To the catcallers and men that have harassed me:

This is for you. What you do on a daily basis is wrong. You think that yelling obscene things at women, sometimes even young girls, makes you more of a man? That it makes us feel good? That it's a compliment that we should just accept? No, no and no. Yelling sexual things at me while I'm only trying to live my life is beyond annoying; it is actually very scary.

I fear for my life whenever I go out. It doesn't matter where I'm going, I always think of defense mechanisms that I could use in the case that I was in danger. Walking to work from my bus stop is the worst. My commute consists of at least one person (I am assuming that most, if not all, of these people are men) honking at me as they drive past, ogling me or catcalling me. What's even worse is that it happens during all times of day and night; it is not acknowledged by any passersby. It has become so deeply ingrained in our culture that it is okay for women to be seen as solely sexual objects.

Your actions, yes, your actions, are fuel that keeps rape culture alive and burning. Viewing women as objects to be treated like dirt is not okay at all. When boys see this behavior, they will grow up thinking that it's okay to treat women that way. When those boys grow up and become teenagers, they will assume that a girl is obliged to have sex with them, no matter what. Your behavior plants a seed in their mind that grows to form dangerous ideas and actions. Think about that for a second: you are playing a part in molding the next generation of men. Children learn from actions, especially of adults. Do you really want to hold yourself responsible for raising the next generation of misogynists, even rapists? You might want to hold off on whistling at the woman walking past. She doesn't need to know what you think about her body.

Saying "Hey! Baby! Hey!" is not going to get a reaction from me. I will walk past you, like the unimportant piece of filth that you are. Following me from the bus and getting off at my stop to ask me where I am going, about my life, if I am single, is not being a nice guy. You're just some desperate creep who gets on a bus and follows women around in the hope that you'll get laid. Hate to break it to you, but that will never happen if you're continuing to act the way you are.

However, the thing is you know that harassing me isn't going to get me to do anything. You want to make me scared, to remind me who has the power. You want me, and women everywhere, to be scared to exist so that you could control everything. You're not going to do that, though. Women know their worth, that street harassment is wrong and we're going to rise up and put an end to this.