(ETX Daily Up) – With the hashtag “stay safe ladies”, which has 300 million views, TikTok offers a new benchmark for women to protect themselves from daily attacks. A whole host of tips, ideas and advice are given to women to prevent any danger. T-shirts for taking the metro, defense or self-defence key chains… sometimes simple and inexpensive methods help women to fight against their feeling of insecurity.
With the approach of the summer season, more and more TikTok videos are springing up on the ways in which women can protect themselves from physical and verbal aggression on a daily basis. A sad trend that nevertheless reflects a worrying situation. According to a 2022 YouGov poll, 76% of French women declare that they sometimes (sometimes or often) feel insecure in a car park alone at night, 73% in a deserted street and 52% in public transport. Here are three ideas found on Tik Tok that attempt to help women feel safer on a daily basis.
The “subway t-shirt”
Lately, in some big cities like New York, women have decided to wear a shirt or a t-shirt over their outfit when they take the subway. This protective clothing allows them to hide their shapes and thus avoid any insistent looks or various attacks, ranging from whistling to touching. This technique, known as the “subway shirt” (“the subway t-shirt”) totals more than 7 million views on the social network. In the comments below a video, we can read: “it’s so sad that we have to do this”, or even “sad reality having to hide in 2023! We are regressing!!”
The defense keychain
Your key ring with charms could become your best defense weapon. Internet users suggest replacing these charms with small gadgets that could prove useful in the event of physical aggression. Like this false key or this comb in which is hidden a knife, mini-tasers, as well as “kitty knuckles”, metal fists that are hooked to the fingers with cat ears capable of slicing a pumpkin. This concept has had widespread success on social media, leading to the emergence of many female-owned defense keychain brands, such as “Sky Defense”.
Self defense techniques
There are many self defense videos dedicated to women made by specialized martial arts coaches. And there are even some that explain how to fight and punch when you have your nails done. This is the case of this former U.S. Navy whose the video has been viewed over 3 million times. The man demonstrates that long, manicured fingernails do not prevent him from defending himself. They can become a useful and effective weapon in case of aggression. He also shows how to use a pin to undo handcuffs, and all that, always with long fingernails.