Originally Posted by abaya

We can have threads about all of those things... but this one started first, so why not draw it out, like we do with any other thread on some obscure question/topic? Why the need to minimalize it?

Vanblah--yes, I was being facetious with that question. But the point I was trying to make is that I don't quite understand (sincerely) how you think women "should" be responding to that kind of treatment. I mean, for myself, I walked onto that construction site dressed as plain-jane as I could, got objectified in a way that made me sick, and then walked back off and went about with my PhD research, never having to deal with those louts again, and most certainly never having to work in the canteen with them as the Portuguese woman does.

But the fact that this one woman CANNOT walk away from a place like that, or doesn't have the self-awareness of how to do so (while preserving her job/work visa, as an immigrant in this country), and that she has to put up with that shit every single day until it beats all vestige of self-worth out of her... yes, that offends me at a human (not only sororal) level. I happen to be more privileged than her, so for me, it becomes just a minor offense of the type that Will keeps reiterating. But does that mean I should forget her, and all the other women who are stuck in those situations? Does that mean I should not mention her when these conversations come up? Of course not.

The problem is that yes, one cannot apply the experience of one woman to the whole gender... but the sad fact is that these experiences are still ALL too common for the vast majority of women, especially in non-Western countries. So I don't think it's completely out of line to bring up an example like this in a conversation about this topic.