Why do men think it’s ok to get their “Nuts“ out in public?

To read a lads' mag in public is to declare that women's bodies are public property.

I don’t know much about the man who sat two seats along from me on the flight home from Gatwick last night, but he made me deeply uneasy. I know that he’s a Rangers fan, and that he’s on Twitter, although I don’t know his username, and that he doesn’t see women as equals in society. How do I know the third fact? Because he spent a large part of the hour long flight reading, although that’s probably the wrong word, the lads’ magazine Nuts. This is not the first time that’s happened recently. On a train journey to London in June, the guy in front of me was reading an actual proper porn magazine which made me feel really icky indeed.

Since when did it become socially acceptable to publicly ogle photos of half naked seductively posed women? The equivalent would be me sitting there openly looking at pictures of men’s naked backsides – or worse. But we never see that. The ogling is all very one-sided. It’s only women’s bodies which are public property. To all the men reading this, how would you like it if you were in that position? I was travelling with a male friend who was equally disgusted with the display.

If men (I could say people, but who are we trying to kid here?) want to look at this stuff, then there’s very little I can do to stop them, but for heavens’ sake, can they not do it in the privacy of their own homes? When men ostentatiously read stuff like this in public, it’s like they’re making a huge statement that they see women as simply being there as window dressing, as decoration, as pleasure enhancers rather than their equals. They clearly feel that they have a right to own all the public space. I felt it was so rude of him and it made me feel uncomfortable. Now, I don’t have the right to be protected from being offended, and nor am I asking for it, but I think I have every right to express my displeasure at such insensitive and crude behaviour. I am kicking myself today for not saying something to him at the time. This post will have to do. I’d love it if he read it and responded – I’d really like to know why he thought it was ok. On a plane, when you’re all crammed in like sardines, what you look at, you share with the rest of your row whether they like it or not. Surely some sensitivity is required.

I must admit my friend and I had a discreet giggle and raised a few eyebrows between ourselves about the spectacle that was going on beside us.We mostly spent the flight chatting quietly. We were both incredulous, though, when to add insult to injury, this man gave a deep sigh and put on his headphones as though we were disturbing him.

It’s good that we have become more relaxed about some of the things we do in public – I mean, when my husband was a little boy in the 50s, it was frowned upon to eat in the street. However, I think that casual browsing of pornography lite is going too far. Do you agree?

Caron Lindsay is a Lib Dem activist and blogger. This post originally appeared on her blog here. You can find her on Twitter as @caronmlindsay