40+ Women Share How They React to Men and Their Inappropriate Behavior

Many women feel they can’t say anything about their boss and his inappropriate behavior, lest they lose their job. Unfortunately, this is true in many scenarios. But sometimes, your superior can get in a lot of trouble for what he says.

So, pretending to keep some sort of log about all of the ways someone wrongs you might actually be a pretty good idea. At any rate, it might scare them into behaving more often.

The worst thing a woman can do when responding to inappropriate behavior from men is to entertain it. After all, that gives the impression that you find it acceptable. But, if you don’t want to be outright snarky, a good way to respond is to be as technical and factual as possible.

After all, if you aren’t “fun” to mess with, people should hopefully stop bothering you. We know it’s not as simple as all that, but this lifeguard handled this harassment pretty well.

Some companies even teach their employees how to respond to inappropriate behavior, although how well they do that tends to vary. In this case, though, these are good ways to react — feign confusion and ask someone what they mean or repeat themselves.

After all, most men won’t be too eager to repeat themselves or outright explain why they thought their behavior was acceptable. That makes this one of the best ways to shut down such behavior right away.

The sad reality is that many men are inappropriate even with girls much younger than them. Even minors. In those cases, you can’t always expect a young teenager to know how to react. But, of course, you should be able to trust the mom to take care of it.

Threatening to kill someone is very extreme, but then again, the way this man was acting toward a minor was unacceptable. So, we can’t really blame the mom for her decision.

There are certain jobs dominated by men where it is pretty common to hang up racy photos and calendars of women. Well, any woman in the outfit should be able to do the same thing, right? After all, what right would they have to complain?

Apparently, the woman in this story realized exactly that, and went ahead and did it. We don’t know how it turned out, but it was certainly a great answer to the issue.

Sadly, there are some unfair realities in this world. For instance, a man can be absolutely in the wrong, and when a woman reacts accordingly, she’s the one that gets chewed out instead of him. It’s just not right.

That said, we believe slapping someone for physically harassing you is a totally valid and fair response. It’s just too bad that it can get you unjustly reprimanded.

In some cases, the man doing the harassing has all the power. This happens a lot when he’s your boss, and you just really can’t afford to lose your job. The unfortunate reality is that many women don’t respond to inappropriate behavior at all.

After all, gross and demeaning though it may be, you have to make a living, especially in today’s economy. It’s horrible, but in those situations, there’s nothing to be done other than removing oneself from the situation if possible.

The terrible truth is that the HR department doesn’t always have your back at your workplace. In this scenario, they just told this woman that she would have to deal with inappropriate harassment herself. But hey, that actually gave her a bit of freedom.

Thankfully, she was in a position to be straightforward and aggressive with the person bothering her, both of which were warranted in this case. That guy probably learned his lesson. Hopefully.

Not all inappropriate behavior is so overt and outright detestable, but there’s still the subtle kind that grates on the nerves. You know the “I was worried about you doing it right because you’re a woman” kind.

When that kind of thing happens, the best response is usually to do the job better than anyone could ask for. You can also call them out on what they are thinking, just like this woman did. That usually works.

Whether or not HR can be trusted usually depends on your situation and what kind of job you work at. Sometimes, they’re no good at all. But other times, they’re actually a reliable deterrent against people who don’t know how to behave.

So, if you have an HR branch like that, it’s perfectly fine to fall back on them as a response to inappropriate behavior. It certainly worked right here.

When you get confronted with behavior this gross and concerning, it can be difficult to think of any coherent way to react. While we would all like to be capable of some snarky, supremely witty comeback, not everyone can pull that off at the drop of a hat.

But, you can always just walk away from the problematic person. It may have been all this woman could do, but at least it was something.

Many people will try to play off inappropriate behavior by saying it’s a joke, but that always tends to fall a little flat with people who are rightfully offended. This woman’s answer is to ask those people to explain the joke.

It almost always works. Having to explain bigotry out loud is understandably awkward. It’s just too bad that it took so long for this boss to get his comeuppance.

Men have many inappropriate behaviors that make no real sense if they’re trying to get a woman to notice them in a positive light. And yet, they still try it. Why? Even they might not be able to explain it.

That being the case, this woman’s go-to response of straight-up asking about their success rate with terrible strategies might actually be a pretty good move to keep in your back pocket.

Asking for an explanation from someone who knows what they’re saying is inappropriate is usually a good move if you need to react to someone being inappropriate.

Of course, some people have no shame and may actually explain themselves and still think it’s alright, but as this woman rightly points out, those people are few and far between. Either way, it’s always a good card to play.

Unfortunately, we don’t all have supreme levels of wit that can destroy someone who’s being inappropriate. But if you do, using that wit appropriately really is one of the best ways to deal with an inappropriate joke.

Of course, that joke doesn’t always create an opening as easily exploitable as the one we’re seeing here, but still. It’s a good tactic to keep in mind if you’re the type that’s capable of it.

We suppose this example is a little different, since the girl in question didn’t even know someone was being inappropriate with her, and she was just responding earnestly to something that confused her.

But still, it’s a good tactic to perform intentionally as well. If someone doesn’t have the gall to repeat themselves, maybe they’ll realize that what they were saying was gross in the first place.

If we had a nickel for every time on this list a boss made a “joke” about a phone operator’s voice, we’d have two nickels — which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. As usual, the best response is just to ask what on earth that means and why it’s being said.

The fact that so many women have realized the value of this technique is great. Now, we just need everyone to do it, and maybe the inappropriate behavior will die down a bit.

You don’t always have to ask people to directly repeat themselves, but you can do the same thing in a more subtle way sometimes. For instance, you can just pretend you didn’t hear them, which then would require them to repeat themselves anyway.

Most individuals aren’t brave enough to do that, since they realize that what they said was inappropriate to start with. This is a cheeky way to shut them down.

This reaction to inappropriate behavior is unique because it’s a delayed comeuppance. The guy who got the wrong number didn’t realize he had been played until he actually tried to use it, which is hilarious.

Although, we have to wonder what other chauvinist this woman apparently had the contact information for. Why did she have it? Just to use in situations such as this one?

Men perform all sorts of crazy, inappropriate things when it comes to women, but one of the most brain-dead is just honking the horns of their cars at women on the street. Like, what is that even supposed to mean? How are you supposed to respond to that?

Well, this woman responded in the most literal way she could. It’s a bit direct, but it’s not like she said anything that was untrue, so why not?

OK, so this isn’t exactly the same as all the other examples on this list, but it still fits. Little boys probably don’t talk smack about girls due to societally ingrained chauvinism, but they still do it.

A little girl probably isn’t going to do anything too advanced in order to respond, but she can still prove her superiority, at least in one regard. Monkey bars isn’t the end-all-be-all, but it still got the point across.

If you don’t speak a language, you can never really know what someone else is saying about you in that language. It could be something super bigoted, for all you know. But, if you do speak the language and they don’t know that, you can pull a fast one like this.

And you know, what’s wrong with a woman being tall anyway? Why is there some arbitrary limit to how all women can be? It’s not just a French thing either, a lot of men say things like that.

You don’t always have to be confrontational or witty when it comes to fighting against inappropriate behavior. Sometimes, you can just go for secret option C, where you go out of your way to weird them out and scare them away.

Of course, you might not always have a powdered donut on hand, but we’re sure there are plenty of things that any woman could do to really shut down unwanted behavior and advances. Don’t underestimate the power of weirdness.

OK, so maybe this isn’t an example of inappropriate behavior per se, so much as a guy just being too blunt and rude about his perception of a woman. But hey, it gave said woman an opening to hit him with a great comeback.

So, whether or not it’s a perfect fit, we’re including this exchange on the list. That comeback is golden and deserves praise, even if it’s tangentially related.

It’s always a little weird when a man starts off their harassment by saying something about how they don’t want to bother you. After all, shouldn’t they just not bother you in the first place if that’s how they feel? Maybe that makes too much sense.

Either way, returning their false sentiment back at them is a good move. Well, sometimes. She did say that the guy got aggressive, so maybe it wasn’t the best option. But, it was probably very satisfying.

Let’s just be real here — women have to deal with biologically-induced issues every month, and when you have scheduled intense pain like that, it’s understandable that you’d be a little tense and annoyed.

But, the idea that a woman just acts inherently disagreeable at this time is bigoted. This woman had a great comeback to that insinuation though. Unfortunately, it was probably so clever that it went right over that guy’s head.

Ignoring the disgusting situation that is some old guy flashing someone who’s barely beyond a teenager, let’s applaud this woman for her absolutely crushing counterattack. Anyone who reacts to inappropriate behavior that severe so smoothly deserves praise.

Of course, it would have been better if that guy got arrested for public indecency, but humiliating him publically for his crimes is the next best thing, we suppose.

Believe it or not, you can actually dissuade some men from bothering you by being too into it. Or rather, getting way too excited and enthusiastic with them. Odd how that works.

Still, we wouldn’t recommend taking this approach with too many people behaving inappropriately. After all, you never know how people are going to react, and sometimes, their reaction might actually escalate into something far worse.

For many people, nervous laughter is a completely normal and understandable reaction to inappropriate behavior. You just do it because you don’t really know what you should do instead. But, as this woman rightly points out, that’s really not a good idea.

That’s because some people will interpret it as acceptance of the behavior, because they’re too dense to pick up on the fact that it’s not real laughter. There’s always a better option.

When you’re young and someone in your own family is inappropriate with you, it can be really difficult to actually do anything about it. For many people, the seeming best course of action is to do nothing at all and pretend it didn’t happen, just as this girl did.

But, just because someone in your own family is inappropriate doesn’t mean you should do nothing. At the very least, you should always tell somebody you trust about it.

As mentioned previously, nervous laughter is not the best way to respond to inappropriate behavior, because it can send the wrong message to the person misbehaving in the first place. They may interpret it as a good thing.

That said, we understand why some people can’t think of anything else to do. When you’re made to feel incredibly uncomfortable, it’s difficult to react in the optimal manner each time. Still, it would be better to do something else besides laugh nervously.

When an inappropriate joke is made, laughing nervously is a bad move. But, a great move is to just be as stonefaced about it as possible. It’s really hard for anyone to follow up their bad joke when a reaction like that comes their way.

This woman proves easily enough that you can shut down almost anyone with a mean poker face. Then again, they may just misinterpret it and think you didn’t get the joke at all.

Sometimes, making an exit from a situation that is inappropriate is the right move. This woman had to leave her welding course, but she could potentially find another way to achieve her dreams. However, you don’t need to lie to your family about it.

If they love you, they aren’t going to find fault with you for the terrible behavior of other people. Only a terrible person looks at a victim and thinks they’re the one with the problem.

“Does the carpet match the drapes” is a timeless, stupid question asked by many an inappropriate and uncultured man. It’s such a stupid question that some people, like this woman, don’t even get what it’s supposed to mean.

We suppose it can be interpreted as harmless fun, but ultimately, it’s just annoying. It’s no wonder that she would get annoyed on behalf of the other people suffering the same dumb jokes.

Unfortunately, men in positions of authority are often able to be inappropriate even at the most inconceivable of times. For instance, during a performance review. Who in their right mind would say something like this at a time like that?

The other unfortunate reality is that the woman in this case didn’t have many cards to play, since her job depended on the man in question. It’s unfair, but until society changes as a whole, that’s the way it often is.

We’d like to say that we understand the satisfaction of directly confronting a man that was inappropriate towards you. Pouring water on them sounds like a good idea on the surface. But, you do have to be careful with this kind of reaction.

After all, you never know how volatile someone is or what they might do to something so direct. Inappropriate behavior sucks, but it’s preferable to getting punched in the face, so be careful about things like this.

Some men just have no tact, but this really goes beyond that. What kind of man implies that a 12-year-old has been with any man at all, never mind 58 of them? Only a deplorable lunatic would think that’s an OK thing to say.

Naturally, the girl in this scenario had no idea what to say, but thankfully, her mom was there to take care of it. Honestly, it’s surprising she didn’t rip his head off. She should be praised for her remarkable restraint.

People who make inappropriate jokes often latch onto incredibly superficial things to joke about, or to have misconceptions about in general. Like hair, for instance. Some people tie certain hairstyles to certain aspects of character, which is silly.

This doesn’t apply solely to women, so no matter who you are, just throw the sentiment back in their face and ask them to be direct about it. Most of these people hate to explain their stereotypes.

Sometimes, you just have to fight fire with fire. If someone is making you feel threatened or unsafe, then you should make them feel the same way. Maybe they just need to see what it’s like.

Or perhaps women should just start insulting men the same way that men insult women? The next time a guy tells you to go to the kitchen, tell him to go outside to chop some wood. Or just use the OP’s tactic and scare him into ever telling you where to go again.

We’re willing to bet that this guy thought the OP couldn’t hear what he was saying to her colleague, that’s why he was genuinely confused that no one served him a drink. That’s the thing about people who make disgusting and inappropriate comments, they’d rarely say those things to someone’s face.

They most certainly wouldn’t say it to the face of someone who’s bigger and stronger than them. Which begs the question — why are they saying this stuff at all?

Truthfully, the fact that it’s gross is the least of this pickup line’s problems. It isn’t particularly funny or clever, or really anything that you’d expect a pickup line to be. It’s pretty much this dude bragging that he knows how to spell basic words.

A word to the wise — when trying to impress a woman, maybe demonstrate something beyond what you’ve learned in first grade. We’re not saying it’ll necessarily work but it’ll definitely get you a better result than this.

It takes a lot of unearned confidence to be able to walk down the street making intimate noises at random women. Chances are that this dude doesn’t even know what a genuine intimate noise sounds like.

If this is his method for getting a date, then it’s safe to assume that he’s never enjoyed a romantic night with a woman. It seems that everything he knows is from adult films, which kind of explains his level of misogyny.

What did this guy think was going to happen? That the OP would scream in delight, run over to him, and do what he asked? No need to even know his name! It would’ve been completely understandable for the OP to get scared and run away.

That being said, we’re glad that she was able to stand her ground and throw a much-needed insult in this guy’s direction. There’s only one last question on our mind — is his nose actually bigger?

Ah, the joys of public transportation, you meet some truly interesting characters on the train. Shockingly, some people don’t seem to understand how public transportation works… they think they have the right to every single seat — as if they’re in a private vehicle.

We absolutely love this woman’s response! If quick-wit isn’t your thing, though, we advise just sitting on his bags… or throwing them onto the floor. Either way is fine.

The OP’s response was absolutely perfect for this situation. Not only did she get this dude’s hand off her body but she also embarrassed him in public which is exactly what he deserved.

We like to think that other people on the train jumped to her defense after that and got this guy to leave her alone. Or maybe he left her alone on his own accord because he was scared of getting called out again.

Why did this guy just assume that the OP was in charge of the coffee? Oh right, because she was the only woman there. As if men are physically incapable of making coffee.

At least now this dude has the OP’s order so if he wants to offer an apology, he knows how — with a perfect cup of coffee that he’s made her. We know, we know, it won’t happen. But, one can dream…

When in doubt, just scare the guy away. As tempting as it can be to give a snarky comeback or to insult someone who’s being creepy, it can be dangerous to upset them.

It seems that this guy was already acting aggressively by calling the OP by that name, so we can only imagine what he’d do if she questioned his incredibly frail manhood. In this case, the method of making him think she was crazy so he’d leave was definitely the way to go.

Dear creepy men of the world — not every thought that enters your head needs to leave your mouth and be brought into the world. Sometimes, even oftentimes, it’s preferred to just keep things to yourself.

It’s wonderful that this woman’s chest was so impressive that you wanted to shout about it. But, keep the cheering in your head next time. Not everyone on the street needs to know that your whole body just lit up like a lighthouse.

Obviously, this gentleman was concerned that the OP was unaware of her situation and he simply wanted to make sure she was properly informed. She may not have a mirror in her house, she may have never looked down before, or even had a conversation with anyone about her body.

Who knows! This guy was just being a good samaritan and ensuring that the OP was aware of everything’s size and location. How thoughtful.

There’s no need to fear, this problem truly has an easy solution. As the OP stated, just don’t wear a lot of makeup! Oh, you want a woman who wears less makeup? Well then, we should get to applying our lipstick!

Why would anyone assume that everyone else will change their appearance just so a specific individual would be attracted to them? We prefer to be alone with all of our makeup, thanks.

It’s important to make creepy men feel just as uncomfortable around you as you do around them — it’s called karma. Shrieking nonstop is most definitely a valid way to get someone to leave you alone.

The OP said that she didn’t know what she should do but we believe that she made the best possible choice. After all, they drove off, didn’t they? We’d most definitely consider that to be a win for feminists everywhere!

Aren’t creepy men always saying how they want a woman who’ll oblige to whatever they ask, without even thinking twice? Well, it seems that this guy found exactly that! The OP’s mom was more than happy to speak in English, as requested.

It’s too bad that it didn’t turn out the way he wanted it to. Maybe next time, he’ll think twice about rudely insisting someone speak a language he understands. Sorry, Chad — we’re not fluent in idiot.

It’s already insulting enough when someone says gross comments about your body as if they have the right. However, it’s even more insulting when they underestimate your appearance with their disgusting remark. If you’re going to be a creep, at the very least be an accurate creep.

Good on the OP for explaining to this guy what’s what. Maybe he should read through a dictionary before making inappropriate comments to anyone else. Or, you know, don’t make inappropriate comments at all.

There are some cases where a man isn’t actually trying to be bigoted or inappropriate, but he just really doesn’t realize that what he is saying is one of those things. It sometimes happens with an old guy who feels awkward and is trying to ease tension.

Of course, that’s not a very good way to do it, so calling him out on that isn’t a terrible idea. Maybe he’ll even learn his lesson and improve beyond that behavior at some point.

The worst thing about the inappropriate behavior of some men is that they have women in their own lives that they don’t even think of when saying terrible things to other women. They clearly don’t even think about how messed up it all is.

In some cases, it can be a good idea to remind them of that. Maybe they’ll actually see things from a new perspective. Unlikely, but you never know how someone may change.

Many men find it appropriate to tell women that they should smile more. It’s not as harmful as many of the other things on this list, but it’s most certainly annoying. A good response is shown right here with this woman.

Why would you want to smile for some stranger that won’t mind their own business? It seems like anyone would be annoyed by such a person bothering them. So really, no one could be blamed for a response like that.

Women in customer service don’t always have many options when it comes to responding to inappropriate behavior. However, there are some subtle ways to get around the problem, as we can see with this woman’s example.

You can be thinly veiled or hide your ire behind a sweet mask, and still call out the inappropriate behavior for what it is. It’s just too bad that most people won’t learn their lesson. Still, it doesn’t hurt to hope for change.

Lots of men are inappropriate and say stupid things to their coworkers, but of all the people to know better, you would think a lawyer would be one of them. Alas, that was not the case in this story.

Of course, that provided this woman with the perfect way to shut him down. Seriously, someone in a position like that should know much better than to act in such a way. Unfortunately, power often goes to someone’s head, and they feel they can do what they want.