Online Creeps Are Targeting Women Sellers With Explicit Messages Asking For Sex And Used Garments. This Is Disgusting!
If you are a woman with a social media account, chances are you have come across at least one weirdo who slips into your DMs to drop a “hi dear” message. I sincerely hope you haven’t bumped into an online creep but considering the population of those, it’s highly unlikely that you haven’t. Well, some of us with a private account have the luxury of not having to converse with them and in fact leave their texts unseen in our message requests folder but there are women running businesses on social media who have to deal with them on a daily basis. Because you see, these perverts don’t have a specific target base to harass. What I mean is that they don’t really care if it’s personal account or business; spotting a woman is enough for them to make an inappropriate request.
It’s been reported that women selling fashion items like clothes online on Facebook, Instagram, Ebay and other selling apps and websites are targeted by creeps who send lewd comments, ask for photos and even make creepy requests about used garments like tights, intimates and shoes. First of all, ew! And second of all, this is just sickening. However, this is not new. Online sellers are quite familiar with this trend and the weird questions and requests they get about the models and clothes but what’s worrying is that this has gotten even worse in the lockdown.
Online clothes sellers targeted by ‘creepy men asking for sex’ as inappropriate messages boom during lockdown https://t.co/MW7NiWe1da
— Fabulous (@Fabulousmag) January 18, 2021
Also Read: This 23-Year-Old Woman Earns A Rs 43,000 A Week By Selling Pictures Of Her Feet On Social Media. It’s Making Us Consider Changing Professions.
Women have reported that they have been getting relatively more and creepier messages from men in the lockdown. Imagine the struggle of making an extra buck from an online business and encountering creeps like these who make you uncomfortable constantly. Some sellers have stopped posting pictures of themselves wearing the clothes because of the creepy customers on their websites.
These messages range from perverts asking for sex to inquiring about how many times the garment has been worn and how dirty it is. Women have also gotten request for explicit photos. Lynette Peck who owns Lovely’s Vintage Emporium told The Sun, “I get a lot of messages about the model, especially if there are shirts with close-up images. I had a fetishist asking what (shoes) smelt like, who wore them and if I could take a photo of myself wearing them.
She gets such messages every week on average. Another online seller Sara Faye, who sells second-hand clothes on Depop app, said, “During lockdown, the messages have gotten really creepy.” She has been selling clothes on the app for several years now. “Don’t message me on an innocent second-hand website, just because you can see a hot girl in the photos. It feels like a violation, you should be able to sell your clothes online without getting harassed,” she added. Women selling second-hand clothes don’t really have a choice but to post their photos and interact with the buyers over private messages, which arises serious safety concerns.
Internet is a weird place and what makes it weird is sick people like these who think it’s acceptable to send crude messages online. These men can make any place unsafe for women, even a clothing website. Plus, it’s not just small women-run businesses, but established clothing brands have not been deprived of the disgusting lot of customers either. They get just as many creepy messages from pervs. This just tells us that we can’t even have a business or make extra money without being targeted, harassed or sexualised.
