Women have detailed all of the things they would do if men had a curfew at night, revealing the many ways in which they have altered their daily lives in order to avoid possible danger.
Civil rights activist Danielle Muscato started the conversation on Twitter last week ahead of the hearing during which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, 51, shared her recollection of being sexually assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, 53, when she was 15.
‘Ladies, a question for you: “What would you do if all men had a 9pm curfew?” Dudes: Read the replies and pay attention,’ Danielle wrote next to the hashtags #metoo #Kavanaugh #Cosby #feminism #maleprivilege, and #privilege.
Freedom: Women on Twitter have listed all the things they would do if men had a 9pm curfew, with running at night being a strong contender (stock picture)
Asking: Activist Danielle Muscato started the conversation ahead of the hearing during which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford shared her recollection of being assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, 53
Danielle’s point wasn’t to advocate such a curfew, but rather to show the lengths women go to on a daily basis in order to remain safe, through a theoretical thought experiment.
Her tweet promptly went viral, garnering more than 9,000 retweets and more than 19,000 likes, as well as thousands of responses in which women described the seemingly banal acts they wish they were able to do without fear.
‘Literally don’t even know what to write because there’s so many things,’ one Twitter user wrote.
Several mentioned going to the beach at night, while others said they would walk or run in piece at any hour.
Answers: Her tweet promptly went viral, garnering thousands of responses in which women described the seemingly banal acts they wish they were able to do without fear
Wishes: Several women said they would enjoy running at night if men had a curfew
‘Imagine how different ALL of my life would have been. So much freedom!’ one person wrote. ‘All the places I would enjoy on my own, and going for walks. Spontaneity to just go! I love the way the air feels on my skin when it’s warm at night, and I’d love to experience this without a chaperone.’
Someone else tweeted: ‘Oh my God. The mind reels. Go dancing? Take a walk? Open the front door without fear?’
‘I’d sleep with ground floor windows open on a summer night,’ someone else answered.
One woman said she would ‘walk everywhere’ and go shopping for groceries ‘late at night when it’s quiet’.
‘I’d take public transit all the time and could sell my car,’ she added. ‘I wouldn’t worry about my girlfriends when we were out listening to music, etc. Beach at night.’
A mother wrote: ‘My whole life would have been different, and now my daughter’s life would be different.’
Overwhelmed: One person said she didn’t know what to write because she was thinking of too many things at once
Impact: The thread resonated with many Twitter users, including men who said they had never realized women didn’t feel free to do all the things they had listed safely
It begs the question: One man said he had never been aware of the many ways women try to stay safe, and wondered why they aren’t ‘filled with uncontrollable rage all the time’
One Twitter user pictured herself running ‘with both earbuds in, AT NIGHT’ and not having to ‘cross the road to the other sidewalk’.
‘I wouldn’t worry about keeping my phone in my hand and locking my door the second I got inside the car,’ she added. ‘Walk in the woods, because it’s beautiful at night.’
The thread resonated with many Twitter users, including men who said they had never realized women didn’t feel free to do all the things they had listed safely.
‘I’m a white guy who regularly visits other countries by himself, walking city streets after midnight while listening to music on my headphones while not speaking the language. Never even occurred to me that this was a gender privilege,’ one of them wrote.
Another man tweeted: ‘Wow, I feel horrible right now. None of this has ever occurred to me as an issue. I run, I go do whatever I want whenever I want.
‘Why aren’t women filled with uncontrollable rage all the time?’