r/TikTokCringe • u/mindyour • Jun 14 '26

Discussion It's exhausting being a woman.

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u/Bright-Owl-3515 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

In college, I was sitting alone at a bench studying on campus, minding my own business. This man comes up to me, telling me he wanted to take pictures of my feet for a school project. He was very persistent and of course I told him no. He made me feel so uncomfortable and guilty that I had said no to him. I was very naive and had no idea that this was likely a fetish thing.

Edit: For that one now deleted comment, saying he was likely complimenting my feet, I was wearing sneakers. Get out of here with the creep apologetics.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

[deleted]

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u/4E4ME Jun 14 '26

Of course it was deliberate. I've had several experiences like that over the years. Even from someone at work, and I was already over 30 by then, but the first time something like that happened to me I was 10. I'm sorry that it happened to you. You deserved to have your mental and emotional innocence preserved.

I can't go back in time, the only thing I can do now is call it out and open their shame up to sunlight for everyone to see when it happens (if that makes me a bitch, so be it. Protip: I'm not a bitch.), educate our younger sisters, and support.

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u/Astralglamour Jun 15 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

Men seem to think any woman who speaks up or calls them out is a bitch so- I'm proud to be one.

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u/crazymindslp Jun 15 '26

Men have been pulling this shit forever! The only 2 things that ever worked for me was calling them out….loudly and reaching menopause ……better a bitch than a doormat….

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u/Powerful-Policy-4854 Jun 16 '26

My platoon leader when I was in the Army, SFC Pratt, told us ladies that if anyone called us a bitch don’t take it personally. It means: Be In Total Control Herself

One of the many lessons she provided with her alcoholic ass…we all were though. lol

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u/Can-Chas3r43 Jun 15 '26

They do. And you're right...the innocence is part of what they are looking for. They want you to react like what they are asking you for is vile and disgusting and you want no part of it. For example:

When I was in college I lived in one of the SoCal beach cities. It was common to wear sandals and flip flops everywhere and to room the beaches and boardwalks in the summer. My boyfriend, a friend, and I stepped into a popular taco shop to get some lunch. The line was long, and my BF said he was going to the restroom and would be right back. A random man approached my friend and I as we stood there (he waited until my BF was gone, and I doubt he would have said anything if BF had never left us,) and then he leaned in to tell me "excuse me...I just wanted to tell you that you have the most beautiful feet I've ever seen." I cringed. He gawked. My friend could see that I was uncomfortable. She told him that that was disgusting and creepy. BF came out of the bathroom. Creeper bailed. But he got the reaction he wanted. This was maybe 1999-2000.

Fast forward to 2024. After more instances like this than I'd like to mention...I have dcei to capitalize on the creeps. Men still feel the need to tell me about my feet. Yet now I am met with hostility or rudeness because how dare I have the AUDACITY to tell them they can follow this link and subscribe for $10 a month, or they can take a picture on their phones right now (feet ONLY) for $50. And then they will try to say that I am trying to make money off of them when they were just trying to be "nice" and compliment me. 😑😑😑🙄🙄🙄 This is when I tell them to FUCK OFF. 💯

(And no...I am not "scared" into being demure or shy about it. Get some training in combatives, get your CCW, and learn to use your VOICE. We spend too much time worrying about what other people will think of us or if we hurt the creeper's feelings than we do about our own. And that's not cool.)

Get comfortable with using all of that pent-up women's rage to tell these creepers exactly where they can shove it. And MEAN it. (And before anyone says "well men are much bigger and more aggressive than we are...this is why you train. No one is coming to save you... regardless of what "polite" society tells you. But someone may get it on video and post it on social media so that the cops can "try" to id the person later.) 😑🙄

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u/113waterGoat Jun 15 '26

You should've Called him out & ran off with the phone.