What happens when "high heels and skirts are as rare...as veggie burgers?" Apparently, men turn into neanderthals, and all respect and common decency goes out the window.
The New York Times paints a bleak picture of what may the the thirstiest city in all of America, an oil town in Williston, N.D, where women are few, and (sexual) tensions runs high. What is a lonely young man to do?
Harass young women, of course. According to the article, the few women that reside in this testosterone-saturated town are regularly subject to alarmingly high levels of sexual harassment. And this isn't your average terrible pick up line or catcall. At a small bar, a woman is casually offered $7,000 to strip as if it's a perfectly acceptable request. Women admit to feeling "unsafe" and unable to run the smallest errand. A stop at Walmart can easily escalate to being stalked. One woman even admits to being pursued by two man who attempt to capture her like prey while walking to work.
Is this what happens when sex is in scarce supply? John Eligion's piece paints a disturbing picture of wealthy men who are unable to control their impulses, and descend into depravity like animals. One woman admits to feeling like she's viewed "as a piece of meat." Men also take to grading women as such, and rate them based on their desperation. Women attractive enough to fulfill their sexual needs who would be considered "mediocre" elsewhere are deemed a "Williston 10."
Gender violence and objectification of this scale reads like an apocalyptic story. But it's not the end of days. A real-life dystopia has taken root in this small North Dakota town, and all it took to bring it on was a dwindling male-to-female ratio.
[via NY Times]
