There's this South Korean poster from years ago I dug up on the internet titled "Etiquette for Men at Night." Here's what it listed:
ETIQUETTE FOR MEN AT NIGHT
- Remember that your presence can be threatening to women walking alone at night
- If a woman is walking in front of you alone at night, slow down. You walking quickly or speeding up can be and in most cases is threatening
- If you’ve been drinking and are drunk, go straight home.
- Do not pick a fight or aggravate women walking at night
- Do not take off your clothes or publicly urinate
- Be careful to make sure you do not touch or hit someone, even on accident.
- If, late at night, you come to a situation in which you and a woman have to ride an elevator together, let her go up first and wait for the elevator to come back down.
- If there’s a woman in a public restroom (There are Korean public restrooms with no gender or sex markings that are open to all people), wait for her to finish and come out first before using the restroom.
- Report broken streetlights to the police
- Tell other men about these rules and that they have a responsibility to not threaten women walking at night
While some of these are no-brainers like keeping your pants on and not picking fights, some are overkill (like the elevator or bathroom ideas) and furthermore nothing should only apply to one gender or any demographic for that matter. We'd rightfully say a list is racist if etiquette applied only to a certain race because others may find their presence threatening. How would you rewrite such a list, and maybe there are things they left out (like not making lewd comments or startle anyone, also to always take no for an answer)?
Meanwhile, let's flip the script. What would you say is etiquette that should be set forth to prevent the over-policing of people's behaviors? I'd say understanding that people have the right to exist in public spaces, so you shouldn't report someone to the police just for being in your presence or eye contact or something. Also, in the case of America, that non-upskirt street photography is constitutionally protected. And most importantly, never beat someone up just because they made you uncomfortable.
What I give the list credit for is not demanding that men cross the street if they see a woman, like some other literature does.
Out of curiosity, are gender roles more defined in South Korea?
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