issues frankly and very lucky that so many people instantly supporting you.
I also have two daughters and feel bad at such uncivilized behavior and thank you for raising up to the occasion .
Pray GOD to give good sense to all those ignorant of RUNNING culture.
I wanted to have tips from you for increasing speed for a 10K run request you to help me
Challa
Challa, you are welcome. I speak about running because it is what I do and my “lens” that I view the world through. But this issue is even bigger than that. We need to continue to work together to ensure that equal means equal. Period. This just happens to be where I can add my two cents on the issue. Now, regarding that 10k, and your need for speed, the best way for me to help you is if you contact me via e-mail so we can exchange ideas and I can understand where you currently are with your own running journey. I would love to help! My e-mail is joe.randene@joerandene.com Peace Joe the Runner