in browsing www.hellogiggles.com this morning i came across this article on street harassment. it perfectly illustrates why cat calling (street harassment) is the most gross, obnoxious and inappropriate thing ever. it discusses the different ways in which these harassers operate and talks about the slippery slope of street harassment- how hissing and whistling can turn to stalking or even rape.
street harassment is one of those experiences that seems to unite women in disgust. it doesn't matter what you're wearing, what you're doing or even how old you are...there will always be trashball guys that get off on making women feel threatened and uncomfortable.
while i was reading i recalled a scene at the beginning of six feet under years and years ago. if you aren't familiar with the show, each episode is introduced with a death. one of the deaths that always stayed with me was of a young woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle while running from a group of men who were whistling and propositioning her while as she left a party. a split second before she is hit by the car, she turns around to notice that the men harassing her were actually her friends thinking they were being funny. that scene is so poignant because it calls such attention to the disconnect between the men's actions and the woman's perceptions of those actions. what men sometimes see as playful or funny (why, i'll never know. because they are jackasses, i guess), women perceive as a safety threat. i know when i hear a man yelling at me and making inappropriate comments on my appearance, my heart begins to race. i'm not looking to decipher who the man is or what his intentions are. he could very well be a "harmless" college aged guy looking to impress his douchebag friends, but my conditioned mind fears some psycho serial rapist.
anyways, read the article. and props to the writer, and all the women like her, who aren't afraid to look like stick in the mud "feminazis" to a bunch of ignorant and insensitive men and speak out against shit like this for the sake of women and girls everywhere. high five!
*p.s. march 18-24th is anti-street harassment week.
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