Beach harassment, by the women who experience it – The HuffPost

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BEACH HARASSMENT – If summer and the beach rhyme with letting go and vacations, this place is far from being easy for women. One in four has indeed already been the victim of beach harassment, according to a poll published in June.

This beach harassment is heavy dredge, remarks, sometimes insults. These are also the looks on those judged legs not shaved enough, these breasts which should be covered and which one cannot see, this swimsuit sometimes considered a little too indented to practice sport.

Because yes, sportswomen are also affected by this phenomenon. Wishing simply to practice their favorite activity, surfing, beach volleyball or simply playing rackets on the beach, they too suffer from the ambient sexism of the beaches.

For all these reasons, The HuffPost Life decided to devote her summer dossier to beach harassment. Here are the main points, details of which you can find in each article.

  • More than one in four women have experienced harassment at the beach

In summer, a beach holiday is a moment of relaxation and privileged disconnection … until you are a victim of bullying. A poll by Yougov for Bumble unveiled in June shows that more than one in three women aged 18 to 34 (39%) say they are victims of bullying of beach.

This phenomenon would even concern nearly one in two women (46%) aged 18 to 24. How does this harassment manifest itself? By “heavy” dredge, even if they expressed their disinterest, for 66% of the people questioned, by inappropriate remarks on their appearance or face or inappropriate noises for a little more than three women in ten, and insults for more 12% of the people questioned.

➡️ Discover the survey on beach harassment

  • Like the street, the beach is not immune to harassment

A good book and a mirror here, remarks and inappropriate glances there. If the beach is the perfect place to relax during the summer, putting your towel on the hot sand is also a source of trouble for some women victims of bullying.

If we move away from harassment, we can see that the beaches, “far from being completely peaceful spaces where everything is only languor and relaxation, have historically been able to be spaces of violence”. This is what notes with the HuffPost Elsa Devienne, former lecturer in American history and civilization at the University of Paris X – Nanterre and author of The Sand Rush: An Environmental History of the Los Angeles Coastline in the 20th Century.

“Women’s bodies are always available, are always a source of comments, in the public space as on the beach. The peculiarity here is that the bodies are more visible ”, notes Johanna Dagorn, sociologist at the University of Bordeaux, specialist in gender violence and, among others, street harassment.

➡️ Read the analysis of these experts on beach harassment

  • “I can feel the eyes on me”, these women tell about sexism in beach sports

“Let me do my sport in peace.” If the Beach is the place of relaxation par excellence during the summer period, sportswomen sometimes have a different opinion. For paddle, surf and beach tennis enthusiasts, Beach volleyball, practicing their sport can become a source of trouble.

Whether they are in a bikini or a jumpsuit, whether they are changing on the beach or in a parking lot, many are indeed subjected to inappropriate remarks, insistent stares, or insults on their body while doing their sport.

The HuffPost asked several and their testimonies are invaluable to understand the heavy pressure and the lack of consideration that some can feel.

➡️ Read the testimonials of these sportswomen

  • “We remind her that she must wax”: At the beach, the hairs are still disturbing

From the insistent gaze to the inappropriate remark, there is only a hair. And many are the women who have decided to no longer waxing before going to the beach. But many of them have to deal with remarks from strangers or even directly from their families.

This is what Léa Taieb explains to us, who, in collaboration with Juliette Lenrouilly, conducted an investigation whose book is entitled “Let’s talk about Hair!”. “For 80% of women, the main concern before going on vacation ishair removal”, She explains to us.

➡️ Watch the video interview with Léa Taieb

  • They tell their worst stories of “flirting” at the beach

“Do you want a cigarette?”, “You’re well arched!”; here are remarks that any woman is likely to receive on the beach, for the simple reason that she tans in swimsuit or that she is doing topless.

The beach, like the street, is not immune to harassment, and this is manifested mainly by “heavy” dredge. To understand this phenomenon, The HuffPost asked a few women to tell the worst “flirting” stories, which are more akin to harassment, that they have experienced at the beach.

➡️ Read heavy dredge testimonials

See also on The HuffPost: Faced with “nudes” and cyberbullying, how Aliya fights to find solutions