As a young woman growing up in a society where the over sexualization of women has become an unfortunate norm, I have gotten used to men staring at me in tight pants, low cut shirts, and hearing whistles while walking around campus. A question many of my guy friends ask is, "Isn't it even just a tad bit flattering?" Which led me to think: is there a "correct" way to catcall women?
The definition of catcall used as a verb: to make a whistle, shout, or comment of a sexual nature to a woman passing by. In most cases, this is what most girls experience when passing men who are trying to make an advance on them. But, I've had occasions where a man will approach me to tell me he thinks I'm pretty or beautiful in a non-sexual way. For me, I take that as a nice compliment, and it brightens my day a little. Since I can be a little conceited, I don't need anyone to compliment me because I'm a naturally confident person. But, it is nice to hear a compliment from someone else, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But, of course, I can't speak for all women. There are a lot of women who believe that you shouldn't stop a woman to compliment her in any way, period. It can be seen as inherently sexual, creepy, or even harassment. Some women who are also naturally confident and don't need anyone to compliment them just don't want anyone to compliment them, and there's nothing wrong with that either.
In my opinion, the "correct" way to catcall women isn't really a catcall at all. To approach a woman normally and give her a nice compliment is just that: a nice compliment. But, to whistle, holler, and scream sexual things at a woman who's just minding her own business is harassment. You can always compliment a woman, or anyone, without being sexually suggestive. Now, of course, if she takes interest in you and you do develop sexual feelings toward her, there's a way of telling her without being X-rated. How do you do that? Well, that another article for another day.
