It's the same as leaning out the top floor of a building site and yelling "show us your tits".

Hey there.

Under what circumstances is complimenting a woman on her physicality not sexist? I'm just trying to clear this whole thing up, because it seems very often that there are people on this planet who regard complimenting a woman on her looks at all as being one step above misogyny.

I'm really, really not trying to be funny. But to suggest that saying "you look pretty" is no different than "undress right now or you'll get the back of my hand", I mean...that seems a little silly.

There are parts of the world where there is actual misogyny, and to associate a silly offhand compliment with the actual damages done to women in other parts of the world is, to me, highly offensive. There are regions where women cannot be complimented on their looks or their beauty because they're covered head-to-toe in sacks, made to peer out at a world through an inch-wide slit. Which is more horrible?

And of course, this is something I've pointed out to a few ex-friends who described themselves as "feminists", and their answers were usually something like this: "Just because it's worse in one part of the world doesn't stop it being bad here."

Right.And how, after all, can we be so arrogant as to think we can fix some OTHER part of the world when we can't even get things right at home? To think, there are men here in America who--I'm sorry to have to bring it up--whistle at attractive women. Horror, horror. How can we worry about women being abused in Afghanistan when they're getting objectified in the United States? I hear it even occasionally happens in the UK.

But I can understand the argument.

How can I justify worrying about starving children in Africa when I haven't had lunch?