Eleanor

Sometimes my workplace requires me to turn up for work quite late in the evenings. I don’t have a car so I usually walk the short mile-ish journey to get there, and when I arrive I immediately wash my hands. Today a colleague commented on this, asking why I do this. I explained that I hold my keys between my knuckles when walking alone and I don’t like the metallic feeling/smell they leave on my hands. My (male) colleague was horrified that I felt the need to do this; further discussion with other colleagues led to several other women admitting they do similar things. One even kept a small aerosol deodorant in her handbag purely for protection.