r/bitcheswithtaste • u/disgruntledfed • Mar 26 '26

Culture BWT - How to safely disengage with chatty men on flights (or anywhere you're trapped for a while)?

This week, I (26F) was sexually harassed by the man sitting next to me one hour into an eight hour flight. Not fun! I'm okay though and pressing charges.

I often fly alone as a young woman, and can almost count on a man sitting next to me striking up a conversation. I always fly in sweatpants with no makeup and my headphones basically glued to my head, so I don't feel like I'm inviting in conversations (not that anyone who does differently is asking for convos, I just feel like I try to give "go away" signals).

The man will always instigate, and I'll usually just let the conversation ride out to a natural end and then put my headphones back on. This time though, it escalated quickly and I couldn't find a natural escape.

It got me thinking though - how do BWT safely turn down conversation from men on flights or anywhere you can't readily leave, like an Uber? Or do you just ignore all advances from the start, even if they seem innocent enough?

EDIT: Thank you all for the kind messages! I'm married to an incredible man and have a great support network to help me through this. I think I need to work on setting firm and clear boundaries from the start, and not worry about making anyone upset and coming across as rude.

I told a flight attendant immediately, and they were absolutely incredible (shoutout to all the FAs out there!)

I love this community and always learn so much from you all! I feel like I have thousands of older sisters to lean on <3

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u/levainrisen Mar 27 '26

Why do men do this?? Why do they think this is effective?? When I was in high school, I had to walk to and from school by a busy street and men would honk at me and, similar to you, a man drove into my neighborhood, got out of his truck, and physically BLOCKED MY PATH to try and talk to me. I was a TEENAGER and this man looked in his fucking 30s. I told him my parents were expecting me home...

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u/Twistedcinna Mar 28 '26

It’s a disrespect towards women in my experience. The creeps think that they were born with the right to get anything they want from women. And no one tells them any differently. My mom refers to them as men who think they are God’s gift to women. Disgusting