Today my best friend and I had been revising for our second year university exams at home in our flat in Leamington Spa. We decided to take a coffee break and enjoy the sun for a while at around 4.30pm on a Sunday afternoon. We stopped for Ice Latte and Cappuccino at a new spot. I had been feeling pretty irritated at some of the comments a male friend of mine had made about me “all in banter” (of course), and was airing my grievances. My friend and I took a walk around the block before returning home, as we continued our discussion. “How do you deal with wanting to flirt with someone, even if you feel they undermining or sexualising you?” “Why is it that people assume I only got my internship because I fill some type of “quota”?” we asked one another. Ironically, as we neared the end of our walk, a young man got out of his car to ask us where the nearest Nando’s was. I politely responded and gave him the directions, whilst continuing on my way. Unbeknown to me, this man was not alone, for across the road in two others cars were a group of guys. These guys (about fifteen of them collectively) swiftly all got out of their cars, and having noticed their friend ask me for directions, took it upon themselves to begin cat-calling my friend and I. “Join us for dinner!” “Give me your Instagram!” “Let’s just follow her boys – come on lads follow her”. It felt like I had been surrounded by men in less than thirty seconds – it was like being cornered. I sensed my friend’s nerves – so joked “it’s like they’re the seagulls from Finding Nemo – Mine! Mine! Mine!” I whispered. Whilst it was true, it wasn’t funny. I think the ironic timing of this encounter made me angry enough to come here and write about what I experienced. This happens all the time and it is a small snippet of a larger problem. I’ve experienced this before, and I will experience it again. My mother has experienced it. My baby sister has experienced it. But the point it – It is not okay to shout abuse at a woman because you are part of a large group of guys. It is scary and it intimidates girls. It is as simple as that. I hope they burnt your Nando’s.
