Look down, don’t make eye contact. Don’t feed into it but don’t be rude. Just ignore it. Smile and laugh it off. Avoid confrontation.

These are a few conflicting thoughts some women experience when catcalled by men.

Aside from the common aggressive remarks from young guys, the amount of times a grown man has made me feel sexually uncomfortable is appalling. Some of these men are my dad’s age. Men that clearly know I am too young to take any interest in them. Men that have wives and children. Grown men. They know better.

And I’m not talking about the harmless, cute, old man shouting, “Hey honey—lookin’ good!” or a funny, awkward joke with sexual connotation. No, I’m talking about the catcallers that make you feel uncomfortable by the look in their eyes. The ones that lick their lips, stare you down and visualize you naked until you can feel their eyes burn through your clothes—and your soul. Then, they yell stuff at you.

I agree with the idea that “age ain’t nothing but a number,” especially when you get older. From your 20s on, rather than physical differences, it’s mental differences that can be problematic. Maturity levels, life goals, life choices—those may be some difficulties for couples with age gaps, but those can also factor into any relationship. Many people with age differences have happy families, so it’s not crazy for a man to pursue a much younger woman or vice versa. Even my own parents are about 12 years apart and the fact that my father is older than my mother means absolutely nothing at all.

But there’s something different about an older man sexually approaching or catcalling a younger woman. Something that feel helpless and wrong. Historically, street harassment is known to be psychologically damaging despite the humor that can be made of it. It’s been renamed to “catcalling” to lighten a situation of bleak sexual harassment that is part of society’s norm.

According to an article in Psychology Today, a study showed almost 1 in 4 women had experiences with street harassment by age 12 and nearly 90% by age 19. Professor of psychology with a specialization in adolescent and sexual development, Kathryn Stamoulis, Ph.D., highlighted a study from book published in 2008 called Stop Street Harassment.

“Many women have shared that street harassment began when they hit puberty and that harassment became equated with having a woman's body,” Stamoulis said.

So this poses questions for older men who judge women based on their opinion of her body regardless of age: Why are you taking away their innocence? Why is bearing skin in public seen as sexual? Puberty shapes everyone’s bodies differently and you want to make a sexual object out of what you should view as a little girl. If a girl is walking down the street in tight shorts and a belly shirt, what gives you the right to harass her? Would you do that to a little girl on the beach wearing a tiny baiting suit? Just because a child looks older than their age doesn’t mean you should treat them that age.

What is ironic about this research is the direct evidence of the twisted outlook that has become our society’s norm. In this article, Stamoulis breaks down the psychological damage sexual harassment does to young women. She highlights studies linking young victims of sexual harassment to self-objectification and an increase in rates of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and lower academic achievement.

“Harassment and self-objectification are linked to lower academic achievement because they rob a person of valuable resources,” Stamoulis said. She explained a scenario about a young girl named “Sarah” and how sexual harassers can affect a person’s daily routine because they have to accommodate their public life to avoid them.

“For example, the time Sarah spent being vigilant and pretending to talk on her cell phone was time not spent processing the events of the day at school or mentally preparing for an exam,” she added.

The very first comment on the article was posted by user “Matt M.” and it read, “I’m going to be blown up and destroyed for this comment but how did she dress, out of curiosity?”

He then proceeds to give an asinine explanation about scientific studies that show how a man’s brain can be stimulated so much around attractive women that he can’t control himself and it can cause the same results as “consuming alcohol and doing drugs.”

Eight paragraphs and a few links later, Matt M. redundantly tried to explain the validity of this theory. Of course a woman responds and they get into a debacle throughout the article’s forum and somehow another user agrees with him. I can’t help but to ask myself how so many people can justify a form of sexual harassment, especially when so many situations have lead to dangerous, violent, encounters. It’s not "just a compliment" and it’s not "just harmless.” It’s threatening and objectifying.

Most of all, it's disappointing to know the stigma it faces. We shouldn’t have to still try and explain why sexual harassment in any way should not be justified. Come on guys—we need to do better.

For more information about how to help with the fight against catcalling and sexual harassment check out the campaign at www.stopstreetharassment.org.