The occasional “Hey Baby!” or “Honey!” has never bothered me, but that’s because they yell and go away. The only scary incident was when someone slowed down to talk to me.
I’ve always looked young for my age, so at 17, I looked more like 13 or 14. A pickup truck full of guys in their 20s slowed down while I was walking my dog. After leering for a moment, one of the geniuses asked “So, does your dog bite?” Obviously picking up on my unease Princess picked that moment to begin growling deep in her throat, so I told them “She sure does!” and they left. Jeez, what would they have been tempted to try if I said she didn’t bite? Fortunately, I didn’t put them off with a lie: she would have bit the shit out of them if they’d come close enough because she hated people.
I think pretty much everyone has been shouted at by someone from their car. I have gotten the usual “nice ass”, “slut”, “wanna fuck?”… that sort of thing. But some really weird things have happened too.
I was walking somewhere with my friend and a bunch of guys in a mini van had all their car doors open, threw a metal rod at us and shouted “I wanna rape you” at us. I was actually quite offended by this.
I was walking home from school when a teenager was in his car with his mother, rolled down his window, and motor boated the air. This was strange enough without his mother in the car with him.
And then finally, I was walking my dog and somebody honked their horn, whistled, and said “How’s your foot?”. I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant.
I’ve had so many things screamed at me from cars - all related to my weight - I’ve lost count. I’ve also been spit on a few times.
Oddly the ones that have hurt the most, though, were the times I was wolf whistled at, I guess because they were doing it in a sarcastic way. I can’t stand to be whistled at now, even if I know it’s sincere, that’s about the quickest way to piss me off AND hurt my feelings. Double whammy.
People fucking suck.
I was out walking at lunchtime a few weeks back and a car with a bunch of lads in it went past. One of them leaned out of the window and shouted “Oi! Suit man! You’re bald!”
It turned out OK in the end though, as they were eaten by bears.
What hasn’t been shouted at me from moving vehicles?? I walk a lot and I’m a cute girl; though I hardly have breasts, thank god. Trying to walk with breasts makes it so much worse (or so I hear from certain friends of mine).
From men I’ve mostly gotten compliments (‘nice legs!’, ‘you know you’re sexy’), requests for sexual favors/positions (‘sit on my face!’), with a few general WHORES, BITCHES, and SLUTS throw in there for good measure. From both men and women drivers I’ve gotten insults about my weight (‘eat something!’ ‘anorexic!’) - this is especially humorous because I often am snacking while walking. And I’ve had what feels like a hundred people just yell random stuff at me while driving past. Usually I can’t even understand what they were saying… probably ‘fuck you, we’re in a car’. Also some men will swing closer to the curb so their asshole friend can stick his head out the passenger window to just go ‘AAAARGGGH’ or something as loud as they can. And sometimes they throw stuff, too - usually harmless enough missiles like half-empty cups of soda. One time some jerk threw a baseball at my head, though. I didn’t get his plate number.
I used to give people the finger and talk back, but now I just try not to reward them with acknowledgement or attention.
I’ve gotten a few, my favorite was the guy who stepped out in front of me with a “Helllloooooo there!” I brushed past him, and he got all fake-outraged “It’s POLITE to TALK!” Yeah, because his desire to talk to me automatically overrides my desire to get where I’m going. I gave him the finger, and heard his companion laughing at him as I walked away.
Then there’s the time a beggar told me that ‘some man is gonna KILL you’ after a lengthy rant when I refused to give him a dollar, but that’s less harassment and more drug-addled crazy people.
My pet peeve is strangers in public who make eye contact with me, and then drop their eyes and give my body the once-over. Unless you’re at a bar or a party where getting checked out is the point, decent guys don’t do that. It makes my skin crawl.