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Monday, August 4, 2008
Are you leering at my teen?
What do you do when you see an adult ogling your teenage son or daughter? What about other teens looking?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Editor’s Note: We have two topics today. We want YOU to nominate the BEST PLACES TO SAY “I DO” for The Best of the Big A. Just click on this link to share all your favorite places to see a nuptial.
I was walking back from the beach last week with my almost 16-year-old sister-in-law. She’s the sweetest girl in the world and is also quite lovely. She was a wearing a modest two-piece and every single man we passed stared at her. One guy in particular was very creepy about it, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do. My first instinct was to whack the guy in the head, but I was pretty sure I would get arrested for assault so I resisted. (He should have been picked up for being nasty!) My next thought was to yell: “She’s just 15. You could get arrested.” This guy was so icky I think he would have liked knowing how young she was. I ended up just giving him the evil eye and kind of blocking his view of her.
Normally she would have been wearing a beach cover up walking back but my husband thought it was going to rain and had gathered all our towels and clothes and had already taken them in. But she got the same kind of looks just walking on the beach where she shouldn’t be expected to wear a cover up.
On the flip side, one of my girlfriends was at her pool listening to a bunch of moms talk about the “hot lifeguard.” (He’s in college at least.) Turned out the boy’s mother was sitting in the group and some of the women had no idea they were related. I don’t think she said anything though.
How do you handle adults noticing your teenager’s appearance or body? What is an appropriate response to leering? Does it bother you less when at least the person looking is around the same age?
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