Harassment Filters

One (of many) incidents that's burned in my memory: I was running through the downtown in a small city where I went to college. I was standing on a street corner with another woman waiting for the walk sign to turn. During the red light, a Jeep with four college-aged kids started screaming in my direction. I heard, "Hey, running girl, nice ass. You should go to formal with my friend!" Then they all started screaming about how I should go to this dance with this guy, who was apparently in the car. The red light seemed to last forever, while they yelled things like "You can wear that if you want," "Look at those legs," and "It's tomorrow night, can you come?!" I felt humiliated, and I looked to the woman next to me for some comfort in this shared moment. She didn't make eye contact, and avoided looking at me or the Jeep. When the light finally turned green, they screeched away, and I turned to the woman and said something like, "Wow that was embarrassing," and she looked at me, turned red, and quickly went away without saying anything. The worst part about the whole thing, honestly, is when I think back to the woman I was standing with. I hate that what those men did singled me out, and in turn, singled her out. Obviously, I don't ever want to be treated that way, but I also don't want men turning women against each other.