For decades, women have had little recourse in dealing with men who harass or objectify them.
After all, even when cultural shifts towards gender equality meant that fewer people stopped outright condoning this behavior, it was pretty hard to prove when instances of harassment took place.
At best, those who confront others for acting creepy would end up in a “your word against mine” situation where the perpetrator always had some excuse for their actions that presented the situation as a big misunderstanding.
Once everyone started getting phones with cameras on them, however, it became a lot harder for bad actors to make this argument because the evidence of what they did was clear and visible for all the world to see.
However, one recent TikTok illustrates there’s still room for debate in these matters even when we can see everything that happens.
While TikTok user @maiphammy and a friend were relaxing in a hotel pool, they caught of a man they described as a “creep” taking photos of them.
As their video makes clear, they decided to confront him about this, saying, “I would really appreciate it if you deleted the photos of us off your phone.”
At first, the man denies he did this and wonders what the women are talking about, at which point they ask to see his camera roll.
Although he initially tries to deflect suspicion by going to his favorites, one of the women spots herself in his photos before he manages to do this and directs him back to his camera roll.
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At this point, the man’s hands are shaking and he’s nervously shifting in his seat.
Although he assures the women he’ll delete the photos, they tell him to do so while they’re looking at him.
Although he complains about the women hovering over him, they say they’re happy to back off once he does as they ask.
One of the women also catches sight of a video he had taken of them, which he attempts to claim is merely a photo.
By the time the video ends, the man is in the process of deleting his photos and recording.
But while the women had no shortage of supporters in the comments, there were also some who saw fit to criticize their actions as well.
Some argued that while the man was indeed creepy for taking pictures of them and filming them, he was nonetheless within his rights to do so because the encounter occurred in a public place.
Others went even farther and accused the women of hypocrisy because they also filmed the man without his consent and posted the clip online.
As one commenter put it, “They’re videotaping him and posting the video of him after being upset he took pics of them and demanding he delete them. Isn’t this kinda hypocritical?”
However, others argued that the fact that his actions were legal didn’t make them acceptable and that because they didn’t show his face, they were able to prove their side of the encounter without violating his privacy.
As another person said, “Good for these young women, he knew that was creepy. Old dude hawking young women.”
It’s hard not to draw that interpretation from how quickly his body language turned nervous and fidgety.
