Stranger tells mom her young daughters have 'nice bodies' — she stood up to him with a bold response
It is creepy and frustrating to have men commenting on women’s bodies. Randomly expressing their opinions without a second thought can be disrespectful and hurtful. If adult women find it objectionable to handle such remarks, imagine how much more it would hurt and agitate a mother for her young daughters. A mom named Jules–who goes by @julesfassinger on TikTok–was baffled after she stumbled upon a stranger who randomly passed a thoughtless comment about her young daughters. She shared a video expressing how she felt about it and the bold response she rendered. It’s receiving immense support from fellow parents and women.
Jules was out with her 8 and 10-year-old daughters, waiting for a pickup. While she sat down to wait, her daughters were together, keeping each other company. A stranger who seemed to be fit and slim was sitting at a nearby table, began conversing with the mom. He initially complimented her daughters, saying, “Nice children.” Jules found this comment decent and appreciated the remark. However, he went on to say, “Their father must be slim.” Jules was confused and astonished at his remark. She tried to understand and clarify what the man meant. He confidently repeated, “Their father must be slim; they have nice bodies.”
The mom was “floored” by the comment. Not only was the man commenting inappropriately about the young girls, but he also indirectly offended the mom. A user asked, “Why do some men feel that it's socially acceptable to pass comments on women's bodies?” It turns out, many women have experienced directly or indirectly a man passing a careless expression about their bodies and appearance. “I have had the majority of my male friends randomly let me know they find me attractive. Responding with, ‘Your opinion on my looks does not concern me, whether it’s positive or negative. Do not comment on my looks again,’ usually results in a microexpression of complete disbelief and shock,” Kim Johnson expressed on Quora.
Meredith Metcaffe added, “No, we don't want the comment at all. It puts the focus on how someone looks, not on who they are. Women are not decoration, they are not up for constant observation and evaluation and appraisal. It assumes that we need to hear what you think of how we look, and we don't.” Jules boldly responded, calling out the man for his behavior. “What a weird comment,” she said. He explained that he was just trying to make an observation but the mom refused to take any further clarifications. "Don’t comment on my kids' bodies,” she confidently replied. The conversation ended on a rough note with both remarking, “I hope you don’t live around here.”
"Why the f*** are you commenting on my kids' bodies?" the mom rhetorically asked. "I can't believe I just endured this. It's not okay, I'm enraged," she added. People respected her confident answer and stance and noted that such comments should not be tolerated. @pollycrackers said, “That’s disgusting, and I hope you were loud when you spoke back to him.” @mothbaby noted, “His observing her children’s bodies is a little serious.” @meximamma72 said, "That's disgusting, I’m sorry you had to go through this.” @franksmooth2 remarked, “A male teacher commented on my son’s body; he’s no longer employed there.”
You can follow Jules (julesfassinger) on TikTok for more content on parenting.