Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee. All the Best.

When I was a teenager, I remember reading a magazine article that told young women how to avoid being attacked by men.

The strategies that I remember are, don't ever be alone after dark. That one was obvious. My dad always told me that.

Whenever you encounter a man you don't know,

look right in his face so he knows that you would be able to identify him. Keep your car keys in

your hand with the key out so you can use it as a weapon if you need to. Hold your head up high,

walk fast and look confident. Predators prey on girls who look like they have low self-esteem.

Don't listen to music in public like with headphones on. Don't wear tight or revealing clothes because

that can give men the wrong idea. But also don't wear overalls or other loose baggy clothing

because then attackers can grab onto it. And then the other one,

and this is the one that like shocked and scared me the most was don't put your hair in a ponytail

because attackers can grab onto your ponytail and pull you with them. And that one scared me

and was just seemed so weird. And I remember also feeling like, oh my gosh, then there's

nothing I can do that will not make me a target. I mean, I am a ponytail girl. I had my hair

in a ponytail all the time. And I thought, oh my gosh, if I did get attacked, maybe like while

wearing a baggy sweatshirt or a ponytail, then maybe that would be my fault for being careless

and not

protecting myself. I'm guessing that a lot of women can relate to that experience, maybe hearing

advice like that. So I'm very excited to introduce today's topic. It's a book called The Cost of Fear,

why most safety advice is sexist and how we can stop gender-based violence by Meg Stone.

And here to talk about the book today is the author. Welcome Meg Stone. Thanks for being here.

Thank you so much for having me. Meg Stone is the executive director of Impact Boston,

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