- Amy Molloy, 31, was sitting in a North Sydney courtyard in gym pants
- A stranger suggested she move on as men were staring at her
- 'What do you expect when you're wearing such tight pants?' He added
- Instead of hitting back, she thanked the man for his poorly worded help
- Ms Molloy said though phrased poorly, she re-evaluated her safety
- It was the first time she had thanked a man for a derogatory comment
As a 31-year-old woman this certainly wasn't the first time I'd heard a derogatory comment about my appearance – but it was certainly the first time that I'd ever thanked a man for saying it.
Sitting at a table in a courtyard in North Sydney, at first I thought the guy who tapped me on the shoulder was going to ask me for directions. I didn't expect the sentence he actually uttered.
'You better go,' he said, 'All the local drug dealers are perving on you.'
As I looked stunned he continued talking. 'It's time you moved on,' he said, 'This is a bad area and they're all staring at you.' Then he delivered the winning punchline, 'What do you expect when you're wearing such tight pants?' It would have been funny if he had been joking.
'You better go... all the local drug dealers are perving on you': Writer Amy Molloy was shocked after a stranger suggested she move on when a group of men were staring at her in her 'tight' gym pants (pictured)
To set the scene, I was sitting in a town square in the middle of a farmer's market. Besides me was a market stall selling gluten-free bread and a barrister's cart serving coconut coffee.
I was wearing a pair of bright green Lululemon yoga pants that are no more provocative than any gym-goer's outfit. Yet, in that moment I felt like I had walked down a dark alleyway at 3am wearing a nightgown.