--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a stranger on the street makes a…" description: "\"“When a stranger on the street makes a sexual comment, he is making a private assessment of me public. And though I’ve never been seriously worried tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/leora-tanenbaum-42986_abuse_when-a-stranger-on-the-street-makes-a-se_2756140.jpg" --- # When a stranger on the street makes a sexual comment, he… ![“When a stranger on the street makes a sexual comment, he is making a private assessment of me public. And though I’ve never been seriously worried that I would be attacked, it does make me feel unguarded, unprotected. Regardless of his motive, the stranger on the street makes an assumption based…” quote by Leora Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/leora-tanenbaum-42986_abuse_when-a-stranger-on-the-street-makes-a-se_2756140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/leora-tanenbaum-42986_abuse_when-a-stranger-on-the-street-makes-a-se_2756140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/leora-tanenbaum-42986_abuse_when-a-stranger-on-the-street-makes-a-se_2756140.jpg) > ““When a stranger on the street makes a sexual comment, he is making a private assessment of me public. And though I’ve never been seriously worried that I would be attacked, it does make me feel unguarded, unprotected. Regardless of his motive, the stranger on the street makes an assumption based on my physique: He presumes I might be receptive to his unpoetic, unsolicited comments. (Would he allow a friend to say “Nice tits” to his mother? His sister? His daughter?) And although I should know better, I, too, equate my body with my soul and the result, at least sometimes, is a deep shame of both. Rape is a thousand times worse: The ultimate theft of self-control, it often leads to a breakdown in the victim’s sense of self-worth. Girls who are molested, for instance, often go on to engage in risky behavior—having intercourse at an early age, not using contraception, smoking, drinking, and doing drugs. This behavior, it seems to me, is at least in part because their self-perception as autonomous, worthy human beings in control of their environment has been taken from them.”” [Leora Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leora-tanenbaum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sexual comments in public reduce a person’s private dignity to a public judgment, eroding safety and self‑worth, and can lead to lasting trauma and risky coping behaviors. **In simple terms:** Public remarks turn private bodies into public objects, harming dignity and self‑value. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge public objectification; protect personal boundaries. Themes dignity objectification trauma self‑worth boundary protection Mood frustrated empathetic determined Type social commentary educational advocacy When to use this quote - street interactions - workplace environments - online harassment - education on consent Key Concepts feminist theory psychology of shame social conditioning Questions to Reflect On - How does public objectification affect long‑term self‑esteem? - What steps can societies take to shift norms around respectful speech? A Different Perspective Such comments may be dismissed as “harmless jokes,” ignoring their deep psychological impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Entitlement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entitlement/) [Feel Unguarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-unguarded-3135762/) [Harassment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harassment/) [Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape/) [Rape-culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape-culture/) [Risky Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risky-behavior-2173760/) [Sand Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sand-time/) [Sexual abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-abuse/) [Sexual Comment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-comment-3135759/) [Sexual-harassment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-harassment-168193/) [Sexual-violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexual-violence/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Shame Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame-rape-3135760/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Victim Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim-sense-3135761/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [“Friends usually bring out better versions of each other. 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It states “the Government is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/forget-feres-doctrine-and-the-military-has-immunity-yes-the-feres/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [“A complete history of sexual scandal in Washington will probably never be written, because the public does not want to read a 20,000 page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-jimenez/a-complete-history-of-sexual-scandal-in-washington-will-probably/) [Guillermo Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-jimenez/) > [“What is lack of prevention but denial that there is anything to be prevented?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-f-fitzgerald/what-is-lack-of-prevention-but-denial-that-there-is-anything-to-be/) [Louise F. Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-f-fitzgerald/) ## More by Leora Tanenbaum > [I couldn't stand being identified by my sexuality, I retaliated by insisting that people regard me for my intellectual worth. My intellect became a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leora-tanenbaum/i-couldn-t-stand-being-identified-by-my-sexuality-i-retaliated-by/) [Leora Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leora-tanenbaum/) > [“Everyone knows that children and teens want to blend in and follow the crowd. And from whom do they learn this lesson? 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Never give any one permission to abuse you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/stand-up-for-yourself-never-give-any-one-permission-to-abuse-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When a stranger on the street makes a sexual comment, he is making a private assessment of me public. And though I’ve never been seriously worried that I would be attacked, it does make me feel unguarded, unprotected. 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