Degrading. Humiliating. Demeaning. Shameful. Disrespectful.
These are all the feelings that I myself have felt and continue to feel when I am catcalled while walking down the street, walking through campus to go to class and even walking from my car to my apartment door. Like many other women and girls I have been catcalled. Sadly not even 24 hours ago did I endure being Catcalled in my own apartment complex while I was taking a walk. As a woman with multiple years of being catcalled in my purse, I have never found a good/amazing/hilarious way to respond to these cat-callers to make them stop or, at least, take a good look at themselves.
For those of you who don't know what it means to "catcall" someone, it is when a person makes "a loud whistle or a comment of a sexual nature from a man to a passing woman." The origin of the word (information via oxford dictionary) is "Mid 17th century: from cat+call, originally denoting a kind of whistle or squeaking instrument used to express disapproval at a theater. " IF that, in fact, is the origin of the word catcall, then how did we socially change it to sexually harassing a person as they walk down the sidewalk?
The fact that catcalling still is an act that is happening in 2016 is atrocious. In a time where we are trying so hard to empower women to be strong and independent, we still are sadly going around the root of the problem. Boys and young men. By not stopping men from catcalling women in the streets we are showing any boy or young man that it is okay to talk like this to women. Whilst that we are also showing girls from a young age that this is just another think they are going to "have to deal with" as they get older. Sadly, this confirms that even all these years later women are still being treated like property or a trophy that men think is there's.
According to Observer News "85 percent of women in the US have experienced street harassment by the age of 17, 67 percent by 14, and a further 77 percent of women have reported being followed by a man that made them feel unsafe or uncomfortable in the past year." Read that statistic again. By the age of 14, 67 percent of girls had experienced some sort of street harassment. 14! At the age of 14, you can't drive, you can't buy medication, alcohol or tobacco products and some girls haven't even gotten their period or (if they have) they just started to receive the monthly "gift" of their period. These girls are not even adults yet and they are being thrown into adult situations of being demeaned and sexualized.
When it comes to catcalling there are just a few things I (as a woman/female/lady) never understand.
1. Do you think I'm going to fall madly in love with your disgusting comments of "nice ass" or "hey Mami, how you doing?"
2. What if I was your daughter... Or your sister… or your mother... Or any women that you respect? (if you respect any women.)
3. Why are you doing this? What is your end game with catcalling me? Do you think you are complimenting me?
4. Do you have a reason why I deserve to be disrespected in public like this?
5. WHO THE HECK INVENTED CATCALLING? Like what person thought "hmm? Let me holler at this person who I find attractive that is walking past me."
For now, we jus have to take a stance against these disgusting people who catcall others; whether it be men (who don't catcall), women and even children we must stop it when we see it happening. Hopefully, this will create some sort of chain reaction where one day we can end at catcalling.
Join the fight against street harassment here at http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/.
