One obnoxious thing most girls have in common is that they have been cat called. For those of you who don’t know what cat calling is, it is when a person yells vulgar things at a woman as she passes by. Now, in my case (today at least) I was riding my bike to my local library, and a man in a truck beeped his horn and yelled out the window, “Hey baby.” That was the second time that happened to me today. What the men who do that don’t seem to understand is that is horrible for a girl’s self esteem.
The first time I was cat called was when I was 14 years old. I do a lot of walking in my town to clear my mind on stressful things, and that day was no different. I was walking down the main road, and a man who was much older than me yelled out the window at me and said, “Hey baby, don’t you have a nice ass.” I was 14, I had no idea why this man said that to me, and I assumed it was a compliment. In a weird and twisted way, it was one, and as that summer continued I kept on thinking that these men who would say things from the car windows were just trying to compliment me. As I got older, I began to notice that the things they were saying started getting aggressive. They were no longer giving me “compliments” but rather telling me disgusting things while they were at stop lights, and I was just trying to cross the road. I would ignore them, but when I did, they would tell me things like, "You're ugly anyways," and call me terrible things. Every man that has said those things to me made me feel like a piece of meat. They made me feel like I was disposable, and that if I didn’t say something back that I was the one in the wrong.
To the men who have catcalled me, you have made me disgustingly used to being objectified and far too used to being called ugly when I don’t acknowledge your vulgar comments. I tell you now, I will not fuel your disgusting fire. Your words have caused countless girls I know to have eating disorders. Your words that have caused some of my friends to break down crying because when they didn’t say anything you said things that will stay in her mind forever. Your words have told me that if I don’t feed into what you want I am the one who is worthless. I tell you now, you are the reason I used to hate myself. You called me fat, ugly, and many words I cannot retell on this platform, but I am the one who will remind you that women are not disposable. Women are beautiful and strong. Most importantly, you do not own us. What right do you have to call me baby? None whatsoever.
So to my fellow ladies, keep your head up, keep your chest out, and hang in there. These people do not know us but we know each other. We know that we are not alone in this...You and I are more than “baby," we are mothers, sisters and wives. We are queens and goddesses of our own universes, and we are more than what they say while driving past. Most importantly, if it happens don’t let it ruin your day because there are far more important things to think about than a man who hides in his car to cat call you.
