I also seldom get bothered when I’m out and about. I wear single-color, logo-free shirts (though often bright red or green), with black or grey carhartt pants (which are pretty normal here), and a backpack. I often wear a jacket, even when it is warm, to hold my stuff and because I work in a climate-controlled room. Furthermore, I pay almost no attention to my head or facial hair. So about once a year, I shave off all my hair, and maybe thrice a year do I shave my beard. Needless to say, I exude “don’t bother me!” when I’m walking or shopping.
What is rather strange is that one of my closest friends dresses similarly, but is often harassed by strangers. Even to the point that he is sometimes stopped by cops to ask why he’s walking. The biggest difference between his and my dispositions is that I flatly don’t give a crap about most of the people I see, or what they think of me, whereas he is always thinking about how he is perceived. It seems that by worrying that he might look like a child molester sends off social cues that he is guilty about something, which then makes him a target for more harassment.
It is true that I don’t go walking as often as he does, so my sample size is smaller. Nor do I go to as weird places, because he would often stop at wifi hotspots to write emails. It could also be that my backpack sent social cues that being unencumbered doesn’t.
I also seldom get bothered when I’m out and about. I wear single-color, logo-free shirts (though often bright red or green), with black or grey carhartt pants (which are pretty normal here), and a backpack. I often wear a jacket, even when it is warm, to hold my stuff and because I work in a climate-controlled room. Furthermore, I pay almost no attention to my head or facial hair. So about once a year, I shave off all my hair, and maybe thrice a year do I shave my beard. Needless to say, I exude “don’t bother me!” when I’m walking or shopping.
What is rather strange is that one of my closest friends dresses similarly, but is often harassed by strangers. Even to the point that he is sometimes stopped by cops to ask why he’s walking. The biggest difference between his and my dispositions is that I flatly don’t give a crap about most of the people I see, or what they think of me, whereas he is always thinking about how he is perceived. It seems that by worrying that he might look like a child molester sends off social cues that he is guilty about something, which then makes him a target for more harassment.
It is true that I don’t go walking as often as he does, so my sample size is smaller. Nor do I go to as weird places, because he would often stop at wifi hotspots to write emails. It could also be that my backpack sent social cues that being unencumbered doesn’t.