I'm thinking about the perception that a woman is sexually available. It seems to me, and it is corroborated by the Yes Means Yes blog and the book that share its name, that women who talk frankly about sex are labeled as not only "sexually available", but "sexually available to me" by the listener.
This makes me consider Egypt, where women report widespread sexual harassment, and are cautioned to veil themselves to prevent against groping and catcalls.
The culture and mores of the Western world are different from those of Egypt, and other Muslim majority countries, but the message is the same to all the world's women: if you express your agency, you will be termed "available". If you are sexually available, you will be harassed. The problem with this narrative is the blame it puts on women for being participants in their own society, and the absolution men can find in the silence: where is the expectation for men to respect boundaries and behave appropriately among the warnings aimed at women?
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