Lady on bus route 36

This is the quick sketch of the lady that I managed to do before she had to get off.

A few weeks back, maybe three, I was riding the bus to my job. For some really odd reason, I prefer trains to busses, but sometimes that not an option unless I want to take a HUGE detour and end up walking 20 plus minutes... I'd rather bus it. I don't mind taking the bus as much if I am in company, but when I am by myself, I mind it a little bit. Maybe I can trace this back to when I was little and had to take the school bus home– on more than one occasion, I fell asleep and missed my stop, and no one woke me up until I was way from my stop. Maybe its some unconscious fear that has turned into mild discomfort as I have grown up.

Have you ever sat on a seat right after another person, and it was all warm and...odd?
I have yet to meet a person that likes that feeling. It's weird, but common. I have this one friend that hates busses because something about sitting on the same seat as multiple other people makes her really uncomfortable, especially if she's wearing shorts or something that exposes her skin directly to the seat. Weird. But she's not the only person. As I was riding the bus, I met this woman (who's name escapes me since I forgot to write it down!) who told me a similar thing. She's the lady depicted on the sketch above. I started drawing her because I felt really tired and was afraid I would fall asleep and miss my stop! Plus, her hair was really cool looking. She seemed a mix of mad and a tired. So I was slightly startled when she got up and came to a seat closer to me and asked if I was drawing her. I probably forgot her name because I was so nervous she was going to be upset that I was drawing her! I showed her what I had done so far and she complimented it (thankfully!). I then asked her where she was heading and she told me she was heading home from work. Then I asked her if she liked riding the bus and she replied very loudly, "oh god, no! Sweetie, look around, people look miserable while riding it!" It was kinda true. I asked her if she felt that way. And thats when she explained to me her discomfort. Whenever she would ride the train, she would immediately begin to think about the hundreds of people that sat on the same spot and all their not-so-lovely germs. We both wondered,  how often are busses cleaned? We mean, REALLY cleaned, with disinfectants and all that good germ-killing stuff.
I really hope that it's more often than we think, otherwise, I guess I can add that to my list of discomforts while riding the CTA.

Female's Fear?

Over the weekend, as I rode the train with my sister, I came across a sadly, very viable reason for not interacting with other people, mainly those of the opposite sex. A week or two ago, my school provided my grade with the opportunity to address sexual harassment issues. They gave us a mini seminar on what it means and ways in which it can take form. For those of you who are not that familiar with this topic, sexual harassment is defined as the harassment (typically of a woman) in a workplace, or other professional or social situation, involving the making of unwelcome sexual advances or obscene remarks. Although it has been a constant struggle in our society, lately, I have been noticing a lot of protests against such behavior. Little less than a week ago, Ohio University had a rally protesting rape culture and trying to put forward the idea that women should not be objectified, ever.
So back to how this relates... Riding with my sister, we noticed how women tended to sit away from men. Many who got in alone, gravitated towards seats next to other women rather than men, and some of those who found seats that were not next to other people, put their bags on the empty seat next to them. I also realized that to that point, most of the interviews I had done were of women. Maybe it's a subconscious decision or maybe it is a fully conscious decision, but could it be related to feelings of insecurity?
Before I got off the train, I had the opportunity to speak with a girl, Emma, and ask her if she had a preference when picking her seat–women or men? She told me she would much rather sit next to another girl, preferably young, than a man, and if a man, an older man. I found this interesting. Why did age factor into her preference? She told me that she felt more comfortable next to a girl around her age (teen) because there was a sort of unspoken sense of "yeah, I get you. I wont speak to you unless you want to." I laughed because I related to her thinking... Speaking to people my age just comes easier! Then she told me why she would rather an older man than a youngish guy. She told me, "when I ride the train, I'm just trying to get where I need to go. I don't want to be hit on. I just want to listen to music and see the city pass by and not have to tell a guy to back off. It's uncomfortable. Always. If the guy is older or looks professional, I feel like he wouldn't hit on me because he can tell I'm too young, or realize it isn't appropriate."
I think it is also interesting to notice that the chances of getting cat calls varies in area– it says something about the different cultures and forms of interaction in this city.


EDIT***
You should check this campaign out if this post was interesting to you.
http://chicago.everyblock.com/improvement/oct13-cta-courage-campaign-end-street-harassment-6444462/