'I was 7': Women tweet moments men first masturbated in front of them without consent
In a statement released yesterday, comedian Louis C.K. confirmed accusations detailed in a story from The New York Times that he masturbated in front of unconsenting women.
Some comedians, like Rosie O’Donnell, took to Twitter and TV to express their shock, outrage and disappointment in the news.
“wow,” O’Donnell tweeted, “i guess nothing nothing will surprise me ever again regarding men.”
“For everybody asking, I know and like Louis C.K,” Michael Ian Black wrote on Twitter. “I won't defend him. This is inexcusable and he needs to address it.”
“It’s getting to the point where I see a beloved celebrity’s name trending on Twitter,” Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show, “and I’m like, ‘Please tell me they’re dead, please tell me they’re dead, please tell me they’re dead. Ah, dammit.’ Every day!”
But as Jezebel reported, it was long rumored that Louis C.K. had a dicey past of sexual misconduct, meaning many were unsurprised when that Times story went public.
And for many women on Twitter, that a man masturbated in front of women without their consent is far from shocking — because they say it’s happened to themselves.
So they took to the social media site to share their own experiences.
For Laura Bassett, a politics reporter at the Huffington Post, it first happened to her when she was just five-years-old.
Ok, Louis C.K. just did to 5 women what truckers and random dudes in subway stations have been doing to women our entire lives. First time it happened to me I was 5 years old at a Burger King. If anyone else has a first-time story they'd like to share, please DM me.
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) November 9, 2017
Quickly, other women responded to Bassett’s tweet, with many writing that they had a man masturbate in front of them at a young age.
I think I was 8? Under 10 for sure. Friend's dad (also next-door neighbor) on the back steps in the middle of the damn day. (As others have said, your DMs are closed.)
— Allison Shoemaker (@allisonshoe) November 9, 2017
The first time it happened to me I was 8ish & in a schoolbus & a guy drove by pointing to himself beating off. He was wearing a red plaid suit and had to have been at least 70.
— Kristen Richardson (@butwhyevernot) November 9, 2017
Can’t DM you but my first time was when I was 7, walking home from Catholic school. Guys working on a house, I walked by, one guy knocks on window, I turn to look, and he was masturbating. I ran to my grandma’s house & she called cops.
— **~~**~~**~~Riz~~**~~**~~** (@Rizzz) November 9, 2017
7am.Me:Early30s.Heard him cough from his balcony.Me:Stunned & walked away. Again 2 mths later. This time I pointed, yelled, called cops.
— Clare Bermingham (@ClareBermingham) November 10, 2017
8 years old. Followed part way to school by a flasher who asked, "Don't you LIKE me?" Irvine, CA, middle class suburb.
— Katrina (@QuestionsAndTea) November 9, 2017
12 years old, in a glass elevator with several friends at the mall. He pulled it out and started pushing it towards us.
— ThisIsGuano (@LuLuVonLuLu) November 9, 2017
Eve Peyser, a politics reporter for Vice, asked for her followers to share their own experiences as well.
the reason i ask, is because i think this has happened at least once to most women i know
— eve peyser (@evepeyser) November 9, 2017
to the surprised men who are asking, "who are these other men doing these awful things?"—
— eve peyser (@evepeyser) November 9, 2017
the reason these awful men get away with this shit is because other men turn a blind eye to it. I'd encourage to reflect on whether you've ever been complicit.
Some men were shocked that so many women had similar stories to tell.
The fact that I didn't think a thread like this could have so many stories.. that says something. Damn.
— Tobias King (@logic_avenger) November 9, 2017
I cannot fathom that this happens yet nearly every woman I know has had something like this to them.
— Gorka's Ghost (@jdubya65) November 9, 2017
But misogyny isn't a national epidemic.
While others asked their fellow men — why would you do this?
Allow me to double down: Men, when's the first time you jerked off in front of a woman without her consent?
— Carl T (@WillTheShrill) November 9, 2017
I'll go first: Never. And at the not so ripe age of 60 I still can't fathom how any man would think it's okay.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an American experiences sexual assault every 98 seconds. That means there are around 320,000 victims each year, with 69 percent of them aged 12 to 34 — and a majority of them women.
This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 12:07 PM with the headline "'I was 7': Women tweet moments men first masturbated in front of them without consent."