A few days ago, in basic white girl fashion, a friend and I were discussing why autumn is so appealing. She said, "it's nice to walk around Pittsburgh with more layers on, that way guys don't shout at me or try to grab me as much."
It's sad, isn't it? Even with the revival of feminism in the past couple years, women continue to face this unmitigated issue to the same extent as any time prior. For me personally (and I promise any young woman in the 18-24 age bracket would corroborate this statement) I can’t remember any time when I’ve explicitly invited men to holler at me from their cars, honk their horns, whistle and touch my hair when I walk by them. But who knows?-- maybe I’m subconsciously exuding a pheromone signifying that I do, in fact, crave to be objectified.
It’s perhaps selfish to solely be discussing this from the female perspective. After all, Men, there must be complex psychological motivations that instigate your behavior, right? I’m sure every cat-caller is just the “nice guy” at his office, the “nice guy” at the bar, and by shouting obscenities (what he most likely perceives as bold compliments) at women, he’s just the “nice guy” on the streets innocently trying to put a smile on every pretty girl’s face.
Here’s the thing: I don’t want to smile for you. You don’t get to call me “Sugar Tits” or say how nicely my leggings accentuate my ass. When you stick your head out of your passenger window and call me gorgeous, I am not going to rip off my clothes and declare my undying love for you, though I know that’s what you expect. When you ask me to perform disgusting acts on you, I am not going to do so, even with you asking oh so nicely.
Neither my fashion sense nor the makeup I wear permit you to subject me to such aggressive belittling. There is no consensual cat-calling. Cat-calling encourages a male supremacy complex by promoting men’s perceived right to degrade women. If rape is treated with such urgent sensitivity, as well it should be, why are we not advocating for the proactive eradication of cat-calling, arguably a gateway practice leading to more threatening sexual behaviors?
Though so much awareness can be raised from articles like this, social media activism is ultimately limited to the confines of a screen. The systematic objectification of women in the U.S., and to a greater extent globally, will not cease unless larger steps are taken both by the general public and the social hierarchy. The unintentional, but prevailing promotion of sexism to pre-pubescent boys must be deliberately shifted to foster the development of a “gender-equality” mindset. In the meantime, what is the solution to sexual harassment on the street? There is really no way to outlaw catcalling, both due to the informality and the indeterminable nature of the offense. I suppose all we can ask for is a more conscientious effort to respect others.
