Anonymous

I moved to a new school aged 13 and in my first science class the boy next to me asked ‘do you masterbate’ without even an introduction. School continued with more phrases and questions like this coming up. If I didn’t want to respond or talk about it I might be called frigid or a nun. Guys would pick me up without invitation and slap me on the bum. This was all the while happening to the other girls in my year (across the whole school really) and I was friends with most of the guys which meant I didnt always challenge them when I should have.
There were frequent jipes that if I was in a bad mood or unhappy with the way I was being treated by them then I must be on my period, a theme that continues today (aged 25) from some men I know or encounter.
For a few months aged 18 I had to walk along a main road to get to work, every single day along the 1 mile stretch I would be beeped at by multiple lorry or van drivers, this made me feel vulnerable and I was always wondering if one day someone would stop.
Like many other women I have also been called a slut, bitch and a whore for absolutely no reason other than the fact I am a woman.
It particularly stings when it is coming from your partner who thinks its a funny joke but doesn’t understand how demeaning it is.
Way too often I hear groups of men when I am out in public making misogynistic comments or jokes about rape or objectifying women. It makes me wonder, are all men inherently sexist from birth or is it all learned, from society and pornography?
Men and boys seem to think it is funny and cool and lad culture thrives on the sexual power play they try and have over women.
I wish they would just quit it and speak to us as equals, as people and not objects.