And the next thing I wanna talk about is harassment.
So there are different types of harassment and I'm gonna go over some of the different
types that I've experienced.
I've experienced all of these types of harassment multiple times and that's why they each get
their own category.
So there's the creepy whisper in your ear as someone's walking by you.
So for example, this has happened to me at the grocery store.
I'll just be walking somewhere and then a guy will pass me and he'll whisper in my ear
"Hey red" or "'Sup flame."
There's also the creepy middle-aged man at the gas station.
I'll be putting gas into my car and there'll be a middle-aged man at another pump.
And he'll say something like, "Hey sexy" and I won't respond at all.
And he'll stand there and he'll stop doing whatever he's doing and he'll just stare at
me until I leave.
There's also the rapid-fire question guy.
I'll be out somewhere, like the last time it happened I was at a library.
And as I was walking back out to my car, a guy approached me and he was like,
"Hey! What's your name?
Do you live around here?
Do you like it around here?
Are you in school?
What's your major?
How old are you?
Are you dating anyone?
Do you have any siblings?"
And they don't even give you a chance to respond to anything.
They just keep blurting out the questions.
I don't know what this type of strategy is supposed to accomplish, but it's freaky!
There's also the inappropriate response guy.
Back in the day I used to be a server (or a waitress).
And I used to be so incredibly shy.
Like I would stutter when I tried to talk to people.
My mind would constantly go blank trying to talk to people.
Like I would cry sometimes with authority figures if I felt like I was getting in trouble,
even as an adult.
It was so hard for me to talk to people.
And I had one table, where again it was a middle-aged man.
And he was there with his family.
He was there with his wife and children.
And I got their order, and I was like, "Is there anything else I can get you today?"
and he was like, "You."
And his wife... his wife said, "He's serious, dear."
How is your wife gonna be trying to help you pick up young waitresses?!
What kind of family is this?!
Like I had no idea what to do in that situation so I was just like, "aha ha ha ha..." and
I went and I put their order in and I didn't do anything about it.
And then of course there's the people who cat-call you.
So they'll like whistle at you while you're walking somewhere, or they'll shout out like,
"Hey babe!" or something like that.
So those are all types of people that I've encountered in America.
And I just wanna frame this for you so you can picture my situation.
I was an extremely late bloomer in like every single aspect.
I didn't start wearing make-up until a year after I met Jun.
I was like 23, maybe like late 22s when I started wearing make-up.
Before that I didn't do anything, like I didn't know how to do my hair, I was a MAJOR tomboy.
I always wore like pants and gym shoes everywhere.
And I'm 25 right now.
People sometimes say I look a little bit younger than that.
So if you can imagine what I looked like as a 13 year-old little tomboy girl with messy
hair and jeans and gym shoes and everything...
That is when I started getting cat-called at 13 years old in America.
And that is something that I've had to face ever since no matter what I'm wearing, no
matter how I look.
None of that has ever changed it.
I've lived in four different states in America.
I've lived in the Midwest and South, and it still happens to me no matter where I go.
But you know, I've never once been cat-called in Japan.
I've never once felt harassed by anyone in Japan.
I'm gonna give you an example of the things people say about me or say to me as we're
walking by each other in public in both Japan and America.
Hey red...
Her face is so small!
Damn girl!
She's so skinny!
Hey girl, why don't you come over here? I got something I wanna show you.
Is that her real hair color?
Bitch you hot anyway!
She's pretty!
And just for frame of reference, like the cat-calls in America "only" happen to me a
few times a year, whereas like the compliments about me in Japan happen LITERALLY every single
time I go out shopping.
Usually multiple times when I go out shopping.
And you can ask Jun about it.
Maybe he'll make a video about it sometime because I'm actually like almost completely
oblivious to what's happening around me so usually he's the person who has to point it
out to me.
So I wonder which place I would rather live!
The place where people cat-call me, or the place where people are constantly complimenting
me?
Such a hard decision!
All things considered, obviously being in Japan is so much easier for me than being
in America as a woman.
Especially, I feel... I just feel so much more comfortable in Japan.
So those are my personal experiences for like safety and harassment in Japan compared to
America.
I know everyone has had different experiences.
I know a lot of foreign women have had like bad experiences in Japan.
So please feel free to tell me what your experiences were.
I hope you enjoyed listening to all of my stories.
And I'll see you guys next time! Bye!