Stop gawking at girls working out in sports bras

Too many times I have found myself running through my city, headphones in, and completely focused only to be disturbed by a man catcalling me. As a seasoned runner, as soon as the temperature hits 60 degrees, I simply cannot wear a shirt to run in. I get way too hot, it gets on my nerves and I’ve lost way too many from throwing them off mid-way through a run. Even if I’m doing a workout outside that isn’t running, when it’s nice outside I rarely wear a shirt.

So, why does my outfit choice give men the right to yell things at me? Can you not see I’m focused and that you’re being rude by saying things like:

“Damn baby!” *eyes up my 11-year-old looking chest*
“That sweat looks sexy all over you!”
and, my favorite, “Damn girl, you shit with that ass?”

These are just a few things that I’ve heard while running and working out, as I typically have my headphones blasting music at full volume so I can only cringe at what guys might have yelled at me.

It’s getting to be insanely hot outside, and while I’m not complaining about it, I’m also not going to wear a shirt just so I won’t have to deal with this. It’s unfair. I see PLENTY of guys shirtless everyday while they workout and no one says a thing remotely close to what us ladies have to deal with.

How dare a man think it is okay to yell obscenities at a girl ever, let alone make comments on her clothing. He doesn’t know the pain of boob sweat through a sports bra AND a shirt. She’s just trying to do something for herself, not for the likes of a man. We are tired of wasting our precious, yet short and exhausted, breath on telling a guy to fuck off because enough is enough.

I’m already dying when these occurrences happen and I can assure you that there is no way am I “looking sexy” with sweat pouring down my face leaving a nice streak of mascara to add some color. So, for the love of God, do not gawk at me. You’ve seen girls in sports bras. It’s nothing to get all googley-eyed over and drop your jaw so low that you need to have a friend help you pick it back up.

It’s hard enough having to worry about getting these comments nearly everyday when we walk somewhere, let alone while we are taking some time for ourselves to workout and burn off some stress and anger. I once had a guy yell something at me and stare so hard that I took a detour on my run and ended up doing three more miles than I intended because it got me so angry. Working out is a time to be relieving stress and guys are just out here adding more on.

It’s a woman’s body. It’s precious. We don’t yell things at your shirtless friends so don’t yell things at us.