hi everyone,
i'm from boston, brand new to buenos aires, just got here yesterday
i hope it's alright if i skip the intro post and just launch into my question. i was well aware before i came that dealing with aggressive behavior from argentine guys can be a bit of a challenge, but i don't think i was completely prepared.
today i took the subte around 7pm with three friends, two girls and a boy. (i use friends in the more liberal american sense of the word, because we literally met yesterday). anyway, we had to switch lines and we arrived at the second platform just as the train was pulling in, so i sort of sped up to make it because it was pretty crowded. as i was about to board, a guy literally body checks me out of the way to get on the train, and when i recovered he forced his body in front of me so aggressively to board ahead of me that all my weight fell back into my friends. the train was crowded, but everyone fit just fine and we still had an extra ten seconds or so before the doors closed- the aggression was completely unnecessary.
as we started to move, this guy wrestles past a few people until he's right behind me and then pressed his entire body against my back. i tried to play it cool thinking it was just a result of the crowding that can happen anywhere, but this was definitely inappropriate. when i twisted my body so that my hip was facing him, he just grabbed my waist and pulled me into him. i never made eye contact or said anything, and instead just turned around so that i was pressing into the boy traveling with me, and sort of acted flirtatious with him hoping that the other guy would back off.
a few minutes later i could tell he was doing the same thing to one of the girls i was with, and she looked super uncomfortable, so i invited her to squeeze in next to me. a couple of stops later when he'd left and the train was much clearer, i mentioned his behavior to the group and the third girl said he'd rubbed up against her as well AND grabbed her ass.
everyone sort of brushed it off, we're all new here and we're just trying to adjust and roll with the punches. i know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's still getting to me. i think what bothers me most is that he was even more inappropriate with the other girls, and i don't know how well traveled or experienced they are dealing with these kinds of things.
i would love advice from you guys- men or women. i know it's best to ignore suggestive comments in the street and what not, but when someone is literally threatening your physical comfort? what should i have done? is there something i can say in spanish?
sorry this got so long. despite this slightly negative note, i'm so happy to be here. i've been reading this site for a couple of weeks and it's been so helpful in terms of advice and preparation, so i really want to thank everyone.
i'm from boston, brand new to buenos aires, just got here yesterday
i hope it's alright if i skip the intro post and just launch into my question. i was well aware before i came that dealing with aggressive behavior from argentine guys can be a bit of a challenge, but i don't think i was completely prepared.
today i took the subte around 7pm with three friends, two girls and a boy. (i use friends in the more liberal american sense of the word, because we literally met yesterday). anyway, we had to switch lines and we arrived at the second platform just as the train was pulling in, so i sort of sped up to make it because it was pretty crowded. as i was about to board, a guy literally body checks me out of the way to get on the train, and when i recovered he forced his body in front of me so aggressively to board ahead of me that all my weight fell back into my friends. the train was crowded, but everyone fit just fine and we still had an extra ten seconds or so before the doors closed- the aggression was completely unnecessary.
as we started to move, this guy wrestles past a few people until he's right behind me and then pressed his entire body against my back. i tried to play it cool thinking it was just a result of the crowding that can happen anywhere, but this was definitely inappropriate. when i twisted my body so that my hip was facing him, he just grabbed my waist and pulled me into him. i never made eye contact or said anything, and instead just turned around so that i was pressing into the boy traveling with me, and sort of acted flirtatious with him hoping that the other guy would back off.
a few minutes later i could tell he was doing the same thing to one of the girls i was with, and she looked super uncomfortable, so i invited her to squeeze in next to me. a couple of stops later when he'd left and the train was much clearer, i mentioned his behavior to the group and the third girl said he'd rubbed up against her as well AND grabbed her ass.
everyone sort of brushed it off, we're all new here and we're just trying to adjust and roll with the punches. i know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it's still getting to me. i think what bothers me most is that he was even more inappropriate with the other girls, and i don't know how well traveled or experienced they are dealing with these kinds of things.
i would love advice from you guys- men or women. i know it's best to ignore suggestive comments in the street and what not, but when someone is literally threatening your physical comfort? what should i have done? is there something i can say in spanish?
sorry this got so long. despite this slightly negative note, i'm so happy to be here. i've been reading this site for a couple of weeks and it's been so helpful in terms of advice and preparation, so i really want to thank everyone.
