Discussion Passive voice for women's harassment: subway shirts edition
Discussion Passive voice for women's harassment: subway shirts edition
Sep 4 2025, 8:49 PM
filthytelestial Headlines about violence against women are often written using passive language. It deliberately removes the perpetrator from the statement. Sometimes it bends over backwards to do this to the point where it sounds like an inanimate object committed the crime all of its own accord.
See this r/TwoXChromosomes thread for more about "passive voice" when it comes to reporting on misogyny: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/1grbr0q/the_use_of_passive_language_makes_the_world_less/
I couldn't help but think of this phenomenon when watching a new video about the trend of "subway shirts" in cities in France (and apparently in other cities as well, since when I was trying to find the video on YouTube I found other reports of this "subway shirt trend").
https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1n6ug0r/women_in_france_wear_subway_shirts_to_avoid_being/
The clip is full of passive voice. There seems to be exactly one instance of a woman who is interviewed stating that men are the ones who called her a prostitute on the subway simply because she wore summer attire. But for the voiceover/news reporter herself narrating the situation for the majority of the clip... you may as well think spooky ghosts are the ones harassing women on the subway.
Men are the ones sexually harassing women on subways!
Kozlik's regular member account. 🍀🐐
filthytelestial Headlines about violence against women are often written using passive language. It deliberately removes the perpetrator from the statement. Sometimes it bends over backwards to do this to the point where it sounds like an inanimate object committed the crime all of its own accord.
See this r/TwoXChromosomes thread for more about "passive voice" when it comes to reporting on misogyny: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/1grbr0q/the_use_of_passive_language_makes_the_world_less/
I couldn't help but think of this phenomenon when watching a new video about the trend of "subway shirts" in cities in France (and apparently in other cities as well, since when I was trying to find the video on YouTube I found other reports of this "subway shirt trend").
https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1n6ug0r/women_in_france_wear_subway_shirts_to_avoid_being/
The clip is full of passive voice. There seems to be exactly one instance of a woman who is interviewed stating that men are the ones who called her a prostitute on the subway simply because she wore summer attire. But for the voiceover/news reporter herself narrating the situation for the majority of the clip... you may as well think spooky ghosts are the ones harassing women on the subway.
Men are the ones sexually harassing women on subways!
Kozlik's regular member account. 🍀🐐