Not the man in question (Picture: Getty/Twitter)

Harassment happens online as it does in real life. Many women and few men have reported being sexually harassed on social media and even on professional websites such as LinkedIn.

But one man went as far as to degrade a woman without even talking to her.

The boss discussed a woman’s profile picture – a ‘head and shoulders shot of her wearing a grey t-shirt and smiling at the camera’ – claiming that it was ‘slutty’.

The man revealed to a colleague that he thought the woman was ‘way over the top sexy and obviously down to fuck,’ by posing for a simple picture.




Sharing the story on Twitter, Sawyer, a podcaster from Toronto, Canada, explained how predatory and judgemental behaviour makes women afraid.

The thread resonated with thousands who said the man was ‘projecting slutness’ onto women and then blaming them for it.

He clicked on it to open it full-size, like he thought I just wasn't seeing it well enough and said "This!" I said "Taking selfies?"

He said "Taking selfies like THAT." I was still absolutely fucking lost, so I asked him to explain. He said "Just, like, slutty pictures." — Sawyer (@sswyrs) June 14, 2019

Sawyer explained that the word ‘slutty’ was an undeserved hyper-misognystic construct and was completely unwarranted.

‘It was a headshot of a woman wearing a grey t-shirt. The only skin on her you could see was her face and collarbones. I was still lost and he was getting annoyed like I was being deliberately dumb.’

He continued: ‘This man saw a thumbnail of a picture of an attractive woman, and decided that not only was she a “slut”, but that her presumed “behaviour” meant she deserved any harassment or assault she experienced – and felt this strongly enough to say it out loud, unprompted, and at work.

‘A woman has her smiling face on her profile. A man she has never met sees it and instantly feels rage and disgust.

‘He believes she invites and deserves harassment/assault. All because she dared to be attractive in a public space.’

Many people shared their own stories of men feeling entitled to comment on their bodies and behaviour, putting the onus to not get attacked and harassed on the women.

Some women said that no matter what types of headshots they go for, it always invites some sort of harassment.

With over 135,000 engagements with the thread, let’s hope more people realise how pervasive the problem is.

MORE: Right-wing author writes bizarre slut-shaming tweet about women seducing men with ‘lubed legs’

MORE: Women share stories of harassment in support for lesbian couple attacked on bus

MORE: Female taxi driver reveals the shocking level of sexual harassment that drove her to quit

Advertisement Advertisement