The weather is warming up, we see the sun occasionally and we all wear a little less clothing. For women, this time of year also brings a less pleasant thing — catcalling.
And no, some random guy rolling down Sixth Street who yells out the window about a girl’s ass and drives away before she even has a chance to respond is not a compliment. That is gender-based harassment.
When women bring up the issue of catcalling, all too often they are told, “just take it as a compliment” or “if I had random women telling me how hot I was, I’d be excited!”
Start by asking, “what’s the purpose of catcalling?”
It certainly isn’t to get a stranger’s number or connect with the woman on any real level. I would be surprised, if ever in the history of mankind, a woman has experienced a primal urge to jump on the bones of a man who just yelled obscenities at her from across the parking lot.
The only purpose of a catcall is for a man to make it known that he thinks a woman is hot — or not, if he happens to be one of the men who’ve called my friends “fat ass.” As whole people who are worth far, far more than just our looks, this is sexist and objectifying to women.
Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates conducted a nationally representative telephone survey in 2000. They found that 87 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 64 have been harassed by a male stranger, and over half of them experienced “extreme” harassment, which includes being physically touched, grabbed or followed by a male stranger in public.
There are two easy things every person can do to stem this epidemic of objectification and harassment.
First, don’t do it. No matter how good her ass looks, no matter how tan her skin or nice her clothes. No matter how “nice” you think you are being about it. No matter the context, the place or the time. Don’t do it ever.
The very act of shouting out what you think of a woman’s appearance without her consent or ability to respond is harassment. We are not playthings or objects for admiration or approval. What you think of our appearance or our body doesn’t matter, and you shouting at us from across the street won’t change that. It only makes you look like a jerk.
Second, don’t let your friends catcall.
Following the first tip is easy. This one is more difficult, but as equally important.
Don’t stand silent while your friends treat women like pieces of meat for them to salivate over.
Jump in with a “hey man, that isn’t cool, don’t just yell at her like she’s a dog or something.,” Simple as that. And don’t let them laugh it off and say you’re being too serious about it. We need men to stand up for us in those situations.
Let’s be real here, not all men catcall, and not all men who catcall know that it’s a problem.
It isn’t about blaming men or acting like they are all evil, because they aren’t. They are part of a culture and a system that teaches everyone it’s OK to objectify women, and to treat them in ways that are demeaning. But that isn’t OK, and education is the first step to changing behavior. So whether you’ve never catcalled in your life, or you consider it a summertime hobby, you now know.
It isn’t okay. Now it’s up to each and every one of us to take steps to change it.
Kaitlin Moroney can be reached at [email protected]