Jameela Jamil's post about unwanted male advances prompts women to share stories
Actress Jameela Jamil recently spoke out about an unpleasant encounter she had with a man who attempted to get her phone number and how his response to rejection affected her.
Her story led many other women to address the negative reactions they've received from men after rejecting unwanted advances.
"The Good Place" star, who is outspoken on issues concerning body positivity, race and sexuality, said she was shopping with a friend when a man approached her.
"Man ogles me. Man then approaches me to give me his number," she tweeted. "I explain I have a boyfriend but thank him for the offer. Man then threatens my career, saying I better remember that I rejected him. And then shouts at me that I’m low class..."
Many women empathized with Jamil, and others pointed out that she shouldn't have to explain her situation to anyone.
"It’s gross that you had to mention that you were already taken by another man (we’ve probably all done this) to try to 'let a man down easy' in order to stay safe and that didn’t even ducking work," one user replied.
In response, Jamil said she'd been assaulted before for rejecting a man.
"Being a woman is truly, constantly scary. It’s like existing on thin ice," she reflected.
Another woman, Zoe Scaman, shared an experience on Twitter in which she was approached by a man who made her feel unsafe.
"A man chased me down the road yesterday after I left the gym," she wrote. "He'd been waiting for me, said he'd been watching me exercise & he liked how I looked when I bend over, he then demanded my number saying 'I'm going to take you out.'"
"Now I'm anxious to go back in case I see him again," she added.
One woman, Christina, shared a "policy" agreement she has with male friends to stop unwanted male advances.
Amanda Moresco Von Lumm shared a story about a man who stepped in to help her during a bad encounter.
"Was in a bar once," she tweeted. "Guy approached me aggressively, wouldn't back off. One of my guy friends had to say 'back off this is my wife.' Aggressor said 'I don’t see rings on your fingers!' My guy friend threatens violence. Finally a------ leaves. Fun part: 9 years later I actually married my friend."
Jamil replied, "Cuuuute ending. Horrifying story."
The actress shared that she believes harassment or poor treatment due to rejected advances from women could be prevented if children are taught more about rejection.
Her idea seemed to resonate with many of her followers.
One mother said she was teaching her boys about the concept to prevent them from turning out like any of the men mentioned in the stories within the Twitter thread.
"Talking to my young boys about this at the moment and explicitly teaching them “if you ask out a girl and she says no, you just go “ok, that’s cool”. Now, let’s practice”. Not having my boys turn out like these a--------," she wrote.
