#SexIs - #DevilsAdvocate - Should “Creep Shaming” be a thing?

Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by indiglo
It seems to me that someone in their life, be it friend or family (or a judge ) would make some effort to say "hey, that's not cool. Ladies don't like that and the ones that do you probably don't want".


Someone (a ... more
This is just speaking from personal experience, now.

There were very few men in my life when I was a kid. The one man I trusted above and beyond all else, my mom divorced when I was in grade school. After that, there were two or three family friends that I trust pretty well. Two out of those three ended up being massive creeps. Just can't even begin to tell you the inappropriate things they had to say or did. One guy would drop off a pack of bubble gum and my favorite soft drink on the porch while I was at school. He was at least 24 years older than I was. I never told anyone, until the day he delivered a sixteen page letter to my house professing his love for me. I was sixteen years old. (The coincidence should be noted, as it was no coincidence at all.)

He seemed like such a nice guy. Did fatherly/brotherly things with me, taught me a lot about music from his generation and then some...it just never occurred to me that he would be a threat.

Never occurred to anyone else either.

So, yeah I think you're right that it boils down to luck and happenstance but I can't help but sometimes wonder what I could have done to be more prepared for that and how I could have handled the situation better before it escalated to that point. I had been alone, in the middle of the woods with this guy for overnight camping trips...

I think my parents did a good job of making me aware that there are evil and creepy people in this world, but they did a really shitty job of teaching me how to look for it and ignored the "how to handle it" part.
09/07/2012
Contributor: Rayne Millaray Rayne Millaray
Quote:
Originally posted by Ryuson
I have met plenty of creeps, but I am a HORRIBLE creep myself. When I meet someone that I want to be friends with, my first instinct is to follow them around and steal their things when they aren't looking. (I have since learned to control this ... more
"Slut shaming is when you don't like someone because of how they 'treat' themselves, but not liking someone because they're creepy is not liking them because of the way that they're treating YOU."

I really like this comparison. Consider it stolen.
09/07/2012
Contributor: El-Jaro El-Jaro
As posted in other places, I'm kind of a nerd. I'm a gamer nerd. Do you know what the hardest part about being a nerd is? Social skills amoung non-nerds.

Their social skills pretty much start by being ridiculed and being called names...like "creep" in school. The sad thing is that very VERY few of these guys know when they've crossed a line. How long is it ok to look at a girl? When is the proper time to talk to them? Do you give them a gift first? If so, what kind of gift? Look at the rom-coms (romantic comedies). Sadly, they aren't too far off on the social awkwardness. But when the geek in glasses actually gets the girl, that's what some guys dream about. That being said, it's all fantasy. That's almost the ONLY source of interpersonal information some creepy nerds get.

Now, I'm not talking sexual deviants or 40 year old guys with comb-overs in clubs. I'm talking about the genuinely socially awkward. If someone has one of those lost souls doting after them, don't run to the cops or publicly decry "CREEPER BE GONE!". Look them in the eye, out of the public eye if possible, and say "Dude, you're crossing a line. Thank you for your compliments about my hair, eyes, and everything else, but I'm just not interested in you. You've looked at my eyes twice in the 4 minutes you were oggling me. That's not the way to get a girl. Now, please leave me alone."

The issue has to be addressed of what they're doing and why it's wrong. Maybe give suggestions on how to NOT be creepy...they obviously aren't getting any help from anyone.

Getting back to the guy whose name is on a list and has a comb over obvious to the blind...be blunt and direct. If they don't take "stop touching me" seriously, feel free to discourage said behaviour with a gentle knee to the groin or kick to the shin. It's totally legal. They invaded your space and you were defending yourself after telling them to stop.

I really hope there are women out there who understand we're all human and all come from different backgrounds, some not as social as others. As a guy, I can absolutely assure you that 99.99999% of men do not wake up thinking "I think I'm going to oppress someone today".
09/07/2012
Contributor: skeeterlynn skeeterlynn
I see no reason why women aren't allowed labeling someone as a creep. Though, some do take it so far. For me, a creep is someone who is borderline stalker and will not leave you alone. Or someone who is 30 years older than I am and keeps bugging me in a dating or sexual way. If them seem to give off the stalker impression or make me feel highly uncomfortable to be around them, then I just try avoiding them if all else fails.
09/07/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by El-Jaro
As posted in other places, I'm kind of a nerd. I'm a gamer nerd. Do you know what the hardest part about being a nerd is? Social skills amoung non-nerds.

Their social skills pretty much start by being ridiculed and being called ... more
Very well said, JR! Your personal touch completed what I was trying to say but having never been in that situation from a guy's point of view, it was difficult to express. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was referring to in my replies.
09/07/2012
Contributor: Dixiemomma Dixiemomma
met more than my share of creeps LOL have very low tolerance for them at this point... and i tend to be blunt anyways lol so i'll come right out and tell someone if they've crossed a line
09/07/2012
Contributor: indiglo indiglo
Quote:
Originally posted by El-Jaro
As posted in other places, I'm kind of a nerd. I'm a gamer nerd. Do you know what the hardest part about being a nerd is? Social skills amoung non-nerds.

Their social skills pretty much start by being ridiculed and being called ... more
I agree with you. For me, there is a HUGE difference between "socially awkward" or "not good around girls" and CREEP. I certainly can't speak for all women, but for me there is a huge difference there.
09/07/2012
Contributor: unfulfilled unfulfilled
Quote:
Originally posted by El-Jaro
As posted in other places, I'm kind of a nerd. I'm a gamer nerd. Do you know what the hardest part about being a nerd is? Social skills amoung non-nerds.

Their social skills pretty much start by being ridiculed and being called ... more
I really like what you had to say JR. My husband is a gamer nerd and you're correct he has no social skills outside the family. He's more comfortable playing online with his gamer friends than he is around others. He avoids family gatherings if at all possible because too many people make him feel uncomfortable. He'd rather be in his own shell than around a lot of people. However, he is not a creep at all and I would never classify him as such. Socially awkward yes, but not a creep. He's uniquely himself and there's nothing wrong with that.
09/08/2012
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by El-Jaro
As posted in other places, I'm kind of a nerd. I'm a gamer nerd. Do you know what the hardest part about being a nerd is? Social skills amoung non-nerds.

Their social skills pretty much start by being ridiculed and being called ... more
I've never considered nerdy guys to be "creepy" per se. They usually strike me as a bit awkward, but cute. These kinds of guys don't bother you for your number after you've said no a dozen times, they don't touch you without permission, they don't block your way when to try to go to the bathroom to get away from them, they don't assume you "want" them, they are usually on the shy side and that isn't a creepy behavior.

I think, maybe, one of the bases of "creepy" behavior is when a guy thinks he "knows" what you want.... him. And you don't. And then acts as if you showed interest, when you didn't.

My husband is an Engineer, not very social and most likely border Aspergers, he doesn't strike women as "creepy." Even when he's in a flirty mood, (and he knows how to flirt effectively without making people uncomfortable. He's older and more confident than he obviously was in his teens and 20s) as he waits for definite signs that a woman wants to talk to him and is able to pick up on that. When he was dating, he probably waited TOO long most of the time to pick up on real cues, to be honest. On the other hand, "Creepy" guys don't wait for any cues or ignore definite "leave me alone" vibes. I KNOW it's harder for more technical type dudes to pick up on social cues, but that usually doesn't result in these kinds of men being inappropriate, as they usually wait for MORE cues than other men do (not fewer) and take their time, and don't get in your face. These guys tend to be usually polite and kind, if a little shy, and in most women's books, that isn't creeper behavior.
09/08/2012
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by indiglo
I agree with you. For me, there is a HUGE difference between "socially awkward" or "not good around girls" and CREEP. I certainly can't speak for all women, but for me there is a huge difference there.
indiglo said what I wanted to, in a more precise way.

I think it's telling that a LOT of us women who are so adamant about "creepy" and what it means, and avoid those guys with a vengeance actually are married or living with socially awkward or technical type men. Kinda proves that they are NOT the same thing!

Nerdy is NOT "creepy."
09/08/2012
Contributor: Bex1331 Bex1331
Quote:
Originally posted by Ryuson
I have met plenty of creeps, but I am a HORRIBLE creep myself. When I meet someone that I want to be friends with, my first instinct is to follow them around and steal their things when they aren't looking. (I have since learned to control this ... more
couldn't have said it better myself, and yea I am such a creep too, I've learned to accept it...
09/08/2012
Contributor: Ayumi Ayumi
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley


Should “Creep Shaming” be a thing?, by Roland Hulme! - Click here to read Roland's article about the topic after discovering the Men's Rights category on Reddit.com.



Okay, so you may be asking yourself "what the ... more
To be honest, I never thought about creep shaming being limited to men. As someone who has mostly guy's for friends, I have heard them call women creepy too. I suppose the suggestion in "creep shaming" is that calling a man a creep carries a heavier stigma than calling a woman a creep. I still beg to differ, as my follow up question is always "Why do you think he/she is a creep?" I am never one to just accept a blanket statement.

On the other hand, I have been in many a situation where a guy has come on too strong. One such situation occurred last summer (2011), where I was spending a lot of time at the house of a woman who ran our International Office at school. Her brother seemed like a nice enough and polite guy, but eventually he started saying things like "Oh what's that you are wearing? It smells nice. Oh, you aren't wearing anything? Well your natural scent smells nice." Or, if he was bringing me some food the woman packed for me, he would hold my car door and not let go as he asked me for my number. When I flat out refused, he offered me his and I said, "That's really okay." I never went back. So in short, I completely avoided the situation although in retrospect I felt I should have said something to the woman since so many unsuspecting international students spend time at her house.

There are some cases when I am out a bar with friends, and I generally flat out refuse to exchange contact information with someone who is being extra creepy and they get upset, but it ends up okay. For the most part, I try not to be too indulging to strangers who ignite the "creep factor," but that's like saying when you go out you shouldn't have conversations with people. There are way too many guys who I run into who think that just because we are talking about the performer who just went up, that means he can try and touch my lower back or keep whispering obscene things in my ear, as if I came there for him and nothing else. It's insulting.
09/08/2012
Contributor: Do emu Do emu
Quote:
Originally posted by Ryuson
I have met plenty of creeps, but I am a HORRIBLE creep myself. When I meet someone that I want to be friends with, my first instinct is to follow them around and steal their things when they aren't looking. (I have since learned to control this ... more
I agree! Creeps usually are labeled as creepy because they've made other people feel uncomfortable.
09/10/2012
Contributor: aluminummm aluminummm
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Here's my response to the article:

Really? THIS is a thing? Women get raped, men get..... "offended." Women avoid creepy behavior as a survival tactic and talk about it to warn our fellow women, do y'all not get ... more
FUCK. YES.
09/10/2012
Contributor: aluminummm aluminummm
Let's be real here. If you're making people uncomfortable with your behavior/actions, you better be glad if the only thing I do is call you a creep.
09/10/2012
Contributor: sweetiejo sweetiejo
I think this is a hard topic because every women has a different idea of what a creepy guy is. to some women it isn't as bad as it is to others. Labeling a guy based off of how he acted to another women is partially wrong, just as is how one guy may call a women a slut for her clothing choice while another sees nothing wrong with it. This is a very grey area I think calling a guy who invades what you find to be your personal space is okay, but to go out of your way to bring shame to the guy I think is a form of harassment.
09/11/2012
Contributor: sweetiejo sweetiejo
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Here's my response to the article:

Really? THIS is a thing? Women get raped, men get..... "offended." Women avoid creepy behavior as a survival tactic and talk about it to warn our fellow women, do y'all not get ... more
Although I understand your points, men can also be raped just as well as women can kill. creepy guys sometimes never do anything more then be that creepy. What I personally find creepy could be totally different then say what you find to be creepy.
09/11/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by sweetiejo
I think this is a hard topic because every women has a different idea of what a creepy guy is. to some women it isn't as bad as it is to others. Labeling a guy based off of how he acted to another women is partially wrong, just as is how one guy ... more
I agree, I think it's a very grey area. Shaming people in public rarely does anyone any good.
09/12/2012
Contributor: panthercat23 panthercat23
I really just want to put as much distance between them and me as possible. I want nothing to do with them.
09/13/2012