According to a study with the anti-harassment group iHollaback and Cornell University, 84% of females have already been catcalled by the time they reach age 17 and 13% have experienced it before age 10 (Hoff 2015).

These numbers are absolutely appalling, although they don’t shock me. With the culture we live in today, catcalling almost seems like second nature. A common misconception is that all catcalling is good. In my experience, catcalling can mean anything from being whistled at to being called a slut. It also has a lot to do with motive; what way was it meant in and why?

Some guys genuinely think they are being kind and that catcalling us women will make us feel good about ourselves. Some girls may respond that way, but not me. I often feel degraded and honestly end up feeling worse afterward because I fear that I may only be liked for my appearance. Being catcalled also scares me and makes me feel unsafe. I become wary of walking anywhere, alone or not.

One day in the dead of winter, a friend and I were walking to her house after school. We were both wearing jeans and hoodies with either boots or sneakers on, and a guy in a large pickup truck drove next to us and shouted “Sluts!” at us.

We did absolutely nothing to merit this reaction, especially since the only skin we were showing was our hands and faces. So our physical appearance could not have been the cause of this behavior.

We were not walking or behaving in such a way where we may have given this man the wrong idea. We were simply two high-schoolers walking down the street, going about our daily lives. And we didn’t even know who he was.

I’ve had times where I’m simply walking on the sidewalk with headphones in and a guy or group of guys in a car next to me on the road will shout or whistle at me. Most often, people beep at me and sometimes wave, but they aren’t friends of mine doing it in a way to say hello.

One day over the summer when I was walking from a local park back to my house, I was passed by a seemingly middle-aged man who whistled at me out of his car window. I was disgusted. I will not be told to appreciate being catcalled because it is demeaning and unsolicited, inappropriate behavior.

I can’t possibly write about every case of this that has happened to me or to my sisters or any of my friends, but I just want more people to talk about this topic. I will not accept it.

There are plenty of other ways to 1) get someone’s attention if you think they’re attractive or 2) go about complimenting them without making them afraid. Sometimes, as with the man in winter, the motive is not always a good one.

Although this topic has become more discussed than in the past, it is still a major issue. I hope that someday it’s no longer an everyday concern.