I Just Met a Girl Named Maria

This is a picture of Maria who harassed a gay male patron at Vintage. "I am not a lesbian! Why are gay people always trying to befriend me. Get away from me", and then she attempted to physically assault him, at which point she was removed from the bar and began harassing people on the street. She will harass you so be careful.

(Bisexual) Men get Harassed, too.

I am a Bisexual Asian male who has experienced extreme harassment. My neighbor, the elderly man next door-- Slandered, harassed and sexually harassed me for 2 years since I moved here from California. At first, when I got here, I was really thin and looked like a girl to most people. He told me he wanted to give me a sex change operation and rape me. For the next several months he slandered me, spread rumors I was a rapist, sex offender, child molester and people called me that in the neighborhood and on the train a few times. He was angry that I was a guy and not a girl and that I was making him gay. When I joined meetup.com and come home late at night, he would wait in front of my house every night ‘til I stop going. I saw him half naked filming me twice from his 3rd floor window a few months ago when I opened my blinds in the morning and I dare not to open my blinds in the morning anymore. People gossiped about seeing videos of me naked or me sleeping, etc in my bedroom on some pervert website. I overheard people talking in Chinatown and on the set of Fordham University during my filming of the “adjustment bureau” a Matt Damon movie where I worked as an extra. Recently, He and his friends were yelling they want to castrate me, rape me. They called me a queer, fag and chink 2 weeks ago outside my house, heckling me. I am a victim of racism and sexual harassment. I filed a harassment report by calling 911 on December 10, 2009 Thursday around 9:45PM when 2 female police officers drove to my house and alerted me to come outside to talk to them. The two female police officers is a female Black woman and a Spanish woman. I was told to call 718-627-6611 for Precinct 61 for the status of my complaint. I called again on December 15, 2009 and the officer who answered the phone said the complaint is closed and is on record and no arrests was made because my neighbor harassed me but didn’t assault me. I wrote to NBC news but to no avail. I don’t know who to turn to for help. I am a victim of sexual harassment and video voyeurism and slander and I think he is trying to get me killed because I look feminine and because of my sexual orientation. If this happened to a woman he work be arrested by now, but I am a guy, a bisexual guy and no one cares. I want the harassment to stop. Submitted by Michael

THIS WEEK IN STREET HARASSMENT…

We have a FANTASTIC op-ed in the Daily News right now that discusses out soon-to-be-released iPhone app!! We are always concerned that misdemeanor crimes on the streets and subway are not taken seriously when they have such an enormous impact on the women and LGBTQ folks who experience them, but in this extremely disturbing piece of news, the Village Voice reveals that more serious forms of violence against women are being systemically downgraded to less serious charges in NYC. Interview with the maker of the fantastic short film ‘Walking Home.’ This film is a poignant look at street harassment that has been featured on our site previously. In a blog on Gender and Public policy, one blogger compares street harassment to being bombarded with ping pong balls whenever you walk down the street. Hilarious, apt, and it makes me want to carry around ping pong balls to throw back, although, tragically, hand-eye coordination isn’t really my thing… Street harassment is sometimes an eco-feminist issue. This blogger in Miami notes that the threat of harassment keeps women in their cars rather than on bikes or public transport. Thank you to the Gay Brooklyn Tip Sheet for including our party in your July calendar! And FINALLY, OUR LAUNCH PARTY IS TODAY @ 125 5TH AVE IN BROOKLYN – COME CELEBRATE WITH US!!!!!!

Coffee Shop Gawker!

You would think New Yorkers with their "seen it all" attitude wouldn't look twice at two lesbians. But there's always someone who feels like they have the right to do or say whatever they want to you when you're a woman out with your partner. My girlfriend and I were reading in a cafe in Union Square. I leaned over to give her a kiss and this perv starts taking pictures with his camera phone. My girlfriend has a camera phone and suggested I take his picture. This isn't the first time a man has taken pictures of us when we are out together. He's definitely one to keep an eye out for if you're gay and out with your girl. Submitted by Anonymous

Why there is no Hollaback in Western Mass, a tale of missing solidarity

A little over two years ago, I was the target of three strangers whose attack on me started as a barrage of contradictory insults and “compliments” and soon led to rape. The men initially noticed me because I was wearing a shirt that identified me as gay. Coming from a radically conservative town where almost everyone knew me, especially after I came out, I rarely experienced street harassment from people who I didn't know. This experience was a first for me on many fronts and has scarred me from all directions and in all aspects of my life. From then on, any time anyone made a comment about me in the halls of my high school or while I was walking around town, I felt utterly powerless and would often have flashbacks. I came upon the Holla Back New York blog a while ago and was inspired by the tools the site offered for ending street harassment. After attending a workshop on how to holla back this year, I've been considering starting a Holla Back site for the area surrounding my college. This journey has not been without obstacles, however. The idea of me starting a Holla Back blog by myself is something that scares me. During high school, I was active in efforts to end harassment of LGBTQ youth and was often the target of a great deal of hate. Having moved from my small conservative hometown to college in a really liberal area, I feel that I've just recently become a less visible target and am not willing to risk that sense of comfort. To split the weight of my decision to Holla Back, I began searching for a partner. This search, thus far, has turned out empty. The friends I have talked to about partnering with me for a project like this have found the idea of a Holla Back blog to be problematic for differing reasons which I don't necessarily agree with but don't want to repeat here because I think I would express their opinions differently than they would. I guess the point of my writing this post is sort of the old “there's power in numbers” speech. When fear is shared, it's lessened. When we are there for each other, start projects together, march side by side, we feel stronger and can do more. I don't feel that those I asked to help me were wrong in choosing not to, but I think that if someone in your community is trying to start something and you think it's a good idea, join them. The more of us holla back, the louder we are, which would be nice because I'm tired of all this silence.

Bigots at NYC Pride

Yesterday I marched in the gay pride parade in NYC, what a blast that was! I felt so sexy all day dressed in a short dress, complete with garter and pink undies, strutting my stuff all over the streets of Manhattan. "Work it girl" and "fabulous" was all I heard all day, and each time it made me beam with pleasure and pride. Unfortunately, as I was walking home from the night of dancing and fun, I walked by two thirty something white men standing outside a storefront. As if I could smell their chauvinism, I puffed up mychest and accentuated my strut, filled with the pride of the day. One of them called out, "put on some pants." I turned as I strode past them, giving the guy my middle finger in the most vulgar fashion I could while I met his gaze straight on. After working his jaw a few times he came up with a smugly comeback to my 'fuck you' - "You wish you could," he said. There are only a few times when I remember my brain actually feeling like it was about to boil over, and this was one of them. I was so angry I think I would have fought him if he had dared. I stopped walking and turned my entire body about face to him and said, in my deep, natural voice, "Yeah, that's exactly what I want to do, fuck you in your bigoted ass. Yeah, I want to fuck you in your BIGOTED ass." I continued to stare at him for a few moments. It seemed that he was deciding whether to come after me. I'm not sure why he didn't - perhaps he could sense how angry I was, or maybe he had just then realized that smear the queer wouldn't quite work with me since I was definitely bigger than he was. It also probably helped that there were two other people near us on the sidewalk, one woman who nodded her head at me in support and another woman who scurried by, obviously freaked out by the entire situation. I left the scene with my emotions still flaring, and wondering if I had done the right thing. I hope I gave him something to think about, being called a bigot to his face. That word was so powerful comingout my lips - the powerful truth, more powerful than any fist I think. I had a second, less dramatic experience later that same night. Walking by the the south end of Tompkins Square park, a straight couple walked passed me. I heard the man hiss something like "fucking fags" as they walked by. "Shut up!" his girlfriend immediately said, in a tone of moral reprehension. Thank you sister, whoever you are, and I hope you let your boyfriend know that if he can't bear the site of a fag then isn't gonna be seeing you anymore either. Yamina