It's not fair!

On Saturday night I walked into a pub ~ nothing unusual there ~ the guys I was meant to be meeting had not arrived so I was on my own, no problem I ordered a pint and waited.   I was dressed a little unusually, in as much as having just finished playing in a concert I was still wearing my dinner jacket and black bow tie (I was also wearing pantyhose and ladies dress trousers but that was a lot less obvious).   I did attract a few odd looks but nothing threatening.    After a while the others arrived and we had a nice sociable end to our evening.

I couldn't help but consider what the situation would have been if I had been dressed as Paula.   I am quite sure that although I would probably have been quite safe I would have felt a lot less secure.   I know I would have got even more attention.   Since I have been going out I am so much more aware of what it means to be a lone female, many of the things that as a man I can do without concern or consideration are taboo for me, or any other lone female.   Things as simple as going into a Pub on my own, or walking down the street after dark.

This is a shame, personally because it limits what I can do, but more to the point it shows what an unfair, unequal society we still live in.   It is not right that there is so much that is accessible to me as a man that is not available to my wife or daughter, by no means least something as basic as personal security.   I suspect that Girl's like me have a unique perspective on this, so maybe we should speak up about it.