It's not just the Internet where creepy guys approach women. But online, women can just ignore or block them. Turn off the computer and walk away. In real life, however, their options are way more limited.
Recently, Brandon Robert spotted a young woman hit on by an overly-persistent man at the mall. "What drew my attention was other people watching this girl talking to this guy," he told Bored Panda.
"My first impression of the girl was that she was very fearful. She was a smaller girl and the man that was harassing her was much bigger. She seemed very uncomfortable," Brandon explained.
"You could see the man was clearly under the influence and just by looking at the girl's face you could tell she was terribly uncomfortable."
Brandon observed the situation and made eye contact with her a few times. Then, he decided to intervene, pretending to know the woman—she knew Brandon had been watching and listening to what the man was saying to her and realized he was trying to get her out of the situation.
More info: TikTok
Recently, TikToker Brandon Robert spotted a woman hit on by an overly-persistent man who he said appeared to be intoxicated or on drugs
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
So Brandon intervened
He caught the situation on video and uploaded it to TikTok, where the video now has over 33 million views
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
"After I pretended to know the girl I walked her out of the shop we were in and then walked her out to the car in case he decided to follow." Luckily, he didn't and that was the end of that.
Surprisingly, there hasn't been an empirical study of "creepiness" for quite some time. The first one appeared in 2016 when an international sample of 1341 individuals responded to an online survey. Males were perceived as being more likely to be creepy than females, and females were more likely to associate sexual threat with creepiness. Unusual nonverbal behavior and characteristics associated with unpredictability were also predictors of creepiness, as were some occupations and hobbies. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that being "creeped out" is an evolved adaptive emotional response to ambiguity about the presence of a threat that enables us to maintain vigilance during times of uncertainty.
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
"I wasn't sure about posting this video as social media loves to glamorize life and this video surely showed the darker side of what actually goes on," Brandon said
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
"I'm glad I posted it as it seemed to open many eyes across social media"
Image credits: thebrandonrobert
Frank T. McAndrew Ph.D., the author of the study and the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College, said the results make sense because if getting creeped out is a reaction to a potential threat, men are simply more physically dangerous to men and to women alike.
"Women almost universally reported the feeling that the guy in question had some sort of sexual interest in them, and this was not perceived as harmless or flattering," McAndrew explained. "The fact that women are simply at greater risk for sexual assault and that the costs of this are potentially greater for them means that they must be especially vigilant about sexual threats, and hence, they are more likely to fear that a guy may not be just a creep, but a pervert as well."
People have been praising Brandon for taking action
McAndrew said that the words "creep" and "pervert" are often used interchangeably, but he makes a distinction between them.
"Guys can be creepy for a variety of reasons that are unrelated to sexuality, but I propose that a pervert is a creep who sets off alarm bells because he poses some sort of sexual threat," he explained his thoughts on the subject. "In other words, a pervert has sex on his mind—and it is probably sex that is unusual, deviant, and possibly dangerous."
Some wondered why he decided to record the encounter in the first place, but these comments seem to perfectly explain it
According to the academic, because of creeps, average men seeking a new romance with a woman always face the problem of expressing interest in her while not crossing the line. Just not on the same level.
"Some men are at greater risk than others in such situations. Good-looking men with strong social skills can typically get away with a lot more than awkward guys with unusual and less attractive physical traits."
Good thing we have men like Brandon restoring the balance.
The TikTok inspired women to share similar unpleasant and downright frightening experiences they've had
Luckily, Brandon isn't the only one who steps in when something like this is happening
