One For The Girls

Earlier this week after coming home from a long, hot day stuck in an office I relished in a cold drink. Hearing footsteps coming down my stairs I was unalarmed expecting a member of my family. Yet when I turned it was certainly not a family member. Unprepared and shell shocked I choked on my aforementioned glorious cold drink as I took in the sight. Standing before me was a buff, tanned, sweaty, hot builder. Unable to blink I snapped back to reality as he said “hi, you alright?” in his thick Yorkshire accent (*side note – I’m a sucker for accents.) Now I must disappoint you here – this is not the start of an R rated film or the opening chapter of an ‘adult’ book, this was merely my Wednesday and as quickly as I saw him he was gone. The one that got away.

Shortly after sharing a sneaky pic I managed to snap of the builder on Facebook – because as my friend so kindly pointed out “no picture, no proof” – my phone was blowing up with notifications; countless ‘heart eyes’ emoji’s, likes and comments. It quickly became apparent that women can get away with a bit of ogling in everyday life more than men can. Yes I’m aware that females wearing next-to-nothing are plastered pretty much everywhere in the media all for the pleasure of men, but this is real life and I’m more than sure that if a man had taken a photo of a woman without her knowing I would be a writing a whole different story. So where is the difference?

I would argue that women approach these types of things in a less predatory manner and that is why it is more socially acceptable. While women will fawn over a man’s body if he’s willing to flaunt it, men will overtly express their attraction even when women are fully clothed and going about their daily lives. Of course, there will always be exceptions and you cannot tar everybody with the same brush, but for the most part I believe this to be true. It’s a deeply rooted issue in today’s society and one that we may never fully overcome, so until then there’s nothing wrong with a bit of ‘window shopping’ just remember to read the signals and take into account whether or not the person in question is willing to participate in a bit of harmless fun.