Bus Rides of Seattle: Just the Beginning

Hazzah, Hazzah. As my thoughts of what could implode based on U.S. military action in Syria race dramatically through my mind, I am forced to recollect some thoughts I have had on a different matter while riding the bus today.

Today, I got on the bus in the northern Seattle neighborhood in which I reside, and a man playfully hit on me.  I brushed it off and instead of getting annoyed by my common thoughts of gender and what it means to be considered as a sexual object as a queer woman, I began to think about race. I thought about the race and ethnicity of the men that usually hit on me.  (Please note that I am generalizing only behaviors of men that I as a white woman, have experienced and witnessed to other white women.   Since, I am not a woman of color I don't feel I could comment on this experience.)

First note: When I reject the advances of white males, I usually get an aggressive response in which the man usually begins to degrade me in either appearance or character. It feels as if my rejection was not justifiable, even if I am queer or not available. They felt they had a right to my body or person and I violated their right by refusing to indulge them.

Second note: When a male of a minority hits me, and I reject him, he usually persist with sexual remarks in attempt to reassure me that a sexual experience with him would be pleasurable. Sometimes, he doesn't but I am usually left with a remark like, just remember you are so cute or beautiful, etc. It feels like when rejection happens minority males feel like they can't use their character to attempt to persuade me... like the only way that I would be with them is for physical reasons.

Don't get me wrong, in both instances I feel objectified, but when race comes into play I find that there are remnants of structural racism that pervade the objectification of white women. I mean to say that the tactics are based on a presumption that the white woman may hold racist views and they must be played into.

Again, these are just thoughts but I think this would be a great sociological study.