Talking to My Son About Street Harassment

If you’re a girl growing up in New York City, you learn about street harassment at an early age. The lesson is not optional. As soon as you approach adolescence, as soon as your shape starts to change, men on the street start saying things to you. It’s a confusing and often scary realization that girls come into suddenly: the simple act of walking your body down the street is something you have to learn how to do all over again. With a game face on.

When I went through this learning experience, I was attending an all-girls school in Manhattan. We had an assembly where we were taught how to respond if men made lewd remarks or flashed us on the street. I distinctly remember getting the instruction to walk out into moving traffic rather than get too close to a man lurking in a doorway and saying dirty things to you. Because if he laid hands on you—if the harassment went beyond words—you might not escape in one piece. Better to risk getting hit by a car.