by KAROLINE BEISEL and BEATE WILD
Two female reporters run the gauntlet at Oktoberfest and share their tales of grabbing, groping, drunken come-ons, sexist insults and flashing foreigners. For women, the annual event’s drunken antics can cross the line to degrading and even dangerous.
MUNICH – The short distance to the rest room is an obstacle course. Three hugs from drunk guys I don’t know. Two slaps on the fanny. The skirt of my dirndl lifted once. And beer poured deliberately down my décolleté. All this in just 30 meters. It’s Saturday, 11 a.m. in the Hofbräu tent. Another day at Oktoberfest has just begun.
The owners of the busy hands also serve up chat lines: “come on, give us a kiss” is the tamest of the come-ons. Some of the remarks are vulgar in the extreme. Any signs of annoyance, or a brush off, are met with “bitch,” “slut,” or worse.
At Oktoberfest, women are repeatedly harassed and frequently have to use their hands and feet to defend themselves — because if they don’t help themselves, they’re lost. Everything seems to be tolerated from men who are very drunk on beer. Security or the police only get involved if a guy freaks out – and, say, starts beating up on somebody with a king-size beer stein. There’s too much to do to worry about whether or not some chick gets an ass-cheek cupped.
There are some Scots in the Hofbräu tent wearing kilts. One of them is sitting on the ground, vomiting. The others are busy flashing – pulling their skirts up to show they’ve gone commando. Two Australians wearing Bavarian-style hats are standing nearby, grabbing the clothes of every girl who walks past them. Before you know it, they’re feeling up your tits. To get away, the only solution is to ram the offender full force and push him out of the way. Meanwhile, the Scots are still flashing, and a Japanese man is taking pictures of the whole thing.
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