The other month, after a nightclub, I arrived at a lady friend's house to find some of her well meaning female friends had escorted her home against her will. 'Now is not a good time' one of these strange people told me, but the lady of the house told them to shut up and invited me in warmly. What my lady friend and I knew was that we'd been seeing each other for a few weeks, but out of consideration for small-town gossip we hadn't made it public - so her friends thought I was just a random man from the club who had followed her home. These women, despite my lady friend telling them to go away, insisted on taking a photograph of me. I consented to them doing so, since I had no interest in anything non-consensual (indeed, I don't merely need consent, I need enthusiasm... but then I've never been married). Thankfully the uninvited women then left.
A few weeks later, my lady friend and I bumped into the protective woman on the street, and the woman apologised to me for taking my photo, saying she did it for 'the sisterhood'. I told her not to worry because I understood her actions came from a good place.
Life is nuanced.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
