We Are Protecting Our Bodies, Not Asking for Permission There’s something deeply broken and dangerous happening in the public square. Women and girl
We Are Protecting Our Bodies, Not Asking for Permission
There’s something deeply broken and dangerous happening in the public square.
Women and girls—Survivors, athletes, mothers, daughters, elders—are saying no to males in our spaces.
No to being watched, measured, ignored, or replaced.
No to silence. No to forced accommodation.
No to being told we have no right to privacy, dignity, or fear.
And in response?
We’re being mocked.
Ridiculed.
Publicly slurred.
By men.
Not just fringe men.
Not just online trolls.
But men with platforms.
Men in politics.
Men with blue checks, followers, and funding.
And all because we’re doing what they refuse to do—protecting women and girls.
This Isn’t New—But It’s Getting Uglier
Men mocking women for saying no is not new.
What’s new is the boldness.
The public glee.
The celebration of bullying, wrapped in slogans about inclusion and progress.
When women say, “I don’t want to change clothes next to a male,”
they’re told:
“You’re a bigot.”
“You’re hateful.”
“You’re backward.”
When women say, “We need women-only shelters, sports, and recovery groups,”
they’re asked:
“What are you so afraid of?”
And when we answer, with truth in our throats and data on our side,
we’re told to “be kind.”
To shut up.
To make space.
Let’s Be Real: Men Have Work to Do
The fact that so many men are investing time and energy into mocking women instead of:
Addressing male violence
Confronting rape culture
Ending child exploitation
Holding other men accountable for abuse and coercion
…is a stunning failure.
Women aren’t the ones who created unsafe locker rooms, courtrooms, classrooms, or chatrooms.
Men did.
And now that women are trying to clean up the mess—we’re the ones being mocked?
That is not progress.
That is not justice.
That is a new low.
This Is About Power—Not Justice
Make no mistake:
When women say no and men respond with mockery and slurs,
that’s not a misunderstanding.
That’s punishment.
Punishment for having boundaries.
Punishment for surviving.
Punishment for refusing to give up what little space we carved out for ourselves in a world that already tells us our bodies, our needs, and our safety are secondary.
A Final Truth
We do not owe our silence.
We do not owe our spaces.
We do not owe our consent.
And we will not be shamed out of our human right to safety.
Men who mock women for saying no need to ask themselves:
What have you done to make the world safer for us?
And if the answer is “nothing”—step back and be quiet.
We are busy trying to survive.
Trying to recover.
Trying to protect what little ground we have left.
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Share if you feel safe and ready—your voice might be the lifeline someone else needs. And if you do share, remember to cite the messenger. Words carry legacy.
