What happened when I went for a run in my I’M WITH HER shirt after the election

I’m a female runner, so I’m sexually harassed a lot. In the eight years since I’ve taken up the sport, I’ve received all sorts of unwanted objectification. For instance, I run fifty miles a week, but I can’t run a mile without enduring an obnoxious car honk. I hear lots of comments about my ass, how good it looks in my shorts, how bad it looks in my shorts, how badly “he” wants it. “He” could be old enough to be my father. “He” could be young enough to be my son. It doesn’t matter; the hecklers run the gamut.

This past summer, I ran hundreds of miles around town in my I’M WITH HER t-shirt. Men still honked. They continued to let me know what they thought of my ass. One trucker circled the park I was sprinting through several times, looking for the just the right opportunity to pull up beside me and tell me I’m “absolutely beautiful. A real gem.”

Let me be clear: It’s not okay to honk at a woman while she’s running, or walking, or sitting by the side of the road smoking a cigarette. It’s not okay to drive up next to her, as if you’re about to kidnap her, and tell her she’s a real gem.

I’ve never told my harassers this. Mostly because I’m too focused on my running or whatever life catastrophe I’m running to escape. Also, partly, because I know many of them are…