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Howard spoke to these women in order to help other men speak to women. He used them for the benefit of men. This is contempt, not caring.

Howard claims that 99.9% of the women liked it. This is the lie that chauvinists throw around: women dress certain ways or act certain ways because they want the attention of men. It is one of the most basic elements of rape culture.

Let’s put aside the idea that he actually knows what 99.9 per cent of the women he accosts think. Why might Howard truly believe that 99.9 per cent of women like this (aside from naked narcissism)? Because it is quite possible that the women he videotaped were nice to him.

In response to the outing of Howard, some Ottawa women started the Twitter hashtag #CorneredInOttawa for women to share their experiences with street harassment. It is stomach-churning, but sadly not surprising, to hear what some men will put women through just because they are women.

Women must quickly learn how to respond to street harassers. Ignore them, and they’ll keep pushing. Be nice, and they’ll take it as an invitation for more. React with hostility, well then you’re labelled as a bitch who deserves further abuse. It is always lose-lose.

So Luke Howard approached these women – many of whom have said they felt cornered – acted strangely by asking them questions out of the blue for his hidden viewers, and they remained civil. It is far more likely that they wanted to avoid enraging a man much larger than they than they were actually, you know, into it.