Throughout Primary School, Secondary School and College; most boys and young men would not get my attention by politely saying “please excuse me”, “good morning” or “good afternoon”. Instead these males would prod and poke me when I was reading a book or studying. They would yell “Oi!” grabbing my shoulders or poking me in the ribs. This made me jump when I was a little girl and these boys thought it was so funny to scare me and other females. These males would laugh with their friends while yelling in my ear: “Oi wakey wakey sweetheart! Stop ignoring me.” It became a sort of a horrid game where the boys and young men would dare each other to grab at and poke girls reading books or girls just trying to go about their business.
These boys and young men would rarely say “Hello” to me but instead would shove me, pinch me, grab me, surprise bear hug me from behind or give me a firm poke. Those boys would say tactless things while invading my personal space and prodding me such as: “Stop reading that boring book darling.”
When there was a girl wearing earbuds listening to music in class, sometimes the males would try to remove her earbuds without asking, shout rude words in her ear about her “cup size” and give her a shove. Sometimes when the boys and young men got really impatient at being “ignored” they’d call the girls and young women “skank”, “cunt”, “slag”, “bitch”, “slapper”, “slut” or “cow”. The boys would frequently comment on women’s and girls’ bodies throughout the school day. The boys would talk very loudly about which females were “well fit” or “fat slags”.
I regret not reporting these incidences but there never seemed to be time given the intensive academic workload nor was there a designated person to talk to or message anonymously about these embarrassing and worrying incidents. Many of the teachers seemed overwhelmed by the boys and young men’s rude behaviours and were unsure how to stop these.
Teachers referring the boys as “gentlemen” and trying to educate these young men about “personal and social relationships” didn’t do any good at all. The males’ poking, grabbing and verbal denigration of females continued. This was why I found it hard have polite and sensitive conversations with boys and young men. Their thoughtless behaviour made me feel sad and I mourn for the deep friendly social connections and thoughtful respectful conversations I never had the opportunity to have with them.