Today’s run: 6 miles, 1:03 minutes. YT: 75.2 miles. GREAAAAAT RUN. I thought about work a lot on the first half, not because I’m stressed but because I’m excited. Second half was dominated by an interesting cast of characters, some familiar. Kundalini lady was out in her pink jump suit, flailing her head around, her own special ecstatic brand of davening. Intense bearded man crossed my path three times, and faster than me. Zing. Finally, I saw the two delicate black cats I often see, posed together. Not sure whether they are best friends or lovers. Maybe both.
A conversation I had last week with my coworker:
Me: I definitely think more men look at me from cars when I run wearing lipstick.
Craig: Yeah. They’re wondering why you’re wearing lipstick to go running.
I assume you wear lipstick to go running so that men in cars will look at you. :)
No, for sun coverage!!!
Men in Toronto are nothing if not polite. They don’t stare, they don’t cut in front of you at crosswalks, they don’t speak when there’s eye contact unless you speak first. It’s really very sweet.
I’m not sure what it is about cars though. They must think they’re wearing a vanishing cloak when they get behind the wheel. Men of all ages, some just boys(!), will openly leer from a car. I don’t think it’s the lipstick.
I don’t really care if they leer. But the whistlers and shouters (mostly Mexican gardeners in pick up trucks; it’s definitely a cultural thing) really piss me off.
That’s funny, once I decided it was cultural, it stopped bothering me! The leering doesn’t really get under my skin either, it’s just peculiar that there’s such a dichotomy in behaviour in TO.
Recognizing it as a cultural thing helps a little, but I can’t stop myself from having a negative reaction – it’s almost physical. And actually – it’s worse when I’m in running clothes, as opposed to dressed up to go out. It’s like then, I feel more like fair game. But when I’m running???? No, no, no.
As for men who think they’re invisible in cars, it explains why I’ve seen so many of them picking their noses, too.
I get very few leers. Not even from Mexican gardeners. sigh…