One of my friends had given birth to her first child, quite some while ago as I recall, and was at some sort of 'mums and babies' thing. She was talking to someone about her first child when this other person said:
'And I see you're expecting your second already!'
'Oh, er... no. No I'm not. I think it must have just been the way I was standing,' said my friend, shifting posture.
Realising the terrible faux pas she'd made, the other was quick to agree that it was merely the way my friend had been posing.
I recount this as an example of the worst thing you can ever do - accuse a non-pregnant woman of being up the duff. You might as well hand them a t-shirt with the legend 'People think I'm fat' on it. Why my friend gave the person she was speaking to such an easy escape route slightly escapes me. I'd have thought a clout with a handbag was appropriate.
The problem is, this works the other way too. No one wants to be the person on the train/bus/whatever who offers their seat to a woman only to discover she's not pregnant. Also, there's just a lot of people who don't notice that there's a woman in front of them who may or may not be pregnant. I've undoubtedly done it myself. Unless they're holding a whacking great sign saying, 'Oi! I'm pregnant - now move, you fucker!' I'm likely to be engrossed in a book.
Whilst the first part of our journey to work on the train is normally not too bad for getting a seat, when we get into London and go our separate ways can lead to problems. My Docklands Light Railway service is great. It's nearly always empty, which rocks. K___'s is like some sort of Mos Eisley on wheels, a hive of scum and villainy. She is finding that standing there obviously holding your stomach rarely does much good. Either people aren't sure if she's pregnant or they simply haven't noticed. I dare say there's a few wankers who have noticed, do think she's pregnant but don't care as well. Transport for London have been running an experiment to see if giving women 'Baby on Board' badges will encourage people to give up their seats if asked. Sadly, they're out of badges, so K___ has resorted to eBay and it's just arrived. It's actually credit card sized and fits in her railpass wallet.
Next week it'll get its inaugural test. Lets see whether it works.
Watch this space.
'And I see you're expecting your second already!'
'Oh, er... no. No I'm not. I think it must have just been the way I was standing,' said my friend, shifting posture.
Realising the terrible faux pas she'd made, the other was quick to agree that it was merely the way my friend had been posing.
I recount this as an example of the worst thing you can ever do - accuse a non-pregnant woman of being up the duff. You might as well hand them a t-shirt with the legend 'People think I'm fat' on it. Why my friend gave the person she was speaking to such an easy escape route slightly escapes me. I'd have thought a clout with a handbag was appropriate.
The problem is, this works the other way too. No one wants to be the person on the train/bus/whatever who offers their seat to a woman only to discover she's not pregnant. Also, there's just a lot of people who don't notice that there's a woman in front of them who may or may not be pregnant. I've undoubtedly done it myself. Unless they're holding a whacking great sign saying, 'Oi! I'm pregnant - now move, you fucker!' I'm likely to be engrossed in a book.
Whilst the first part of our journey to work on the train is normally not too bad for getting a seat, when we get into London and go our separate ways can lead to problems. My Docklands Light Railway service is great. It's nearly always empty, which rocks. K___'s is like some sort of Mos Eisley on wheels, a hive of scum and villainy. She is finding that standing there obviously holding your stomach rarely does much good. Either people aren't sure if she's pregnant or they simply haven't noticed. I dare say there's a few wankers who have noticed, do think she's pregnant but don't care as well. Transport for London have been running an experiment to see if giving women 'Baby on Board' badges will encourage people to give up their seats if asked. Sadly, they're out of badges, so K___ has resorted to eBay and it's just arrived. It's actually credit card sized and fits in her railpass wallet.
Next week it'll get its inaugural test. Lets see whether it works.
Watch this space.
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