Can Someone Please Hand Me My Soapbox?

Dear Man who Honks, Whistles, Howls, Yells, or Winks at me while I run,

I have put up with you for years. And I know that this is not because I am some sort of beauty queen. It is simply because I am a woman. And I am running outside. I know that I am not the only one to encounter you on a regular basis during running.

Let me tell you a little about me, since you seem so interested in objectifying me. I am not new to being objectified. Because I am a woman, I have been objectified much of my life. I am also married to a sex addict. So I have lived many years with a husband who saw me only for what I could give him sexually.

So when you honk, whistle, or do whatever it is you choose to do to get my attention, I am telling you right now that I am not flattered. I am a smart, kind, and generous woman. If you talked to me for a while, you would know that I am interesting. I have things to say. I have opinions.

And my opinion of you is not that you are a bad person. My opinion is that you make bad choices when you objectify me. You may think that I am asking for it. I wear tight-fitting clothing to run. But what you don't know is that my use of tight-fitting clothing is not for you to ogle at me. It is because I chafe with loose fitting clothing. Do you know what chafing is? It's when your skin becomes raw and bleeds from loose fitting clothing during long-distance running. I don't believe that I need to endure that pain just so that you will have less of a chance of noticing me on the side of the road. I have noticed that your honks and winks are not really affected by what I wear anyways. You do it even when I run bundled up in the winter. And even if a woman were to choose to wear tight-fitting clothing because she believes that it makes her attractive, that does not condone your disrespectful behavior.

I hope that by knowing a little more about me, you will understand why I had to flick you off this morning when you howled. It was not because I do not like you as a person. I do not know you at all. It is because years of trauma surrounding being objectified have led me to simply put my foot down. I will not tolerate this anymore. I will not stand silently and pretend that I don't hear you or see you. I will probably not ever flick you off again, because that was an impulse move. But it felt good to do it once.

I hope that one day you educate yourself about who women really are beyond their ability to please you sexually.

Peacefully,

Woman Runner