Potterrow Pervs

This does not apply exclusively to Potterrow, but after last night’s experience I feel compelled to address the problem that seems to come hand-in-hand with a night out: unwanted touching.

I do not consider myself a feminist. although I believe in equal rights, it’s not something I frequently debate or discuss.

However what I DO expect is to not be treated like a piece of meat by men I do not even know.

We all saw the weather yesterday; it was vile. But my flatmate and I decided to brave the gales and torrential downpour and go out in bare legs. As my previous articles have shown, I love a bit of cheese. We were having a ball.

Nonetheless, three delightful specimens of man decided to come up to me over the course of the night, behind my back, and have a good old grope of my arse. They were not doing it to introduce themselves, or to get my attention: even that would have been marginally more understandable.

They literally saw it as something to do en route to the bar; laughing with their friends as they walked off. They didn’t even run away, so they clearly thought their actions were perfectly acceptable.

In 2011 a Toronto Police officer gave a series of talks to university students saying that ‘women should avoid dressing like sluts’ in order to ward off rapists. Whilst I am not specifically discussing rape, the principle that girls should cover up in order to prevent unwanted attention is, to me, ridiculous. It is not the girls who should be adjusting their dress code, but the attitude of the disgusting, primitive individuals who see bare flesh and think ‘Me must touch and grab’ that must be addressed.

Go back to your caves.

If girls want to wear shorts or a short dress, they should be able to do so without having to be vigilant that their bodies are going to be used as some sort of testosterone-releasing stress ball. We’re here to have a good time, not to be your good time.

So I urge all the guys out there with half a brain cell to think next time they are on a night out. A girl is going to be far more attracted to your dazzling wit and charm than your hands all over her. If these are in short supply, try asking her name.