I want to start this piece out with a personal anecdote. It’s a Wednesday morning on my small, safe college campus. About 8:45 on a sunny October day. The air is fresh and crisp. I’m lost in thought, quizzing myself in my head for the psychology test I’m about to take. A startling moment of cacophonous noise pulls me out of my head and into the surrounding world. It takes me a second to figure out exactly what it is that I’m hearing. My searching eyes settle on a truck, with one man in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger’s. The driver honks the horn repeatedly, and then the other man begins yelling. It is now apparent that they are both making eye contact with me, as I stand startled and vulnerable, waiting for the walk sign to illuminate. And I realize that they are not yelling because I accidentally stepped in front of their car, or to warn me of something dangerous happening around me. They are yelling obscenities at me. Sexually explicit language is being thrown at me and my body as their light turns green and they speed away.
This was not, by any means, the first time I had experienced catcalling. It was, though, my most jarring catcalling experience, and it didn’t quite feel like the others had. Earlier in my life, usually when visiting larger urban areas, I had been catcalled. When I was in my very early teen years, I remember bathing in the whistles and greetings of older men with a sense of pride. How was it that I was special enough or attractive enough to receive the attention of these men? It made my heart feel fluttery and added a little strut to my step.
It was not until that Wednesday morning on my college campus, though, that I understood catcalling for what it is—unauthorized sexual objectification. It stung. And I felt so, so small.
What is sexual objectification? It can be defined as viewing a person merely as an instrument of sexual pleasure, disregarding their other features such as personality, intelligence, dignity, etc. This is not to say that all sexual objectification is wrong or bad by any means. There is definitely a time and place for sexual objectification, between consenting adults in an intimate, sexual situation. Sexual objectification is wrong, though, when it is done without consent. And here’s why:
When men go out of their way to verbally express the fact that a woman on the street is sexually attractive so that she is made aware of her own sexual objectification, it creates a sort of psychological oppression within the woman. If a woman is repeatedly being made aware of the fact that men are so sexually attracted to her that they are unable to keep it to themselves, she may begin to sexually objectify herself mentally. Think about it. Is there a specific talent or skill you have that people consistently compliment and point out? Your sense of humor, your skill in creative writing, your compassion, etc. It is not uncommon that you might begin to place a special emphasis on that specific attribute that seems to be most appreciated by others—you might start to form your identity and your self perception around that single thing. See what I’m saying? I’m not implying that all women who have ever been catcalled organize their identities merely around their sexuality. I am saying, though, that catcalling can have this effect on women.
If a victim of consistent catcalling does start to place a higher level of importance on her sexuality, whether consciously or not, she may begin to feel, because that is the one thing that people seem to notice about her most, that much of her function, as a human, is to be sexually attractive. She is meant, mainly, to be sexually admired by men. And it probably doesn’t always feel like a negative thing. As younger me noticed, it often feels good to know that others are receiving some sort of pleasure by merely looking at me. But it all stems back to (don’t stop reading once I say this, please) the goddamn patriarchy. Have you noticed that it is extremely rare for men to be catcalled by women? And if you were to see that go down, it might strike you as a little funny, because it’s so odd? That’s because our society does not work that way. It works to oppress women, and to boost men. And catcalling is a very obvious manifestation of that.
I’m not saying that it’s not okay for you women out there to enjoy being catcalled, as I have in the past, and as Doree Lewak does in this New York Post article. To each her own. What I’m getting at is the intentions of men when they catcall. Shouting sexually explicit garbage at a woman is not respectfully intended to make her day, to make her feel beautiful and valued. The most direct intention is for these men get laid by whoever it is they’re shouting at. The intention behind that intention (even if these men don’t fully realize it) is to let her know that, because she is lower than him, that he’s aloud to sexually objectify her, and hopefully to have sex with her, and she is just supposed to take it.
What is most bothersome to me, since that day in October, is that I’ve noticed myself being hyperaware of how I present myself, especially when walking outside. Is the fact that my pants are tightly hugging my legs going to cause me to get harassed? How about the way I’m walking—is it making my boobs jiggle too much? Does the way my hips are swaying make it seem like I want to be sexualized? Do you realize how messed up it is that women have to spend so much time and energy worrying about how they present themselves and how it will affect the men who are near? Will this specific thing about what I’m doing or wearing or how I’m acting cause me to be sexually harassed today? Why is this a fact of life for women in our society, and why the hell are we all okay with it?
