I can tell you with certainty it’s not her. It’s them. I lived along the W&OD and Custis for years and – without fail – any day that I was alone on the trail I would get catcalled, followed, propositioned, or generally creeped upon by at least one person. And here’s the thing: I’m a fat woman who wears comfortable clothing: large t-shirts with either bike shorts or yoga pants. I don’t make an effort to look attractive to others, so it’s not like I was wearing “inviting clothing” or something. Over the years, I tried all kinds of different approaches to head off these kinds of interactions — look friendly, look unfriendly. Have a small smile, have a scowl. Make eye contact, don’t make eye contact. Make verbal interaction first, completely ignore verbally.
It didn’t matter. Some percentage of guys see a woman alone on the trail and that’s it; they’re gonna either try to dominate her, intimidate her, or objectify her, some in small ways, like just a creepy comment as she passes. Some in more menacing ways, like following a woman, or jogging alongside her and refusing to leave her alone. Small opportunities to assert dominance, maybe? I don’t know. But it’s not her clothing or her demeanor. It’s just that she’s a woman and she’s alone.
The bike helps. The speed offers some element of protection for whatever reason.
Thanks for NOT being one of those guys. You can help by shutting this shit down if you see a buddy or someone else do it. Even without escalating into violence, these pervasive aggressions add up over time and make women restrict their movement and activities. It sucks. Thanks for doing what you can to shut it down and make it as socially unacceptable as it should be.
