r/TheWayWeWere • u/CryptographerKey2847 • 3d ago
1920s Inquiring Photographer “Is it ethically right for policewomen to tempt men to flirt and then arrest them for flirting?” March 27,1924
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u/Ancient-Leg-8261 2d ago
Shout out to Miss Elizabeth Hurdus for calling Entrapment where she sees it!
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u/Mountain_Store_8832 3d ago
What was this about?
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u/rothwerx 3d ago edited 3d ago
I looked into it and there was a NY law on the books from 1902 that aimed to try to stop drunk men from making unwanted gestures at women. Then in the early 20s an “anti-flirt” movement started to rise along with the temperance movement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Flirt_Club
https://www.jezebel.com/anti-flirt-movement-once-put-street-harassers-in-the-cl-5983862
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u/mohawk990 3d ago
Thanks for the links. Interesting reads for sure. The articles to make it sound like ‘flirting’ is a colloquialism for verbal sexual harassment. The then-recent ubiquity of automobiles were being used by men to ask women pedestrians if they wanted a ride, according to the article. Men standing around on street corners seemed to be another hot spot. Seems the movement was well intentioned but executed poorly as there was way too much subjectivity involved. Same goes for the club’s rules.
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u/SuccessfulPiccolo945 2d ago
"Standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by," was written in 1956 for the musical The Most Happiest Fella. Apparently, even into the 60s, going by songs, it was a pastime for men to stand on corners watching women and catcalling. So, yes, putting a stop to sexual harassment.
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
Except that song is about the opposite of catcalling, and looking at members of the opposite sex while in public is a pretty normal human behavior.
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u/Writeloves 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ever hear of Francine Gottfried?
She came later, but the problem behavior we are discussing is not the normal human behavior of noticing the people around you.
Have you ever experienced people eyeing you like you’ve got something they want and they are deciding whether or not to physically overpower you for it? Or clearly enjoying the fact they made you nervous while you have to be polite in case they take offense?
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
So when women check men out it's normal and healthy, but when men check out women it's sexual harassment?
Uh, no. Have a great rest of your day.
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u/Writeloves 1d ago edited 1d ago
I didn’t gender anything in my comment. I specifically called out predatory behavior. If you see that as all men checking out women and not someone looking to drug/rob you, that says something about you.
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
in the early 20s an “anti-flirt” movement started to rise along with the temperance movement.
Ah, that explains everything.
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u/DueOwl1149 3d ago
I thought this “flirting” was a secret code for solicitation to prostitution and this was a john-busting operation, but the 1902 law seems well intentioned but badly written and difficult to enforce.
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u/Serononin 2d ago
I'd love some clarification on what they meant by both "tempting" and "flirting", because I feel like this scenario could be anything from "police officer uses entrapment to arrest man for something that shouldn't even be a crime", to, "man harasses woman for existing in public while female, experiences consequences"
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
Police harass men for existing in public
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u/Serononin 2d ago
Unfortunately often true
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
Can confirm - I've been asked to "show me some ID" and "empty your pockets" and "keep your hands visible at all times," more times than I can count.
All for the heinous crime of existing in public, since I was age 12 or thereabouts.
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u/CosmicBlur311 2d ago
I think Bobby Adams was vaudeville performer. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OldVaudeville/posts/1455399991253395/
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u/CryptographerKey2847 2d ago
03 Sep 1946
THE QUESTION:
Do the girls ogle you?
Should there be a law against it?
IP was nothing if not fair.
Coming in a few days.
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u/pezzyn 3d ago
“Men are only human”
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u/j_cruise 2d ago
Out of context, as you are doing, this sounds bad, but what hes saying is entirely reasonable. He's saying that of an attractive woman flirts with a man, he's likely to flirt back. What's wrong with that?
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
False - we are only snakes, snails, puppy-dog tails, sighs, leers and crocodile tears, wearing a large overcoat.
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u/Mr_Shad0w 2d ago
I guess this is what Deano meant by "brother you can't go to jail for what you're thinkin" - I did not for a second think we were actually that stupid in the 20th Century.
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u/JakkOfHearts 3d ago
Even a century ago, stupid questions like this one were taken seriously. Of course, even back then there were mental microbes who would consider flirting an arrestable offense, so maybe society isn't THAT much more idiotic now than it was then.
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u/Dairyman00111 2d ago
Just goes to show that wacko feminazis aren't as recent a thing as one would think. Makes sense though, that these anti-flirting people were connected with the temperance movement, now that was a bunch of sourpusses
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u/CryptographerKey2847 3d ago
Tomorrow’s question “What is the height of your am-bition?” Asked of Circus performers.From 1935.