Generations collide? More like genders collide
Deborah can relate to last week's Sideswipe Generations Collide too. "I walked in Queen St during my lunch hour in my early 60s for a decade, up until recently. I noticed I always moved out of the way if I saw a man walking
towards me on the footpath. As I was on the right side of the path always, I decided to experiment with holding my ground and keep walking. I am 183cm tall and maybe that's why in most instances the men kept walking towards me in my path. As a result, I had many near collisions, or collisions, and subsequent abuse hurled at me. And it was often well-dressed businessmen who did this. Now I am 70 I rarely go to Queen St but when I do I notice I am still expected to get out of the way of men walking towards me, even though I have the right of way. It's got nothing to do with the way I dress as they seem to expect that because I am a woman they should have priority."
Patriarchy chicken
"The Generations Collide Sideswipe last week - the woman refusing to make way for the oncoming young man — was very reminiscent of a game we often played in London: Patriarchy Chicken. The rules are simple: do not move out of the way for men. This from the New Statesman explains: 'If you are a woman, you find yourself constantly dodging. Side-stepping men who are walking in your direction; being wiped out by a wheelie suitcase dragged by a be-suited man; moving to the side to let faster men move past you; or just pausing to let men bustle in front of you onto the train, or into the lift, or onto the escalator, and on with their busy lives, to their important jobs. If you don't move out of the way for men, your commute changes. For one thing – I'm not going to lie about this – you do collide with a lot of men. This is where the name of the game comes from'."
