My recent experience: a restroom with two stalls (one for women, the other for men) and one shared sink. I approached the sink to wash my hands prior to my meal, and a man followed a few seconds later.

As I washed my hands, he wanted to come inside the room, leaving me a very tight space to exit, which would have inevitably provoked the physical contact of my breast or rear rubbing against him, depending on my choice. I stood there looking at him. He played the stupid "what do we do now? " game, not moving one inch; to which I exclaimed with a firm and loud enough voice "Can you move back?! I have no intention to rub myself against you!".

Shocked, he took a few steps back and I walked out with my dignity in place. I later received a wink from the waitress who realized what had occurred, as well as the other clients.

Needless to say, I felt like a hunted prey in plain day view. Thanks to my feisty demeanor and years of exposure, I had the courage to face this and other methods of patriarchal harassment and oppression. Sadly, I recall not always having those tools - specially as a child, and falling victim to these predators and the ramifications and years of therapy they incurred.

Now, we are also obligated to submit to the fetishistic inclinations of men who say "they self-identify as women with female penises", as a strategy to oppress, cross boundaries and better access their victims, as it occurred at Wi Spa and other spas.

These are tough times for women. We are being gradually further oppressed and losing the ground we'd already accomplished. They censor our stance, concerns and fears when we try to fight back. This is such a tragedy! Who is standing by us? How do we proceed from here?

#spain #restaurant #familyrestaurant #bathrooms #sexualharassment #sayingno